N is for Navy Galaxy

Regular readers - Was there any other N I could choose given my theme of Addicted to Beads?

For my lovely A to Z visitors - Trollbeads (a beadmaker brand) from time to time will release certain beads that are made in small numbers and appear for collectors to buy without announcement.  So not an official limited edition release, just a style that some of their beadmakers have made that are available for a while.

Some of these become very sought after and super coveted and can change hands for silly money, way above the RRP.

When this style appeared, and there is no official name, but collectors termed these Navy Galaxies in the beginning, I was smitten!!

I spent 18 months collecting these up and I'm pleased to say that I didn't spend silly money - apparently patience is a virtue after all!

What have you waited patiently for that was worth the wait?

Spirit in the Sky Braclet & Babylonian Nymph Bangle

I had a burning urge to finish my Spirit in the Sky bracelet, I recognised that feeling, this one wasn't going to go away until I'd fed it what it wanted.  Er, yes, I sometimes have the equivalent of a bead demon on my shoulder... and when it does visit, it doesn't go away.

Time to get to work, I thought I needed a few more beads to finish this bracelet so I duly carried on with my buying pattern.  Turns out it's a really good idea to revisit your actual project (not the image in your head) as I didn't have as much space available as I thought... more than enough beads bought (oops) and it was time to reorganise.

Trollbeads Spirit in the Sky Bracelet (final version)

I mentioned that were a few beads left over but I didn't want to make another complementary bangle as such, as my Spirit in the Sky bracelet will be worn by itself, and besides, the beads I had left were small and beautiful versions, i.e. super tiny!  It did however, give me a great chance to use another bead I love but haven't got much use out of yet!

My Babylonian Nymph arrived a year ago, and as much as I love this bead A LOT, it has been relatively under used - I've found previously that the setting is never good enough to show her off.  I think she's finally found her home!

So two epic wrist appendages achieved and all because I accidentally over bought on those navy galaxies... very happy Mars today indeed!

I'm chuffed to bits to have finished such a long term project

and have a beautiful bracelet (and unexpected bangle) as the result.

What long term project do you hope to finish/have finished that makes you happy?

Spirit in the Sky Bracelet

Themed bracelets have been a relatively steady staple for me this year and although this one has been a particularly long time in the planning; I do feel it has been worth the effort in securing the right beads.

Skeleton Spirit was released as part of the Fall Collection in 2013 and I was there on release day to pick up Lenny, my first, and very thoughtful, head inclined to one side, skeleton.

Trollbeads Skeleton Spirit

This remains one of my favourite silver beads, and Lenny has been to a lot of places with me over the last 12 months; however it was time for Lenny to have some friends...

Friends for Lenny

Recently the US had a 4 for 3 promotion, similar to the old Trunk Shows, and this was the perfect time to buy friends for Lenny, I'd always intended to do this via a Trunk Show, just before they were stopped - so despite my budget concerns I wasn't going to miss out on this promotion, just in case it was a one off!

Really I wanted 8 friends for Lenny, but even I have to draw the line somewhere.  Well for now at least; the original version of this bracelet included 9 Skeleton Spirits.

Over the last 18 months I have also been very slowly picking up as many of the Navy Galaxy beads from the Small/Big & Beautiful releases as I can, this has been a long term project for me and I'm still very thankful for the 8 I've found so far, I've also been backfilling my collection with 7 of the now retired blue goldstone beads once I realised I couldn't afford 8 more Skeletons!

My bracelet is almost ready to go... I've only shown a few friends the progress I'd made at each stage over the last year, but I'm sure they will be equally pleased that I've finished it to this "almost" version, as I've never been satisfied enough to wear it (or indeed blog it) until now - although they did say the other 99 versions were fine...

I had just enough beads, or so I thought, but due to a gap on the 17cm bracelet, I also tried this on a 16cm RBF chain, but it was too tight and didn't look right... what to do?

Another reshuffle, back to the 17cm bracelet, 1 blue goldstone out and 2 Elfbeads to the rescue with the inclusion of of a pair of Midnight Flames and I was good to go.

Spirit in the Sky Bracelet

Of course, if you know me well, you'll be wondering where my complementary bangle is?  Time to pick up that recently discarded blue goldstone and pair it with more Elfbeads, a couple of Stardust Dunes this time and voila!

I still want a few more blue goldstones and navy galaxies (also called navy meteors) to finish this bracelet but I also wanted to wear it now - I shall call this version T minus 1!

Are you searching for any particular beads to finish off a project?

How long would you wait for the perfect bead?