Glitter & Leaf, Sparkle & Earth, Troll & Elf Beads

I buy very few full kits of beads by any brand, but there are always a few exceptions, Rocky Beach Kit by Trollbeads was one of my first and the silver half of OHM's Rawr Collection is one of my most spectacular, but today I'm looking at 2 different glass kits from Trollbeads and Elfbeads.

The Sparkle Kit from Trollbeads was released as part of the Spring 2014 Collection, and whilst I've used the beads individually I always wanted to do something "more" with them.

Trollbeads Sparkle Kit - Spring Collection 2014

Another set of beads, which aren't actually a kit as such, but which I do have all the variations are the Earth Beads from Elfbeads, I've always thought they would play well with the Sparkle Kit but I've never been able to manage anything I wanted to blog about before.

Elfbeads Earth Beads Set

I started off making a bracelet with lots of Dragon Beads, but whilst it was fun - it didn't quite do it for me, so  I set that one aside and took away all the dragon beads.  I still wanted to try and do something with the two kits, so undeterred, I had another go!

Chinese Silvers 2009 with Sparkle & Earth Beads

All I did was add a different set of silvers and tweak the colour mix... this brings a completely different vibe to my Chinese Silvers Bracelet, it's much softer than the turquoise agates I'd been using previously and I really like the mix of gold glitter and leaf with the silver beads.

What do you think?

(My) Trollbeads Spring Collection has arrived!

Last month saw the debut of the Trollbeads Spring Collection; a collection that I had been eagerly waiting for and have so far resisted the urge to go squee or indeed squeek with excitement; although that is probably the side effect of being laid up with lurgy in the run up to the release launch!

Unfortunately due to this, I didn't get to see the collection make it's debut on the day so I set about choosing my beads in a wholly different manner from normal; unusually I didn't hand pick my glass beads by sight either... so I wasn't sure what exactly would arrive through the post.

I love opening up the box to find out what delights are contained inside, and even though I obviously knew what I'd ordered (my fever wasn't running *that* high) I never tire of that first sight of a set of beads!  I was good this time and did stick to my original list without sneaking in any extras!

Beads still in the box

My first impressions of the Sparkle Kit were good overall, I knew I'd always be a bit self critical for not taking my time to hand pick my choices but I'm not disappointed by my kit either.  I can see me picking up multiples in the future as I come across nice examples either in person or by photo, but the general consensus is if you like sparkly beads you won't be disappointed with this kit.

Trollbeads Sparkle Kit from the Spring Collection 2014
Clockwise from knot: Magical Lamp, Scirocco, Desert Rose, Oasis, Fountain of Life, Ancient Palace.

The beads that actually knocked my socks off were the Sahara Night Facet ones, I'm not sure my friends understood my enthusiasm for these beads until I showed them some side shots, I've chosen to make a collage of these so you can see how they look from different angles.  I *love* the berry hue (thanks Victoria for that description) that you see when viewing the beads from an angle.

Mine are both different, one has a smaller inner core and large clear overlay and the other has a much fatter core and smaller overlay which changes the way the beads look.  For those "must be matched" fans who can't hand pick their beads you might want to ask online retailers to do an overhead shot of the side of your bead/s as well as the normal head on vertical ones on rods to make sure you get the ones you want.

Sahara Night Facet Beads

Finally my Babylonian Nymph, I love the detailing on this bead!

Babylonian Nymph

I'm really pleased with my initial choices and a quick peek in my bead box revealed that there are lots of beads I can use with the new arrivals to conjure up some new bracelets, bangles and necklaces.

Have you bought any of the new collection yet?  Do you plan to?  What do you think??