Trollbeads recent Halloween release was no exception, designed by Jenke Gorter, the small release featured a Spooky Bats Lock, a Sleeping Bat charm and Happy Bats earrings which are designed to fit on the Trollbeads earring hooks.
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| Trollbeads Halloween Collection 2014 |
I love bats, about 9 years ago my best friend used to live a few streets away from me in an upstairs flat in an old property, he had bats living nearby and at night we used to sit in his living room with all the lights off and watch them fly past - beautiful creatures!
I'd been debating what to get from the new collections and Bats were definitely on my wish list, cue an opportunity to shop in the way I love best, and one Bat lock and one Bat charm made their way from wish list to my house in one fell swoop (or by postman if you insist on being literal).
My first impressions were that both the lock and the charm are very small but beautifully detailed.
For some reason I'd imagined that the charm would be larger, probably because I'd been thinking of it more as a dangle than a charm, but in my opinion it sits somewhere between the two ideals. On a bracelet it works well without overpowering the design and it is *very* versatile.
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| Sleeping Bat Charm |
It's a total credit to Jenke's design that I bought the lock new. Already owing 16 locks (blimey I'd not counted them up for while) I never *need* a lock, so they often get overlooked when I'm prioritising purchases no matter how much I like them. I make and break bracelets all the time so I *always* have spare locks available and they often get bumped to the bottom of my wish lists - I then normally pick up the ones I like in sales or preloved... long after they've been released. This is a lock that's worth breaking my own rules for!
I wanted to make a bracelet that tips it's hat to Halloween, without being an in your face Halloween design, and, as I've been finding myself making more and more symmetrical designs recently, I wanted it to be cohesive but one that's not an exact mirror image of itself.
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| Spooky Bats Lock |
I wanted to make a bracelet that tips it's hat to Halloween, without being an in your face Halloween design, and, as I've been finding myself making more and more symmetrical designs recently, I wanted it to be cohesive but one that's not an exact mirror image of itself.
When I came to pick out potential beads from my box, I went for greens and oranges with some blacks and realised that I now have a huge amount of beads that could be used, this actually made it more tricky and the bracelet went through a lot of variations before I was totally satisfied with the result. I wasn't happy with my choices until I started to focus on a 1+1 design; alternating glass and silver beads.
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| Clockwise from Lock: Spooky Bats Lock, Artisan Safety Chain, Stopper, Black Spinel Tassel, Aqua Edge Triangle, World Trollbeads Day Bead, Onyx, Mushrooms Family, Masala Facet, Chinese Snake, Macrow Stone, Cells, TB unique, Skeleton Spirit, Masala Facet, Sleeping Bat, Macrow Stone, Ohm Beads -Love Hurts, Netherlands World Tour Orange, Snake, Onyx, World Trollbeads Day Bead, Green Prism, Stopper. |
Having tweaked it considerably, I now think I might have made another keeper!
What do you think to the Halloween Collection?
Are you Batty for Bats; think they are just for Halloween;
or do you wish they'd fly away?
Great bracelet! When I was in at my LD last, I was sorely tempted by the bat (and the skeleton spirit)! The lock is so beautifully detailed. Like you, I tend to prioritize locks near the bottom since it's so easy to swap them around.
ReplyDeleteI've thought about putting up a bat box in our backyard but I'm a bit afraid that it would drive our pugs bonkers! But I would enjoy seeing them (and having them eat the mosquitoes in our yard!) On one of our camping trips this summer they had a naturalist speaking at the park. I was saddened to learn that the bat populations here have been greatly impacted by a fungus that is killing them over the winter as they hibernate. In some cases, entire colonies are wiped out!
Thanks! I'm super happy with Sleeping Bat and the Spooky Bats Lock, well worth promoting to the top of the wishlist, it's been a great mini-release.
DeleteI am a massive Skeleton Spirit fan, one of my all time favourite silvers. In fact I'm going to need to borrow Lenny (my skeleton) for another project - but I love this bracelet so much I'll just have to put a marker bead in there as I think this one's going to be around for quite some time to come.
Bats are great, my best friend's flat was a great (and very comfy) bat watching hide! Big corner settee facing the window, with the kettle, or the wine in the fridge only a short walk away!
Hopefully the bat link may be of use to someone, I really hope your bat population recovers. Bats thankfully are a protected species in the UK but no bats in our house, just bats on my bracelet!
Mars xx
I discovered a little bat about 3 months ago? in our garage. I believe it was the little brown myotis. Poor thing may have been injured because he didn't fly away, but kind of hopped and crawled. Eventually it crawled outside and roosted on the edge of our house at the bottom of the siding.
ReplyDeleteI like them. Love that they eat skeeters. :) That is such a sad thing about the fungus. Here's hoping they recover.
Yay another bat fan, hoping they all recover, lovely lovely creatures!
DeleteMars xx