This blog post was inspired by a question asked in a Trollbead Group last month:
I dug out a photo of my Blue Agate Bracelet, as whilst not strictly different colours, (as they are either turquoise or striped turquoise), no two are exactly alike so I shared my photo with the group.
The photo below is of one of the first bracelets I made when I started collecting Trollbeads (back in February 2012) and it got me thinking that it might be fun to remake this but with the choice of beads I have in my bead box today, I, a'hem, didn't have so many back then!
Being a make and break kind of girl my bracelets don't hang around for long, so a makeover for an old design results in a new bracelet. Well it does until I get bored and dismantle it again to use one of the beads somewhere else!
Blue Agate Bracelet in April 2012
Actually, hang on a minute, in looking through my old photos I've realised I already did this once before... that's the problem with make and break, you forget these things as bracelets can be quite fleeting - good job I keep a blog and a record of (most) bracelets I make. A'hem, here is the one from last year.
Blue Agate Bracelet in January 2013
What I do remember now, looking at this photo, is that it was only after I'd taken the photo, did I notice that one of my agates had developed a nasty crack along it, one of the problems that can occur with natural stones.
I really should have returned the agate to the original shop but I was feeling lazy at the time and I confess I didn't actually get around to doing it - it's still in my bead box! I picked up another agate preloved to replace that one in case you're wondering where it is in today's photo and how come I still have 12...
So March 2014; what design to pick for this year's version?
I returned to some old favourite beads, even though I have brand new shiny new ones waiting to be used - I realised that I haven't used Wisdom in ages (shame on me) so out that came, along with some Zodiac Stars and I chose 2 different types of knotted silver beads (2 of each one) and the Freya knot lock to complement them. One of the benefits I discovered in remaking this bracelet with different beads (especially using multiples of silver beads) is that I can better match up the design to show off the agates by matching the silver beads and lock so the agates really are the feature, looking back I think the 2013 version looked a bit busy.
Blue Agate Bracelet in March 2014
I'm constantly fascinated by bracelet design; if I had to rank these 3 in order of my preferences now, I'd put 2014 at the top, then 2012 in second place and relegate 2013 to third!
I'm curious as to how other people approach bracelet design, I know I'm unusual in that I make and break most of my bracelets on a regular basis (it's a rare bracelet that escapes my create / destroy / create cycle) but I know most of my own bead friends and people I meet seem to keep permanent bracelet designs together, and although they might make the occasional tweak with a different bead every now and then, the basis of the bracelet rarely changes.
I would love to hear from you about what you do and how you approach designing your own bracelets.
Are you a "permanent don't touch it" or a "permanent but tweak" - or are you a "make and break" like me or something completely different? If you're just starting out, or thinking about it, what would you like to do?
"Do you have any bracelets with the same style bead
in different colours used repeatedly?"
I dug out a photo of my Blue Agate Bracelet, as whilst not strictly different colours, (as they are either turquoise or striped turquoise), no two are exactly alike so I shared my photo with the group.
The photo below is of one of the first bracelets I made when I started collecting Trollbeads (back in February 2012) and it got me thinking that it might be fun to remake this but with the choice of beads I have in my bead box today, I, a'hem, didn't have so many back then!
Being a make and break kind of girl my bracelets don't hang around for long, so a makeover for an old design results in a new bracelet. Well it does until I get bored and dismantle it again to use one of the beads somewhere else!
Blue Agate Bracelet in April 2012
Actually, hang on a minute, in looking through my old photos I've realised I already did this once before... that's the problem with make and break, you forget these things as bracelets can be quite fleeting - good job I keep a blog and a record of (most) bracelets I make. A'hem, here is the one from last year.
Blue Agate Bracelet in January 2013
What I do remember now, looking at this photo, is that it was only after I'd taken the photo, did I notice that one of my agates had developed a nasty crack along it, one of the problems that can occur with natural stones.
I really should have returned the agate to the original shop but I was feeling lazy at the time and I confess I didn't actually get around to doing it - it's still in my bead box! I picked up another agate preloved to replace that one in case you're wondering where it is in today's photo and how come I still have 12...
So March 2014; what design to pick for this year's version?
I returned to some old favourite beads, even though I have brand new shiny new ones waiting to be used - I realised that I haven't used Wisdom in ages (shame on me) so out that came, along with some Zodiac Stars and I chose 2 different types of knotted silver beads (2 of each one) and the Freya knot lock to complement them. One of the benefits I discovered in remaking this bracelet with different beads (especially using multiples of silver beads) is that I can better match up the design to show off the agates by matching the silver beads and lock so the agates really are the feature, looking back I think the 2013 version looked a bit busy.
Blue Agate Bracelet in March 2014
I'm constantly fascinated by bracelet design; if I had to rank these 3 in order of my preferences now, I'd put 2014 at the top, then 2012 in second place and relegate 2013 to third!
I'm curious as to how other people approach bracelet design, I know I'm unusual in that I make and break most of my bracelets on a regular basis (it's a rare bracelet that escapes my create / destroy / create cycle) but I know most of my own bead friends and people I meet seem to keep permanent bracelet designs together, and although they might make the occasional tweak with a different bead every now and then, the basis of the bracelet rarely changes.
I would love to hear from you about what you do and how you approach designing your own bracelets.
Are you a "permanent don't touch it" or a "permanent but tweak" - or are you a "make and break" like me or something completely different? If you're just starting out, or thinking about it, what would you like to do?
