Purple'n'Blue on Leather

It's been a long time since I donned black leather... time to dust it off!

Well what did you think I meant?

This is a 10 bead twisted bracelet using the trollbeads black leather bracelet, I've mixed an artisan matched set of 5 glass beads, with a similar artisan unique, Trollbeads Purple Wave (production bead) and 3 Trollbeads Python Uniques.

I've posted a tutorial blog on this before, but a quick recap on how to create this look is below:

Place 5 beads on each strand - in a group of 2 then 3,
and reversed on the other strand, 3 then 2
so you have 5 in each batch as shown above. 

Attach a lock to the small ends, and twist it around
until you've created a pattern as above.

The next stage can be a bit tricky as you put the bracelet on, wrap around your wrist twice, I do mine up by using the bracelet to hold the thick end with the holes underneath it whilst I attached the lock.  Once secured I pop the lock under twists to make it fit snugly, shown on the photo below left.

This leaves you with 2 twisted groups as shown below on the right.

Then once you've got to this stage, it's a case of pushing the 2 groups together and arranging them to suit, and for comfort and you're good to go.

With leather bracelets,  unlike wearing silver bracelets or bangles, you place your beads on, but you have to do the "arranging" once it's on your wrist to create the final effect.  It takes a bit more effort to look casual sometimes!

What do you think?  Do you like the leather look?

Worth the effort or too fiddly for you?

Good things come in 3's - OOAKs (Uniques)

Before anyone worries too much that I've just broken my self-imposed bead embargo with my usual panache after blogging about it yesterday - the next series of beads are all pre-embargo beads, I'm just catching up with my blogging from April!

Front view of all 3 OOAKs: Green Glitter Swirl, Red/Pink Fern & Scroll, Blue & Teal Glitter Budded Python

My first OOAK arrived as part of a preloved bundle, it's a translucent swirl design - bright green translucent base, milky white with pale green and a hint of pink along the swirls and with really full plump gold glitter buds.  I've quite a few swirl and spinner beads now, some translucent like this one and a couple of opaque ones that you can see on my Valentine's Day Bracelet either side of my RAF Benevolent Fund Bead in the centre.  They come in a variety of designs so there's something to suit most folk if you like this style of bead.

Side view of Green Glitter Swirl

The next bead was a raffle style knockout that I liked the look of and was lucky enough to have my name picked.  I'd been going through a red/pink phase so a bead that spanned both colours has definite appeal, I particularly like the 2 different patterns on each side of the bead, it has a fern pattern on the left hand side and a scroll pattern along the right hand side curve.  The core is red and is covered by a clear glass with the pattern sitting along the "top" of the bead.

Left hand side showing fern details

Right hand side showing scroll details

My final and third OOAK is my favourite of this bunch, I have a fondness for budded pythons and this one is a particularly fine example from a most generous and lovely seller from the US.  It has the most vibrant blue translucent base, with teal scales and lightly glittered gold buds.  This one took a long time to reach me as it got held up for a particularly long time in customs but it was most definitely worth the wait when they finally released  it... maybe someone should have explained that not all pythons need a transport licence.

Side view of glitter budded python - my mobile phone camera has not done justice to these colours!

I have yet to use any of these in a bracelet as I am rather full on made up bracelets, it's getting towards the time for a big make and break marathon as I've no spare bracelets currently and I'm starting to get that twitch I get when I haven't made anything new for a while...