Well, the big day is finally here! I have to choose just one of the many great entries I got in my blog’s first ever contest to win the first of the two $20 prizes I am giving out. This was no easy task at all… I could name 12 winners, and still feel bad about not recognizing the 13th…. but a squirrel has never backed down from a challenge before, and I’m not about to chicken out on this tough decision!
I had the finalists narrowed down to about 4 or 5 last night. I weighed their good and bad points over and over again… I probably changed my mind a dozen times on which one I was going to ultimately award the grand prize to…
Did you ever have to make up your mind?
But in the end, there was one entry I kept coming back to. One that appealed to me in a special way that when it got right down to it, I just couldn’t not reward it.
Ladies and gentlemen, the winner of the first annual Evil Squirrel’s Nest’s Contest of Whatever is…………………….
Drum roll please, Hottie…
YoungAtFifty!!!!!!!
What made Y@50’s creation stand out for me was not just that she made replicas of my characters who inspired the contest, but the fact that she paid attention to the details that make up each character!
The dark grey strip in ES’s tail, the pink in the ears and snout of Buster, and the triple fur tufts extending from each cheek on both that are a trademark of my style… it absolutely made my day when I noticed that! It reminded me of how happy I was when I saw Jennifer’s rendition of my Rainbow Donkey… having a character you created brought to life by someone else is such a wonderful feeling! At least, it is for me….
Thank you so much youngatfifty for your amazing work, and congratulations on winning one of the prizes from my store!!!
Let’s have a parade in your honor!
Ah, but don’t go anywhere yet, folks! We still have one more prize to give away, and this is the random second chance drawing that all of the non-winning entries are eligible for!
You may remember this list I posted when I announced the entries yesterday:
Well, I got out the cards again… taking out the queen that represented youngatfifty, and did another drawing. Of course, you may have questions about whether the drawing is rigged since you can’t watch it. Well, fear not folks, because I sought out the accounting firm of Ody & Biskit, LLC to oversee the official drawing and ensure all if on the up and up…
We’re still accepting last minute bribes of catnip and treats….
I shuffled the cards for several minutes, making sure I would have no idea what card would be coming up first. I laid the pile down on the bed in plain view of the supervisors and turned over the top card, which wound up being………….
Now serving #3!
Congratulations to Goldfish on winning the second chance drawing!!!!!!
And I don’t think anyone will argue she is a deserving winner since she submitted this picture, which was one of the finalists I was mulling over the last 24 hours….
Congratulations to the two winners of my very first contest, Youngatfifty and Goldfish! You also get this awesome freebie to display on your blog if you wish….
YAY!!!
And to those of you who also submitted wonderful entries, but didn’t quite come home with the gold or the silver, you are free to display this badge!
Parting gifts are awesome!
Since I do not have email addresses for either of the two winners, I ask that they get in touch with me at my email which is located in the “Contact Me” section up in my header. The prize is anything from my Cafepress Shop that is $20 USD or less, and if there is a piece of my artwork on this blog that you would like to have on a $20 or less item over there instead, that can certainly be arranged. Since I will be leaving on my annual trip to Oklahoma in less than 72 hours, I will probably not get around to actually ordering the requested items for each winner until next week… but that gives you each some time to decide what you might want!
Thank you very much to everyone who played along, and even to those who just spectated and cheered everyone on! This contest was so much fun, and the results were so fantastic, that I will definitely run another contest just like it sometime in the future!
Next year… a fox, a raccoon, and a skunk!
Evil Squirrel's Nest 
Congratulations to Young at Fifty! Your creations are soooooooo darling! Good choice.
This was such a fun contest! Thanks for allowing all of us to be part of your Squirrel Nest!
You’re very welcome! I appreciate everyone who took the time to come up with something.
Yay! Evil Squirrel thong, here I come. I am honored to be chosen at random. Young At Fifty is a very deserving winner.
It was in the cards! Congrats!
Beep off, ES! I mean, uh, congrats to all the winners!
Okay, i must concede – Fifty’s entry is so incredibly awesome! Cute crocheted creatures that devour you? Wooot!
Would it make you feel any better if I said your entry was better than DJ’s? Oh wait, can he read this? Shhhh!!! Forget I said anything!
Yay to the winners! I love that badge, totally displaying it on my blog!! Was such a great contest. 🙂
Thanks! I hope it inspired a bunch of squirrel walking into a bar jokes!
This was so much fun! Whatever contests are my new favourite thing ever. Congrats to the very deserving winners. Can’t wait to proudly display my stupid loser badge. lol Thank you evil squirrel xxoo
That is, like, the best stupid loser badge I’ve ever gotten.
Haha! I know, me too! 🙂
me too! 😀
I can’t wait to run the next one! I’m glad everyone enjoyed playing along, and loved the badges! I wanted everyone to be able to have something!
Congratulations Dear http://youngatfifty.wordpress.com/ and Dear http://fishofgold.net/ !!!
Well-Deserved 🙂
Today I had a great chance of time to read all the entries and I am amazed with all of them!!! I’m so happy to have had this beautiful experience and meet brand new (to me) talented friends.
ES, Thank you the most!!!
I’ll be very proud to put the badge of entrance on my blog, I was really looking forward to it. I believe it brings good luck 😉
Have a safe trip !
Love and hugs
Servant Z & Yelloz
You’re welcome! Thank you for playing, and for your well wishes!
Congratulations to the winners! And lots of love to everyone who entered. I had so much fun checking out everyone’s entries. Thanks for running a really cool contest, Bill! I wish I would’ve had time to contribute. Maybe next year. A fox, a raccoon, and a skunk, you say? I’ll get started right away. 🙂
I think I just might use that trio after all!
Well darn, I kind of like the badge and wish I had tried 😉
Awesome work, everybody. Congrats to the winners!
Maybe I should have come up with a spectator’s badge as well… that would have been a novel idea! “I Didn’t Play Evil Squirrel’s Nest’s First Annual Contest of Whatever — I Just Watched” That would draw some curious responses from visitors to your blog!
Ha! That’s ok, I’ll be sure to figure something out by next year 😀
I agree that youngatfifty should win. For a relative newcomer to amigurumi, she really is very talented. Her ability to crochet in the 3D and her expressions on their faces are as good, if not better than some professionals. (those who write about, make and teach ami/crochet for a living).
I too was very captivated with her ES rendition. It really does look like him! I enjoyed looking at and reading all the entries. I have had a few loser experiences in my life but never had a badge to commemorate it! It really does appeal to my sense of humor. :-D. Thanks for a fun time.
You have a talented bunch of followers!
I will admit that my knowledge of each blogger’s past work was a consideration I took into account when deciding on the winner. I thought youngatfifty totally outdid herself with the ES/Buster doll!
And I’m glad everyone liked the idea of the badge! I didn’t want everyone who took time out to create something to go away totally emptyhanded. Those “My parents went to Such and Such a Place, and all I got was this lousy T-shirt” shirts were quite big when I was a kid….
Ah !! what do I say !!! your appreciation and encouragement have a BIG role in everything I create 🙂 In a way, maybe I am appealing to a secret yearning within me, to ‘impress’ veterans like you 😉 Thank you for your lavish appreciation. I am airborne and 50,000 feet up there … you cant even see me 😉
Buster has never looked cuter!! Congrats to the winners — and to you on a successful contest!
Thank you!
OMG !!! you have totally surprised me. Don’t know what to say except a huge THANK YOU !! If you remember, it was your comment on my topsy-turvy doll post, that triggered the idea of a possum inside ES !! So, this win is yours too 🙂 I loved the challenge of translating a 2D comic character into a 3D crochet work. I went for the topsy-turvy design for the thrill of it, otherwise a proper amigurumi would have made a better replica incorporating the limbs, dress, etc.
I loved this challenge, enjoyed participating and overjoyed with the win 🙂 My congratulations to Goldfish for her amazing drawing (I loved it !) and to all others too who had participated with brilliant entries. Thanks to the contest, now I know more talented bloggers here. And congratulations to you too for this wonderful opportunity to showcase our talents and conducting it successfully.
Best of all, I love your badge, and I must confess, I love the loser’s one more 😉 THANK YOU for everything… the opportunity, the win, the badge, the prize, and the victory parade 🙂 !!!!
You are very welcome! It was an extremely creative idea and very well executed. I always wondered what Buster would look like off of paper…
A HUGE THANK YOU TO EACH OF YOU HERE FOR YOUR CHEERS. It is wonderful to know all of you and I promise I will visit your space soon 🙂 This contest has been fun in so many ways 🙂
see you at the virtual cocktail party. Now to choose a virtual cocktail frock! 😀
There you go again giving me ideas !! wouldn’t that be splendid to have a virtual cocktail party ! seriously 😉 I am off planning it 🙂
youngatfifty and GS’s were my favorite entries so I’m glad youngatfifty won! I could never make anything that awesome (I can however make a pretty badassed hat 😉 ) I love the losers badge!
The losers badge is always better than the winners badge! Kinda makes one want to take a dive next time… 😉
Congratulations to the winners! I’m definitely having the “didn’t win” badge on my blog – it’s awesome and creative, just like you, ES… oh wait, it’s too late for sucking up, isn’t it.
As soon as I sort my blog out, the badge is going up 🙂
Well, it’s never too early to suck up for next year….
Hey, I voted for you….
Thanks 🙂
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A fox, a raccoon and a skunk???
I was hoping for a hedgehog, a mountain lion and a tortie cat…..
Hmmmm, do we know any such beasts?
Congratulations to the winners and great job on those blog badges E.S. 🙂 This was definitely a fun contest to follow with all the ideas that had come in from everyone. 🙂
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My wife is going to love the creations and my daughter is going to flip for the cat pics.
Thanks!
You’re welcome!
I would have entered, but I read the post in April!
Well, there’s always next year!