Pieces of Eight

Er, well it was 10 actually!

L-R: The Hare and the Tortoise, Transformation, Big Planet, Sandi, Lighthouse, Berry (small),
Ladybird/Ladybug, Yin and Yang, Porcupine, Scarab

10 lovely silvers all the way from the US... I was doing quite well after the Steffans convention and had no plans to get any more beads, as regular readers will know, every time I say this... without fail, some amazing bead or deal comes along.  This time the trollbead community grapevine rippled directly into my inbox via private message from another collector!

I should just resign myself to my bead habit and not fight it so much! (Not that I've put up much of a fight when it comes to temptation but you should have seen the beads I didn't buy!).  So what was so amazing about this deal you might be asking yourself?  It was a stock liquidation sale, as well as a "Black Friday Sale" on some beads so the prices were super crazy, and just to match the prices I went super crazy and ordered 10 beads!

Several of these beads are wish list favourites: Porcupine, Yin and Yang, Big Planet and Berries (ever since I bought Lock with Buds).  The others were there and just sparkling at me!  Lighthouse was on a special offer and the design reminds me of my time living near Roath Park Lake, which bizarrely has a lighthouse on the lake with a clock!

The Hare and the Tortoise was an error by the shop - as they sent me this instead of Turtles!  I already have The Hare and The Tortoise.  Hopefully I can find a new home for it as I've already ordered a replacement bead...  but more on that another day!

Retired pink and other prisms

In my last post, Odds and Sods, I was extolling the virtues of the prism beads, I'm becoming quite the fan as I love their shape, their colours and they are so useful in bracelet combinations.

So when the trollbead community grapevine started to ripple I was all ears; someone whispered that the retired pink prism was available to preorder, I then read all about it the following day courtesy of Endangered Trolls and with more information appearing on Charms Addict I was fully informed.

By then I'd already put my order in!

Scroll forward to early December and a little package went plink through my letter box.  It's everything that fellow trollies have said it would be, it's a lush pink colour with flecks of gold, a mix between pink and purple and has a lovely cloudy effect.  I've shown it below next to the current pink prism, and I'm already wondering if I should have ordered multiples, well at least another one!  I can see why it's been such a sought after bead, I'm very pleased to have had the opportunity to purchase one at retail price.

L-R: Retired Pink Prism, Pink Prism

L-R: Purple Prism, Retired Pink Prism, Pink Prism, Turquoise Prism, Bright Red Prism, Red Prism

All my prisms in a row, lovely aren't they?

I never get why the Turquoise prism is called that given it's half purple and half green?  Ah to answer my own question I went to look it up... www.trollbeads.co.uk describe it as "A mix of blue and green, turquoise has sweet feminine hues, while the darker teal shades add lively sophistication".  I still think it looks half purple... and whatever shade you yourself see, I still desire another one!

November's treasures from Steffans Online Convention

Writing a blog often means you have lots of lists on the go, beads you've yet to blog about, ideas for posts, blogs you've written but not yet finished, blogs you've finished but not yet published... all to ensure the posts make sense so that someone can read one article on it's own, or for those who read each article so it makes sense chronologically; for example I don't normally show a bracelet combination unless I've finished any blog articles I'm intending to write about any new beads that might be on the bracelet.

So when I sat down to do my leather bracelet combination from the weekend (random, colourful and not well matched but looked fab with what I was wearing - dark blue jeans & black, as it really showed off the bracelet), I realised that I've still got quite a few beads to write about from November.

Steffans had a Trollbead Event on Sunday 4th November in their store, sadly I was not able to make it as it's quite a trek from where I live in the UK.  Later on in the month they held an "online convention" which meant that myself and other fans were able to participate in some of the bargains available.

L-R: Viking and Waves

Firstly I picked up 2 new silvers in mid-November including the lovely retired Viking bead, half price, from the online Steffans convention.  Waves is a wonderful bead that I was lucky to get at a great preloved price from another collector around the same time.

L-R: Rainbow, Green Rainbow, Purple Fusion, Green Shadow and Red Stripe

Myself and some fellow collectors used our collective buying power to take advantage of some great deals on the glass bead kits from Steffans Online Convention which were also half price!  We each chose the beads we wanted and negotiated where they were clashes or unloved beads and bought 4 kits between 7 of us originally (although there was more buying and selling once the kits arrived)!  My haul was 5 beads which was probably rather greedy but at less than £11 per bead I was able to tick off a lot of beads from my old wish lists.

From the Transparency Kit I was finally able to get Rainbow and Green Rainbow, from the Contemporary Kit I snagged Purple Fusion and Green Shadow and from the New Red Kit I added to my red beads with red stripe.  Quite a haul, and lots of fun with us posting our beads to each other (yet another dash to the Post Office before it shut due to my work travels).

November was a pretty awesome month for sale beads!  There are still a few left at Steffans online sale, go here for details, but be quick!

Hunting for bargains

One of things I get excited about is the opportunity to add to my collection at a bargain price and thereby increase my options on finished bracelets; previously I told you all about my excitement when Agate Bead Sets were officially reduced by 40% - still my greatest bargain to date!

Read about my Agate Bead Bargain

I also always make use of loyalty points, online discounts (usually 5-10%) and anything else that helps me grow my collection.

Recently I've been having a bit of a run with the bargains and have added another 8 beads... with discounts between 25 - 30% off and I've bagged myself a few retired/limited stock beads in the process.  Happy Mars!

First came an online bargain, 4 beads with 30% off

Top left: Lilac Edge, Top right: Pumpkin, Bottom Left: Virgo, Bottom Right: Red Symmetry

I love how some beads are different to how you expect.  I'd originally chosen Red Symmetry because I wanted to add to my red beads, whereas in reality it's a lovely but more orangy/red bead, Pumpkin I chose because of it's lovely orangy brown tones yet in reality it has some beautiful deep reds too.  With Lilac Edge I wanted a bead that would span both purple and red, whereas it has an almost oil painting like quality with added orange in the palette.

Virgo I'd had my eye on for a while, as well as a beautiful silver bead with a bead mounted on it, my Dad is a Virgo and I wanted a Dad bead to go with my "Father-in-Law" bead.

My Father-in-Law Bead

Again in the online bargains came a long time favourite from my wish list, 25% off this time, Clear Blue Bubbles!

The final 3 beads (for now... their sale goes on throughout August) were purchased today.  Whilst on a rare visit to town for a festival at the weekend, I was walking through one of the little arcades and spotted a handwritten small sign saying Trollbeads - 25% off!  I didn't even know the shop was there!!  It took me less than 3 days to visit to check it out... it would have been sooner but I've been working away from home for 2 days and they don't open on a Sunday ;)

L-R: Brown Desert, Purple Stripes, Blue Goldstone 

I've told my friends about my bargains and 2 beads have been purchased by others, and I've just received a Wish List from a friend with priorities and a budget so I'm off back to shop on her behalf as she doesn't live up this end of the country.

Hmmm now if only someone would pay me to become a personal bead shopper!

Only 2 days later...

2 days before Valentine's Day and there was still 10% off at the online retailers, I decided to take advantage of this along with another £3 loyalty voucher!

This purchase I wanted some silver beads.  I wanted one to represent where we currently live which is by the Humber, my husband grew up in Lincolnshire on one side, whilst I spent many happy years living in Hull post University, to me Happy Fish represents those two sides of the Humber.  I also choose Lucky Knot just because I liked it!

Happy Fish, or 2 sides of the Humber as I like to think of it.

Lucky Knot, I love this bead and would like to add the other silver knot beads to my collection one day.

6 days later

So I had the beginnings of my bracelet and was really pleased with my 5 beads.

Then there was that 10% off offer from the online jewellers, along with the £9 loyalty voucher from my first order with them...

Say hello to Silver Mountain and Black Squirrel (a "recently retired" bead)

L-R: Silver stopper, Midnight Flower, Silver Mountain, Milky Way, Lucky Dragon,
Lake Eye, Black Squirrel, Forest Flowers, (unseen) Silver stopper, safety chain, Lace Lock.

Black Squirrel in more detail, now I tend to wear this the other way round with the V shape pointing down.

Silver Mountain in more detail, this is one of 3 beads in similar style.
The others are Golden Cave (to come) and Earth (yet to buy)