Beads, Budgets & Collection Conundrums!

Well last month it appears was all about breaking the budget... I should have known I was tempting fate because just as the last "naughty" parcels were dropping on my doormat and I'd been chatting with a friend over coffee about savings; my electric toothbrush and then my washing machine went kaput!

So, there was one last naughty parcel to come before I reached the "no more orders expected" point.

Time to look at what I'd got left to spend on the new collections... which now, as you might have guessed (or know if you've read yesterday's post), was a lot smaller than my original proclamation of "Ooh how exciting I have a bigger pot than usual for new collections!"

When I first started to draft this post it was small; by the time I came to publish this post it was zero... oops! (Make that two last naughty parcels to come)

So that means I not only need to pick the absolutely must have, want to use them right away pieces from my wish list, but I must also wait until next month.

Given that we are then edging towards Christmas releases, do I wait even longer to make choices out of all of the collections yet to come, ignore new ones completely and pursue an existing project (taking advantage of the US 4 for 3 promotion running in October), or dabble in the available collections now and risk no funds for anything else - argh!  

This is before I even think about the Elfbeads launch and superb offerings from Great Lakes, or get touched by his noodly apendage offering from Ohm Beads.

So, before my brain implodes with the possibilities; today I am going to concentrate on the just the collections I mentioned yesterday:

Based on what I like and would most likely use I have a short list of the most favoured contenders... okay so this is actually a long list... I've not added up the cost of this little lot as I already know some of these pieces represent my whole budget by themselves - but these are my top picks!

Redbalifrog Frog Lock and Trollbeads Giant Lotus

Trollbeads Lapis Lazuli 

Trollbeads Lotus Top and Tree of Awareness

Trollbeads Sleeping Bat and Spooky Bats Lock

X by Trollbeads Bronze DNA and Bronze Flow Links

X by Trollbeads Bronze Lovers Bond and Zip Me Lock

X by Trollbeads Hanging Around and Protect Links

X by Trollbeads Royalty and Skull Me links

As you can see both X releases scored very highly on my wish list, I love *all* of the Halloween release and I'm a big fan of the new bronze links!

For Trollbeads, again Halloween was a winner with the bats, which along with X I would wear all year around, bats & skulls are not just for October you know!

Out of the huge offering from Trollbeads for Fall, I favour just 3 key silver pieces, although they are quite substantial and 1 of the stones, from Redbalifrog it's the Frog Lock; I think that is one of the nicest locks I've ever seen.

So what to choose?  Y'know what... I still don't know!

Out of my top picks which would you choose if you were me?

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!

September's Swan Song

The finale to Written in the Stars.

I've hinted that I was saving my last spend of September for a very special bead, and I'm pleased to announce that the deed has been done.  Since I wrote Written in the Stars I've been researching how likely it was that I'd be able to complete my collection.  Below are the four stars I've managed to collect so far...

That left 5 of the 9 zodiac stars left to collect and only 1 was technically still available from suppliers (but no sign of any stock of this star in any shops online or otherwise that I've seen).

I asked a group of collectors that I buy from if anyone knew the whereabouts of any of the remaining stars as I realised I'd now be picking these up piecemeal as and when I could get them.

I got an offer of the star that was still technically available and quickly snapped that offer up... then the most amazing thing happened... another collector had the full set and was willing to sell!!!

Ouch for my bead fund but yay for my bead box!

The keys on my keyboard were still smoking from the heat of typing so quickly that I would buy my (now) missing 4 stars from her.  A collector that was a delight to buy from as, given this was the most I've spent in one transaction of preloved beads, she provided me with photos, back up photos, details of posting, packaging and tracking info all the way through, until they arrived with my postman who has been rather bemused by all the packages I've had to sign for this month.

So now I had 8 of the 9... and I was just waiting for 1 little star.

As a side note I do advise extreme caution when photographing delicate beads, although they survived me dropping my mobile phone on them when it slipped out of my hand... I did then spend the next half an hour on my hands and knees searching for Cancer and Pisces (the pearl one) which had shot off my desk and was hidden somewhere in amongst my work folders that I'd spread out on the floor earlier.  Sagittarius and Libra (the dark blue one) was a bit easier to find having been fired onto a neighbouring table; thankfully a soft landing into some tissues! 

The final star (Scorpio and Aries) started to make to make it's journey to me on Tuesday 25th September and arrived at it's new home 2 days later... I practically camped by the letterbox.

So that's it, I have the set.  I *love* this collection; I never believed that I'd be able to get all of them and I most certainly didn't think I'd do it so quickly.

I really have to thank the trollbead community for being such stars (excuse the pun) in helping me do this, and a special mention to the "Drunk Trolls" for helping me reach such an epic milestone in My Trollbead Journey.

Speaking of journeys I'm off on my own... to the relative tranquility of a tiny Greek Island.  I've already checked and there are no trollbead dealers there so my bead fund should also get a well deserved rest.

See you in October!

Written in the Stars (a continuation of Falling off the Wagon - Part III)

Well what an amazing week I've had!

In my previous post I reflected on the joys and processes of blogging, the trollbead community and shared that I'd finally spent some of my holiday fund, actually on a holiday, rather than on trollbeads.

Some of the thoughts and ideas behind that piece was to expand on the short My Blog piece that sits along the right hand side of any posts you might be reading, to explain how my blog process happens and why I write a blog in the first place and finally to give some background on the lack of posts for the week given how many packages were popping through my letterbox (and still are... a'hem).

Today I want to get back to telling you all about some of my new beads and return to a theme I've talked about before.

Silver Zodiac Birthstone Stars
The first bead to pop through the letterbox was another retired silver birthstone zodiac star, Gemini.  As blogged, I love this collection but it was retired before I started collecting.  I've only ever seen 4 beads for sale since I discovered them out of the total collection of 9.  (For those wondering several of the star signs are doubled up so it's not a collection of 12 like other zodiac collections).  My Virgo bead, which I bought as a reminder of my Dad and was the first in my bead box, was shortly followed by Leo as my second bead from this collection.

By a process of simple logic Gemini was my third, this bead was purchased online via a retired beads sale so I got this at a bargain price.  When I bought this bead I suddenly started to get the fear that if I didn't buy the other one that is still available I'd miss out on the chance of it.

The fourth silver zodiac bead that I'd seen on sale was Taurus, I was just about to order this at full price from another online retailer when I spotted it on Ebay.

I buy and sell on Ebay but had never done this for Trollbeads before; online I do buy from other collectors but that is on a more personal level through the trollbead community. I wanted Taurus so much, but I was sensible enough to not want to pay over the odds for a preloved bead when I could buy new from a retailer.  With my bidding plan decided, I bid, I won, I *love* my new bead and it's been on my leather constantly since as shown in my last post!

I played around with with my two new zodiac stars to make a new combination without breaking up my current combinations and this is what I came up with.

Obviously I couldn't do this piece without showing you my favourite Virgo bead below ;)

So what are the rest of the beads in the collection?

Aquarius - this has a gorgeous turquoise bead which would work brilliantly with my agate beads on a bracelet and is also my live-in geek's star sign.

Libra and Sagittarius - not only do I want this bead because I'm Sagittarius myself; but I think the deeper blue would look great with a lot of my beads, as I have a high proportion of blue and purple beads in my collection.

Capricorn - this bead has onyx as it's stone, I've mentioned before that I have a fondness for the stones!

Scorpio and Aries - I adore the red colour on this bead and have recently started to increase the red colour in my collection, my first bead with any red in it was featured on my first finished bracelet.

Cancer and Pisces - this star has a pearl on it, I recently saw a photo of a leather bracelet that contained 2 of these, the bead looks very pretty on a cream combination.  Obviously those who know me, know that I'm unlikely to ever have a cream/white combination but I'm sure I can think of a few different uses for this bead ;)

So finding those 5 beads would make up my first full collection of a particular release and render my Zodiac Wishlist obsolete; I've not yet done the research to find out what my chances are of collecting the final five!

Falling off the wagon Part II (new bead, new finished bracelet)

So you might be wondering, just what *did* arrive on Saturday whilst I was typing my last blog entry?
(or you might not... but I'm going to blog about it anyway)

The small bead that arrived was something off my wishlist; one Limited Edition single Jasper bead, a beautiful green colour with brown along one edge.  Preloved as someone was selling the set and they were snapped up like hotcakes by hungry (bead) hunters, I was lucky in that the one I was after was available and came to live with me this weekend.  I did discover that it's a bit tricky to photograph, but most of the photography in this piece was tricky so I started as I was so clearly meant to continue!

I dismantled my summery bracelet of reds, oranges and blues to make up something that was more in keeping with my usual style.  I wanted to include my Jasper obviously, to use some of my silvers and to try sticking with more natural tones to compliment my new bead.

The good news was I was really pleased with my efforts; the bad news... I don't think I want to break up this bracelet in a hurry either, argh!!

The second thing I discovered about my new combination is it went well with my other one.  I tried the two together using one lock as copied from the MyTrollbeads Facebook page and loved the results...

 

I was pleased with my efforts as this is the first time I've put together a double combo, I've always admired them but didn't have enough complimentary beads to do one (nor the bracelet for that matter).  It's a bit difficult to photograph your own wrist one handed whilst twisting your arm around... so the photos are a bit of a mix and match to try and show off the beads as best as I can.

Although I've seen the 2 bracelets 1 lock (not a euphemism) combination on other sites, I personally would worry about the stress on the lock and I'm currently without a safety chain after stupidly breaking mine by pulling on it really hard one day forgetting it was held in place by a stopper!  So I think the double combination is a "style piece" for now until I own a second lock.

Very happy with this bracelet; now to await the rest of the deliveries!!!

Autumn Collection 2012 & Wish Lists

Today Trollbeads released their Autumn Collection; I confess I'd already had a sneaky peak via www.endangeredtrolls.com so I knew what to expect, but it was still exciting to see the collection go live!

Unfortunately for me my recent cash splurges mean I need to abstain from any purchases this month despite getting paid today, (yeah right we'll see how long this lasts), as I'd already given in to temptation when the People's Bead Spiritual Collection came out earlier this month (to be blogged), and again whilst we were on holiday (tomorrow's blog post).

This self imposed delay has however prompted me to organise a Wish List especially for this collection.

My Autumn Collection 2012 Wish List

I've marked those I'd like most, and surprisingly it comes to a nice round 10 beads, just 1 silver this time and 9 of the glass beads.  I don't think I've wanted so many beads from just one collection before... oh wait yes I have, after purchasing 4 beads from the World Tour Collection I still have 10 I wish to collect, mostly silvers this time.

My World Tour Wish List

I think I need a pay rise.

Buying beads for other people

After several months of indulging myself in a most sumptuous manner it was time to turn my attention to an important friend in my life.

Emz had a birthday coming up and I *really* wanted to buy her a Trollbead (or two) for her birthday, I had lots of ideas and probably not enough budget to provide the glass and silver shower I'd give her if money was no object!

Emz is the friend who introduced me to the world of Trollbeads and if you've read The Beginning and My First Purchase you'll have an inkling of why it meant so much for me to do this; I really wanted to spoil her for her birthday as she'd just had the most fabulous news in her battle with cancer.

Therein a plan formed, we started a Trollbead kitty and although I had to ask her for her Wish List, the rest would remain a surprise.

Trollbeads UK have organised their site very well and if you register you can start to create your own Wish List which you can send to people who'd like to buy you a Trollbead, or to keep a list of beads that you wish for.  You can email people a link and it updates with "live" info every time you make a change.

Info on this can be found here How to start your wish list - armed with this your present buying days are just limited to your budget and what you want to say.  When I started collecting beads, I think some of my family breathed a sigh of relief that they will always have something they can buy me now! (If I don't buy them all myself first!)

Example of a Wish List 1               Example of a Wish List 2      

So the plan worked really well, the hardest and most pleasurable part was choosing the beads, I also liaised with those who were buying "off list" to make sure we didn't double up and probably surprised a friend by getting so uber excited that she'd managed to buy a World Troll Bead by chance... on the first day they were available!

So what did we get?  Well I won't spoil the surprise as Emz is preparing the very first Guest Spot on my blog to not only tell you all about it but to also tell you the story of her first bracelet.

COMING SOON: Guest Spot ~ Emz Cariad