Born in 1976, I retired 15 years ago. What am I?

It was fairly quiet on the bead front; my bead budget has been earmarked for a specific project -  so whilst I've been enjoying the bead pics of others, I've not been getting too excited despite all the new collections launching right now.

Then a fairly innocuous announcement was made on the Trollbeads Facebook page on Wednesday: 

Are you a Trollbeads collector? We have chosen a selection of our best sellers, limited edition and favourite retired beads which you need to have in your collection! Is there a particular bead you've always wanted? 

Shop our 'Collectors' favourites today: http://bit.ly/1WWgWoC

I went to have a quick look but I was on my phone, so having seen a few regular beads, I thought nothing more of it.  This is why you should always look at EVERYTHING no matter how trivial it seems.

Several hours later and I was alerted to rumours of Quatre... went to check, and yes indeed there it was, innocently nestled on the 3rd row down, for sale, Quatre!!

Cue some running around shrieking and a desperate scrabble for my laptop as despite stabbing at my phone repeatedly (which is usually good for online shopping) it was refusing to put the damn bead in my cart.

Non-Trollbeads fans at this point will be wondering what all the shrieking was for?  Well Quatre was one of the original beads in the collection (1976 original) and designed by Soren Nielson. According to the Museum, it was officially retired in 2000, 15 years ago, and has become one of the sought after oldies, often changing hands for quite a bit of cash.

So to find one at all was very exciting, to have it for sale from an official source was doubly so, and for it to be on sale for a normal amount of money was oh my god, running round the house like a lunatic exciting...

I placed my order, and then agonised (along with many other collectors) for 24 hours wondering whether it would all be a horrible mistake, as the rumours had swept the globe (quite literally) with many people reporting that they'd also ordered.  I, myself, had put in two further orders for friends who were having trouble with the website.

Another 24 hours later, and it was confirmed that my original order went through, but sadly for my friends my other two orders did not, as unsurprisingly they were sold out.

Less than 48 hours after the confirmation came through, the postman knocked (twice), once for each bead I like to think!

What was all the fuss over?  Just two little beads, two perfect little beads!

What has been your run round the house shrieking moment?

(or is that just me??)

When beads align - Bumpalicious Bangle

Two things happened to bring about a lovely bangle, firstly I bought a fabulous bumpy Elfbead - Swamp Dewdrops.

Then my wonderful Secret Santa sent me a bead from my wishlist... a second Trollbeads Lotus Top to match my first...

Add them all together to create a lovely textured bangle!

My Bumpalicious Bangle

The effect from Swamp Dewdrops reminded me of a similar effect from retired Trollbeads Red Berry - they look quite similar from the sides, I love this style of bead!

Left - Trollbeads retired red berry next to the Elfbead on the bangle

Right - Elfbeads Swamp Dewdrops, side angle

However they are completely different when viewed from the front, not just the size of the bead and the number & size of the bumps, but in how the colour blends through to the front of the bead.

L-R: Trollbeads retired Red Berry next to Elfbeads Swamp Dewdrops

I love both these beads but I only have one of each... I think I actually need two of each - multiple disease strikes again!

Are you a fan of heavily textured beads and silvers?  To bump or not to bump?

Those are today's questions!

All the Special Things: A Bus and a Bracelet Crafted With Love

Normally I blog new charms separately; especially when I'm introducing a new brand to Curling Stones, but you know what... sometimes it's just fun to rip the format up and do something a bit special!

This is also a tale of my love affair with the new lady in my life...

View of the Sunset from the very first night we spent together under the stars

Ever since I was in my teens and once hitched a lift in a single decker bus, with a wood burning stove in the middle, chimney peaking out of the roof, a bed and sofa in the back, and a rocking chair for a passenger seat I've always dreamt of having a bus of my own.

Roll forward more years than I care to mention (but it's er, a lot) and I've finally been able to realise that dream, and although she's as tall as that single decker was, and almost as wide (I now have to stick to those "any vehicle" lanes where there are restrictions), she's not quite as long (thankfully as I've no idea where I'd park her if she was) but at just under 18ft, she will do nicely for me and mine!

I've also come to realise that I'm in need of access to a scrap yard, a bit more cash and a hotline to a decent mechanic!


My Bus
I should point out at this stage that I fell in love with her as soon as I saw the first photo, let alone that first glimpse as we drove hundreds of miles to see her, before I heard her deep rumble, battled with her non power "oh my god I'm driving a bus" steering and even when she broke down it didn't diminish, although I might have sworn a bit, after 3 times in 2 weeks.  As a result I'm now on 1st name terms with the breakdown & recovery guys!

Owning a bus is not a practical decision, it's definitely more a lifestyle thing and this bus is functioning as a camper... when she's behaving herself that is.

Her colours are now purple and cream on the outside and green and warm wood tones on the inside!

Update
Since I published this post this morning, I've had a few requests across social media and on here to put pics up of our lovely bus.  

As she's rather distinctive looking (once seen never forgotten), I'd decided not to put pics on of our actual bus, but I do get that it's hard to just imagine what she's like, after all buses come in many shapes and sizes, so... I've come up with a solution!!

I've found an original spec sheet of the same model, so you can see her shape and size and this was actually her original colour - Sunshine Yellow! 

The bus as a bus!

There are sliding driver and passenger front entry doors (great for driving on hot days with the doors open) and double doors on the rear, which when we're parked up we just sit with these open, the bus equivalent of French Doors!

The original wheelchair lift has been taken off and any seats that nay have been in the back have been completely removed leaving a very large space that has been converted.

Structure wise there is now a front driver and passenger cab which is screened off with a middle door into the back of the bus, but the outside is completely untouched so you still have that full on bus experience and all the windows still have the clear glass, so there's a lot of curtains or blinds to draw at night but the views are spectacular!

The passenger carrying part of the bus was divided into a fully working kitchen area in the first part of the passenger area with a full sized cooker, sink, draining board and fridge.

At the back is a rather large lounge by day and bedroom by night.  There's a table that fits in the middle of the settees (which are long enough to lie down on with a good book) and at night these convert into one supersized king size bed spanning the width of the bus!  There's also a fire for those colder nights (definitely not needed this week) and more storage than you can shake a stick at, both in the kitchen and the lounge.


The Bracelet
I wanted to pick up on her new colour scheme in my bracelet (not the Sunshine Yellow that she was), and I wanted it big and chunky, like the bus, and to try and convey some of my feelings and emotions about finally having a bus and this bus in particular... Perhaps a tall order but here goes the reasoning behind the choice of beads!

I'll start with the silver and brass charms as the glass is mostly about her colour scheme.  The brass is not to represent any rust, honest... although there is rust given she's almost 30 years young!

Waxing Poetic - Dream Come True
I think this one is self explanatory - what you won't know is that I saw, and bought this charm on the very day that I bought my bus, and indeed I bought it whilst on the bus!  It's also my very first Waxing Poetic Charm so it would have been a very special "first" charm in it's own right.

Now, although I had to wait for it to be delivered, charm wise, it will always remind me of that first day and first night on the bus!  Did you notice the cloud formation as the sun set was rather similar!

Trollbeads - Spirit of Freedom
This is a bead I've had on my wishlist since I first started collecting, over 3 years ago.  It's only recently come into my possession and sums up the feeling I get when we're away in the bus.

Trollbeads - In Your Heart
A favourite on my Fantasy Necklace but the first time I've worn this on a bracelet, I wanted to make a big heart gesture to try and convey just how much I love my bus!

Redbalifrog - Aladdin's Lamp in Brass
I've always liked this charm, but when Amanda released this in brass, this was a must and was ordered immediately!  For my bus bracelet, this adds to my feeling that I really have been granted one of my big wishes!

Trollbeads - The Hare and the Tortoise
The tortoise is there to remind us that slow and steady is okay, although the tailback of drivers wherever we go may not agree, we are slightly more popular than a tractor!

Trollbeads - Lock with Buds
Lock with buds in this instance is in my mind "Lock with Bumps" to signify the bumps in the road, the bumpy start we've had with her and indeed a hair raising attempt at a bump start whilst being towed around a residential area one Sunday!

Trollbeads - Angles Tip
Angles Tip is an old retired silver bead and represents some of the moving parts of the bus, particularly the alternator!

Trollbeads - Black Silk
I have a particularly purple version of this, but the reason I chose to include it is because it reminds me of oil and given I've spend a lot of time with my head under the bonnet, it seemed apt!

Trollbeads - New Black, White and Grey "Peace" unique (CND symbol)
This is one of the newish uniques and it found it's way into my bead box early on, it's the first time I've used this and given the amount of times I've been asked about festivals, or if I'm going to read my crystal ball in the back of my "Hippy Bus" I figured the pop culture symbol was perfect for this bracelet.

I hope you like my bus bracelet, beads are listed below working from the Lock and travelling clockwise.

Beads clockwise from lock (Trollbeads unless marked otherwise) : Lock with Buds, Safety Chain, Stopper,
Purple Prism, Peace Unique, The Hare and the Tortoise, Purple Unique, Redbalifrog - Aladdin's Lamp in brass,
Lake Eye, In your Heart with Purple Unique, Inner Glow, Spirit of Freedom, Luccicare - Purple Unique with CZ,
Green Unique, Waxing Poetic - Dream Come True charm, Purple Stripe Unique, Lake Eye (extra big version),
Angles Tip, Black Silk, Green Python Unique, Purple Prism, Stopper.

Well this is the first time I've ever made a bracelet for a vehicle; but then again I've never had a bus before!

Have you ever made a bracelet for an unusual reason?

If not, would you consider it?  Have I just got bus madness...

Hit the comments and tell me all!

Trollbeads Sunrise Blossom Bracelet - playing with multiples.

I made a promise to myself a while back that I would make the time to create some new full bracelet combinations as I've been focusing more on bangles and leather wraps of late and ignoring my silver charm bracelets a tad.

Also there was a slightly less glamourous practical reason for this; despite pimping my bead box with 10 extra super long rods to hold more beads... it's, er, rather full again so I have a storage need to have a few more bracelets made up, nothing like an injection of storage reality to give myself a kick up the butt to make good on my promises! A'hem, let's just skip over that part for now...

I initially bought many of the Trollbeads Fall Collection beads in multiples.  This was the first time I've done this with a new collection; a decision that was inspired not only by the collection itself, but the ease with which you can create new bangle designs when you have 2 of something.

That idea seems to have snowballed and I've also been slowly buying multiples of other beads too, finally I did get the time to focus on a bracelet, and what better place to start than with some multiples and a focal bead.  This bracelet is unusual for me in that I've not included any silver beads at all, just glass and stones.

I used Trollbeads Sunrise Blossom as the centre bead.  The retired green armadillos are becoming a fast favourite of mine after having seen them in real life in a friend's collection, I've gone from 0 to 4 in quite a short space of time and couldn't resist using them all together.

The carnelian orange faceted stones toward the front are artisan and are flanked by my two Green Jaspers which actually look very different to each other.  The rest of the beads are from the Fall Collection 2013, next are the Saffron Facet beads, the Masala Facets and finished off with Aqua Edge Pumpkin beads.  I've still to pick up the Aqua Edge Triangle bead from that set and yes I want 2 of those also!

I love the colours in this bracelet and I think it's safe to say; I've definitely overcome my previous reluctance with orange beads!

Guest Spot: Pauline ~ Troll Date with friends - Adventures in York

After a late finish at our cocktail date, 3 intrepid members of our group continued with some Troll shopping in York... I was impressed, I was also lying prone on the sofa working out what picture shots I needed to do for Curling Stones ready for the bead posts that will be coming after the Troll Date with friends series...  so I will leave you in the very capable hands of Pauline as she continues the tale.


Troll Date with friends - Adventures in York

"Saturday dawned, and a trip to York had been planned, now the previous night someone had mentioned a shop that sold retired Trollbeads... but neither me nor Alison could remember the name of the shop BUT we had written down the postcode.

Armed with my husband's trusty iPhone we set off walking the streets of York trying to find this shop.

We passed a shop called Fillans - guess what they sell?  Here I was so lucky to find a beautiful retired red pink prism, oh yes, you read correctly.  A retired red pink prism at production price!!

My retired red pink prism

Fillans have a website where you can order online or you could pop in and say hi next time you're in York!

Beads by Alison

After this lucky find we continued on our way and finally found Asquiths!!!!! (Mars comments ~ I think they really were that excited to have arrived at Asquiths)

Oh my word... retired bead heaven awaited us.  I only bought Feather from the 2012 Spiritual Collection, but Alison bought an Australian World Tour Barrier Reef,  a retired Aztec and the final bead in her birthstone zodiac stars collection, I think it's Capricorn, but don't quote me, but it was the one with the black stone...  (Mars comments ~ ah another convert completes her mission, so proud!)  I think Alison was very happy with her purchases for Saturday!

Alison and Pauline in York - Photo by Shane

We then decided that as we were in York we really ought to check out York Minster with its stunning architecture and the treasury gardens, so beautiful and so glad it was a nice sunny day.

All too soon it was time to head off home ready for our night out... not going to say too much about this, suffice to say, lovely meal at the bar, plenty of wine, fantastic conversation and much fun and frivolity... I still can't get the hang of Belly Dancing and may need more lessons!!!! Oh, and another 2am finish!!!!!"

All photos by Pauline unless otherwise credited