Quick Bead Play - Stones & Trolls!

I've been having a crazy busy week since I published all the lovely stories from World Trollbeads Day; it's a been a whirlwind of work, catching up with friends and we even managed to fit in some time in the Bus despite the Wind warning but that's another story... consequently there's not been much (er, actually, hardly any) time for writing or bead play... but I, er, I have managed to squeeze in some bead buying! I know, I know, my budget's ruined!

Part of my haul including picking up some lovely preloved stones and this led to a very impromptu bead play late one night, and several dark and fuzzy photos.

In the morning I thought the bracelet at least deserved to be photographed in the light!

World Trollbeadz Day Bead 2014

I love the soft greys with the orange and a splash of black onyx, the only thing I would change now I've seen the bracelet in the light is to swap out my lovely flashy labradorite for one of my more grey toned ones!

World Trollbeads Day 2014 Bead - Grey & Orange Bracelet

Trollbeads Grey & Orange Bangle

So glad I took the time to take some proper photos of these two... right, back to the grindstone!

J is for Jewels

Jewels, as much as I love the precious variety (diamond, ruby, emerald and sapphire), I'm a huge fan of semi-precious jewels, essentially everything else as this includes minerals, rocks and organic material!

A selection of smooth beads made from jewels

I've been picking up lots of jewels and stones in the last 12 months, both new, in the sales and many preloved beads, I thought I'd just use J to showcase some bracelets that make use of them.

Amazonite (front focal bead), pearl

Turquoise Agate, Turquoise, Opal, Lapis Lazuli

Smokey Quartz and Labradorite

Amber

Amber, Turquoise Agate, Turquoise

African Bloodstone, Jasper, Rhyolite (front)
Canadian Jade, Amethyst, Jasper (back)

Canadian Jade and Rhyolite

Canadian Jade, Zebra Jasper,
Dalmatian Jasper

African Amethyst

Jasper, Ruby Rock, African Amethyst (back)
Canadian Jade (front)

 Do you like jewels (precious or otherwise) and if yes, do you have a favourite?

Bracelet makeovers - Blue Agate Bracelet 2014

This blog post was inspired by a question asked in a Trollbead Group last month:

"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?

Amber & Blue Daisy Bracelet

I love amber and I've added a couple of great beads recently to my collection.  I decided it was time to rejig my current amber bracelet but first I needed to dismantle it and add the new beads to the pile...

My amber bracelet is one of the few bracelets I have that remains permanently made up, so taking it apart always feels a little odd.  I absolutely adore amber and these are mostly uniques, apart from a couple of the Limited Edition World Tour Amber beads, as I have 3 Baltic Gold and 1 Runes; I've not collected any of the production ambers yet.

Out of habit I started to make another all amber combo, and then stopped.

I always do this (who doesn't love an all amber bracelet) but for once I gave myself a new challenge, to finally make "that" bracelet with amber and my Daisy bead; an idea I'd had way before I ever got my first amber or my Daisy bead.

To add some spice I threw myself a curveball; I'd also acquired a new glass unique, shown above, from the recent D4E big unique sale and I was keen to use this too.

Plan B was shaping up... an amber, blue and Daisy bracelet!  I set to work!!

I had to fiddle with the placement and choice of amber beads quite a lot - my beads are mostly all different but I did want some semblance of symmetry, well as much as you can have when the beads are all different shapes, shades and sizes.

It's taken a while to get used to this bracelet as it's not one of my normal colour combinations (and I've been wearing a lot of X and my black lambskin Story bracelet recently) but after a day or two on the wrist I'm beginning to appreciate it all the more.

Fifth bracelet - Dragons and agates!

So with Wisdom and Stars completed that makes 4 bracelets that I haven't broken up yet, eek, only 1 left to play with...

I decided to go with an old favourite combination using Lucky Dragon, my very first trollbead, with my remaining silvers and I had just enough left to finish this bracelet.  It wasn't until I looked at the photos that I realised I have a badly cracked agate bead near the lock.  Luckily I had a few spare I could swap it over with, I never tire of mixing the striped blue agates and plain blue agates interspersed with silver beads.

It was a good time to put them all the bracelets together and take a photo?  Why you might ask?  Because this is the FIRST time ever that I've made up all my bracelets into combinations that have the potential to become permanent combinations.

So that leaves me with a bit of a dilemma given how much I like to swap and change my bracelets... I still have glass beads left to play with, so, do I unmake and start again, buy a 6th silver bracelet... or just use my 2 leather bracelets for bead play?

Looking at this photo reminds me I still need to get another couple of safety chains and some more stoppers - it never ends!

Playing with leftover beads

When I make a new bracelet from scratch I always use my leftover beads until I run out of silver bracelets... (I really need to get another 2 stoppers and another 2 chains so I can finish them properly)

The first combination using "leftover" beads is a glass/silver arrangement featuring lucky dragon and some bubble beads.  I really like this combination and I seem to be getting good "use" from my newly acquired pink beads.

The second offering from my leftovers featured my RAFBF bead.  I'm using the past tense because whilst I'd already worn this bracelet a few times, I wasn't 100% happy with it.  Partly, I think it's because I've repeated some of these combinations a bit too often in recent bracelets but also because I really wasn't sure about the placement of the purple armadillo.  I know, it's only 1 bead, but it was bugging me... how daft is that?

Not to worry, I still had even more beads left in my bead box, so...

...time for a fourth silver bracelet?

Not quite... time to fix that 3rd bracelet!

Recently I saw another collector make a lovely rainbow bracelet, inspired by that I decided to redo the last bracelet, still using leftover beads, but "blocking out" more colours and incorporating more contrast.

Hmm, still not 100% happy after living with this one for 24hrs, it wasn't quite the effect I was after...  So 3rd go on the 3rd bracelet... yes I can get a bit obsessive!

I love this one, it took 3 attempts but I finally got there in the end!  It's a very full bracelet and I couldn't get the stopper on the smaller end, and was too eager to take photos before I moved the stopper to the proper end... if you're only going to have 1 then it needs to be on the end the beads come off!

I collect beads because I like that individual bead, rather than collecting by a theme or a colour or with a permanent bracelet in mind.  However I can see that collectors who do collect by these methods probably don't have the same issues when trying to make up bracelets using "leftovers".  

My 2nd bracelet usually happens quite easily, but as you can see the 3rd can take a few attempts, as I normally think oh x bead would go really well here but I don't have multiples of beads (other than the agates) so if I've already used it - it's not available.  Lol, I guess that's why other collectors find multiples so useful!

So now it's time to put the blog away whilst I watch an episode of Walking Dead with my live-in geek; sigh yet another decision to make... doughnut or wine to go with that?

Trollbeads on holiday

I had been pondering over what to take away with me when I went on holiday, this was my first trip abroad since collecting trollbeads and whilst I've carted my beads all over the UK, I was a bit more reticent to haul my collection on holiday with me.

I'd read some good tips from other trollies and bloggers who offered that they took a few ready made combinations for convenience, rather than make up bracelets whilst away, which made a lot of sense to me.

 

I had a number of worries about taking several bracelets away with me, mostly about the value of them, and whether or not I had somewhere safe to keep them when they weren't being worn.  I never wear jewellery during the day on holiday so I needed somewhere secure to store them, and in basic accommodation you're never 100% sure you'll have access to a room safety deposit box no matter what the holiday brochure says.

I also worried about simple loss or damage (insect repellent spray, being less careful when out and about) particularly regarding non-production beads or limited edition/retired beads.  Maybe, I'm just too anxious about my beads!

I decided to make up 1 bracelet which I would wear whist I was travelling, that would go with all the clothes I was taking, and to just hope that we had access to a safety deposit box at the apartment!

Easier said than done; as I hadn't actually decided on what outfits I was taking...

I decided to finish a bracelet that I'd already started, I added my 2 new silvers to the combination to make a purple, green and blue combination - and throw caution to the wind with non-production beads and limited editions (given it had several OOAKs and Baby's breath included).

Clockwise from Flower Lock: stopper, purple wave, cool dusk, OOAK budded python, whitecap,
purple armadillo, the hare and the tortoise, midnight flowers, baby's breath, flowers on indigo, happy fish,
forest flowers, forget-me-not, purple stripe, lake eye, OOAK, OOAK, purple prism

It felt like a holiday combo as it has fish, flowers, animals, whitecap and cool dusk to name a few.  Although I wouldn't want to meet a budded python ;)  I really like this one for the colours and I'm still getting over using my 3 flower glass beads as I keep saying I'm not as keen on them but I think they work really well in this combination.

Then I remembered my comments from my last holiday beads discussion that it was a shame I didn't have any pinks as I have a few pink items in my wardrobe that could have done with a pop of pink on my bracelet... given that I'd just received some pink beads I decided to see what could be done.

I choose the 4 I thought would work best, and then it was just a case of deciding where they went... I have to say that 21 beads on a 17cm bracelet is a very FULL bracelet.  I only had room to squeeze one stopper on and sometimes doing it up was a challenge, but it worked with 4 pinks and I especially wasn't going to go without a stopper or safety chain on holiday!

The combination worked really well with all my outfits, the only time I had to change it (to remove the pinks) was when I wore a skirt I'd picked up in the sales in Monsoon at the airport branch... the pinks were just too much for the dark grey with orange embroidery!

For those wondering, thankfully we did have a safety deposit box in the room!

No pinks - PINKS!

I hope you all had a lovely week or two whilst I was away sunning myself on a tiny Greek Island!

I particularly hope you had fun with the Halloween release during this time.  I confess I did pop into the Trafford Centre Beaverbrooks on the way back from the airport... but sadly they didn't have their Halloween stock in yet, so no glowing beads for me right now - although I feel honour bound to say we'd actually stopped for some food to avoid rush hour traffic... not especially to hunt for halloween beads.

For now though I want to tell you about my recent PINKS!

My first foray into pink beads started with a retired pink bud, an impulse purchase based on a good price that was just too good to resist.

So it was no surprise when my next SIX pink beads arrived in much the same fashion...

I love the agate beads and when 5 striped pink agate beads were suddenly offered at such a low price for all 5, I couldn't resist, then to make the deal even sweeter the lovely seller offered to throw in a 6th for free.  She hadn't put it up for sale because it had a tiny chip near the core, which is quite hard to see even when you're looking for it.  That's just one of the things I love about all the people I've bought from so far; the care and attention to detail they take over their beads and making sure you're happy with buying them.

So I now have 7 pink beads in total... I didn't fancy going pink all the way on my next combo, besides I was still too excited about my stars.  I combined my love of the agates and the zodiac stars and topped it all off with a nice plump 'dillo!

(This bracelet reminds me of children's sweets as it has a sugary candy like appearance)

Simply Beads and Bracelets

After all the excitement of the last month and the pitter patter of tiny packages on the doormat I thought it was about time to just make some bracelets.

The first one I wanted to make up was one using Skyline, my competition bead.  It's another "purply/blue" bead with gold glitter, so I chose to put this with other glitters, browns and blues.  I did a glass/silver pattern to show off each individual bead.

Whilst keeping this one to wear I used my agate beads and zodiac stars to make another.  This is now one of  the advantages of having 3 silver bracelets and 3 locks as I can assemble bracelets and not have to dismantle them simply to make a new combination using different beads.

I added Blue Goldstone (which is a glass bead) and my Jasper as focal beads at the sided of the bracelet and quite a small one at the front.  I love the way the camera has picked up the variations within the agate.

I've been good to my word in saving my last planned purchase of September for a special bead, as I've seen some lovely turquoise beads that would go beautifully with these two agate kits.

Finally I played around to see what I could make with what was left in my bead box...

I had fun picking out the rest of my purple beads and, thinking about it I really think I need some more (nooooooo I'm being so good right now... no more beads!)  I put them with blues and greens and made the bracelet combo below.  It went well with the flower lock but I need some more stoppers if I'm going to make a "short" bracelet as I like my beads to stay put... or I need more purple beads to make a full bracelet!

The more I've been looking at this combination of beads the more I love it.  I think that another Baby's breath to mirror the Flowers on Indigo central bead would work really well (if I can find another).  2 of the bigger silvers either side of the other 2 flower beads would set this bracelet off beautifully, and then perhaps to finish it with 2 stoppers either end to keep the beads together?

I may approach this differently and leave this made up for a while to see if I can "finish" it as a complete bracelet - as I tend to mostly collect beads which then get made into bracelets. (As opposed to having a firm bracelet/concept idea and buying beads with that in mind).