First beads of 2016 - Midnight Brilliance

I seem to be going preloved, new, preloved in my bead purchases this year - and yes that is 3 months worth all paid for in January!  I knew that trying to start the year by being uber-strict in the amount I was going to spend was a tad unrealistic.

I ignored the new collections generally and decided to go down the preloved route with a 3rd Trollbeads Midnight Brilliance when one popped up for sale.

No. 3 in the middle, it's a tiny bit bigger than my first 2

Oops, what do you mean I haven't shown you the first two I bought last November??

When Midnight Brilliance was released by Trollbeads last year as a Limited Edition Black Friday bead - it came with a hefty promotional discount as part of the launch - 25% off if you bought it between Black Friday and Cyber Monday.  Ergo, it meant I could save quite a bit of cash as I knew straight away I wanted two... part of what I call my "Noah's Ark Bangle Obsession".

My original 2 Midnight Brilliance beads

I guess this is another exception of when I did go for it at release date!  It wasn't a cheap bead so the 25% off promotional price brought it down to a more acceptable level, but I knew it was going to be popular as well as cheaper and I really didn't want to miss out on a pair!

...with matching clear overlays

I asked the retailer to send me two matching ones as I didn't want to end up with another Sahara Night situation...

I have two Sahara Night Facets (below) that have very different amounts of clear and never look quite right if I try to match them on a bangle, nor a bracelet or necklace for that matter; must buy a 3rd in the hope I get eventually get a pair.  No wonder I deviate from my budget so often!

NOT matching clear overlays

I thought I was done with my January shopping, but I couldn't resist adding this lovely preloved amber to the mix,  It has striped ridges with some circles in a pattern that I don't have on any of my other amber beads.

I've just had a sneaky peak in my bead box and think I have enough amber beads to make up a 3rd amber bracelet, hmmm, not had a play with my ambers for a while.

Enough Amber left over for a 3rd amber bracelet?

How many multiples do you indulge in - beads, shoes, boots, jewellery?

Do tell! Or are you strictly singles all the way?

When two is never enough - Pearl Zodiac Birthstone Star

Speaking of multiples as we were in the last post, I was recently offered the chance to buy from another collector's set of zodiac birthstone stars.

Regular readers will know how much I love this set of silvers having recently completed my 2nd set as part of my New Year's Bead Resolutions.  Therefore I was feeling fairly satiated, or so I thought.

My tribute bracelet for Valentine's Day featuring my RAFBF Bead and my original pearl stars

When I was offered the chance to buy more I had to really think about what I would do next, as after helping a friend search for some recently I know that it's becoming a lot harder to source certain ones, particularly at reasonable prices.  After several days of thinking this over, I decided I really couldn't pass up on the opportunity of another Pearl Star, Cancer and Pisces.  I'd used my original two on my tribute bracelet above so I could see that I would also get good use from a third.

Pearl Zodiac Birthstone Star No. 3

I've also set myself a new goal for the stars, as I know I don't want another full set - which would be overkill even with my passion for this collection.  I would however like to have 4 Pearl Stars and 4 Garnet Stars in total.  I can really see me using these on a single bracelet together by type, or just enjoying having these as multiples to use.

Triple Stars... just one more to go!

But not just yet... Day 21 and still not bought any more new beads!

When one is never enough - Organic Bubbles

I already had one Organic Bubbles, I had bought this early on as I was finishing my very first bracelet.  I decided this would be a good multiples bead for my Rocky Beach Bracelet, and as these things sometimes happen, within the space of a few days I went from 1 to 4!

A Sweet Swap

I suggested a swap between myself, a friend and another seller as both had beads to buy and sell that weren't compatible for a straight swap, however with what I had to offer and what I wanted in return it would work as a 3-way swap.

A Light Turquoise Prism was sent to my friend, who sent Organic Bubbles to me and I in turn sent a Pink Bud to the original seller - Result!  

My swap bead, a very plump Organic Bubbles

L-R: Azure Bubbles, my original Organic Bubbles, my swapped Organic Bubbles

As you can see my swap bead is darker and plumper than the one I already have and the bubbles run down the centre rather than the pattern you see on my other two beads.

Unusual Variations

I love the great variations you can find with Trollbeads, my next 2 beads arrived together and were bought on a whim because of the amazing colours.  They are really unusual and great for my Rocky Beach Bracelet; although they hadn't arrived in time to be photographed for the original blog post.

I was so pleased with these beads, that having missed the delivery I had to take a quick shot when I picked them up from the depot to show my friends before I got them home, it was a beautiful sunny day which really showed off their colours, a lovely "muddy green", great for representing UK winter rock pools and really unusual to come across two at the same time.

Side view of Organic Bubbles

So now I have four, and I only need three for my current project - oh well, you can never go wrong with having a spare!

Tsunami of Beads (continued)

Next to arrive was another Colourful Joy bead, pink this time, from the luck and joy starter bracelets...

Then via a Bristol trollfairy came some preloved beads from the US, another Milan and the smallest, cutest, most difficult to photograph ooak... none of the photos I took quite show the ooak right which is dark green in daylight with small glitter "flatter than usual" bumps.  I've had 2 sessions trying to photograph this ooak but I think I've officially given up for the time being, will have another try when I reorganise my beads but here's the best I could manage in the meantime!

So now I have 2 Milans; I bought the second one with a particular project in mind... but more about that on another day as I'm still at the prototype stage!

So this was the last but one set of beads from January, I have just one more post to show you before we finish January's Tsunami, and I promise you that it's one that is worth waiting for.