T is for Turtle

Trollbeads (a brand of beadmaker) have made glass, silver and amber Turtle beads.  I think they must really like Turtles!

The pic below is of the Trollbeads silver turtle bead that was bought for me by my friend Alison as a surprise present, I treasure this bead!

The carved amber turtle bead was part of a limited release of carved amber beads and I was lucky enough to snap one up when I found it.

Can you make out the carved Turtle on the middle bead of the bangle?

However my favourite glass Turtle bead is not the Trollbeads version but one made by an artisan beadmaker - Christa from Luccicare.

When you're Addicted to Beads, it's fun to look at ALL the different beadmakers and not just the big brands.

Which of the turtle beads is your favourite?

and / or

If you were going to name a Turtle, what would you call him or her?

The last vestiges of Christmas... Wrapping Paper Bracelet

Mostly over Christmas I was wearing a combination of my Autumn bracelets and some suitably placed skulls, with a dash of Winter Snow thrown in when I was feeling seasonal!

Generally I go for a very minimal festive look at home and on my wrist during Christmas... as for me, much like Skulls are not just for Halloween; fairy lights are not just for Christmas either.  There is always a set of lights somewhere in the house and all I need to do for Christmas is just turn them on... as normal, and with some Christmas Cards on the mantel piece, my normal all year round fairy lights suddenly look Christmassy!

The other part of Christmas I quite enjoy decoration wise that a lot of people seem to dread is wrapping presents, but as we go for a pared down festive break I don't get to do as much of that as I'd like, perhaps I should hire myself out at this time of year and offer to wrap other people's presents??

Anyhoo, first post of the year and I'm already rambling, but I decided to make a really Christmassy bracelet, not one that I would particularly wear but something a bit different to my usual fare.

Inspired by a lovely set of beads I'd bought from Luccicare (for another project) I set to work to make a Wrapping Paper Bracelet.

Luccicare Beads

I teamed my red and gold Luccicare set with a beautiful green glitter Trollbeads mini-set that I've acquired over the last couple of months... the beads have all found me one-by-one but I was so delighted to find a match for my first unique and when I got the opportunity to buy the middle one (in a draw on facebook) I was over the moon... expect to see these on a bangle soon!

Trollbeads green glitter uniques I've been collecting

For my wrapping paper bracelet I decided to go with a busy red, green and gold theme teamed with actual silver and gold.  I incorporated some stars and planets to add to the sparkly effect - the Mexican lock was a perfect match and my silver and gold planet matched the gold bumpy beads perfectly; wish I had two of these!  Throw in an Elfbead on the end as I needed another gold bead and taa-daa!  My Christmas Wrapping Paper Bracelet was conceived!

Sadly I only wore it once to decide that although I liked it as a bracelet, I didn't have a need for such a sparkly busy bracelet during the festive period... the beads have now gone back into the box waiting for their next projects to happen... I may be some time!!

What strange inspiration in the past have you taken for decoration or jewellery?

Bumpy Heaven - Florence, Milans, Moon Ocean & Artisan Bumpy Bangle!

Earlier in the week I was working in the office, I had no meetings so I was able to dress down in jeans and a t-shirt and I fancied a new bangle design to match.

L-R: Milan, Moon Ocean, Florence, Luccicare artisan, Milan

New arrivals on my bumpilicious bead bangle are Florence (centre bead) and Moon Ocean (2nd from left), teamed with old favourites, my double Milans, and my Luccicare artisan bead which regularly gets mistaken for Moon Ocean in photos.

Florence was originally part of the Tuscany Glass Kit that also included Milan (2 outer beads), it's a really nice kit and I don't think I've paid it proper attention before now.  You can click on the name link to see the full kit.

Moon Ocean is a Price 2 glass bead so it has always been sold individually, it's a beautiful translucent blue bead with a mirror edge surface as a background to the also translucent bumps, it's very very pretty.

I can see why my artisan bead sometimes gets mistaken for it where I've used it on a full bracelet, but the side by side shot below, along with the bangle shot above shows you the difference in the two designs.

L-R: Moon Ocean and Luccicare Artisan Bead

I love the look of this bangle, it's quite unusual in appearance but beautifully quirky!

I *adore* my full on bumpilicious bangle!

I've been pretty much wearing it all week, it's also very very versatile.