Tag: fall trollbeads
Trollbeads Inspiration: Citrus
It’s the orange time of year…
The time of year when we all dust off our best pumpkin, citrus and cinnamon coloured beads and create combinations to honour Thanksgiving, Fall Equinox, Back to School, Harvest Moon, Halloween and the warm low light of Autumn. Every season has its colour mood, and no question that no matter how you like to celebrate Autumn, with subtle earthy browns or stark ghostly black and white – orange is the queen of the Fall palette.
The arrival of a group of spectacular yellow glitter uniques, as well as a punchy new olive glass colour had me eagerly anticipating this annual ritual even more than usual. Olive has traditionally been a bit of a tricky colour to find in the Trollbeads collection… there have been a few beads with cool, blue-olives, but very few with a true, acid soaked sort of an olive green. I was delighted when we received a few precious uniques with this very fresh colour and immediately resolved to combine them with rich golden yellows and tangy oranges for a fantastic, citrus take on Autumnal orange.
A bracelet with this much texture, rich colour and visual energy needs a few places designed for the weary eye to rest, so I showed restraint, and kept silvers minimal and calm. The silvers in this combination create colour groupings that are meant to be viewed as a whole… then suggest a pause to the eye before moving on to the next group. For that reason I selected simple, abstract silvers of a similar size and shape that would quietly fulfill their role and not demand too much of one’s attention when viewing the bracelet.
Clockwise from clasp: “Troll tree lock”, “Green Prism”, “Summer Ltd Edition”, “River of Life Facet”, “Glass Unique”, “Nomad”, “Glass Unique”, “Glass Unique”, “Glass Unique”, “Soul Artichoke”, “Glass Unique”, “Masala Facet”, “Glass Unique”, “Moroccan Cushion”, Glass Unique”, “Glass Unique”, “Glass Unique”, “Etruscan” (retired), “Glass Unique”, “Glass Unique”, “Luminous Facet”, “Glass Unique”.
All beads shown currently in stock at Tartooful.
C.
Trollbeads Inspiration: Late Summer Blooms
The other morning when pottering in the back garden I came across this big, beautiful oriental lily in full bloom! I had completely forgotten that I planted these bulbs… so it was a wonderful surprise. It is a showstopping plant that has the most intoxicating fragrance, and glistens in the sunshine. What a treat, especially in the late Summer garden, when so many other plants are now past their very best and looking just a bit tattered.
Of course, I couldn’t resist the urge to create a “Late Summer Blooms” inspired bracelet. The arrival of this beautiful, retired Tibetan Series glass bead provided the starting point. “Kyang” features a delicate shell pink base with a whimsical black and white overlay, and mandarin dots that nestle into the wave of black and white.
I often see this bead placed on bold black white and orange compositions… it is lovely there too – but I thought I would try it on a bracelet that brings out the lovely shade of pink on its base.
I chose a handful of delicate pink beads to accompany this venerable design… a “Rose Quartz”, “Engraved Romance” and this glittering heart unique. All the pinks glow with a warm hue.
Warm pinks for the Late Summer Sun
There is no mistaking this pink composition for a Spring bracelet – it feels like pinks that have been toasting in the hot Summer Sun for months and are on the brink of turning for Autumn. To gently transition these pinks to late Summer and hint at the Fall season to come, I added lots of warm espressos and hits of chocolate.
I love the way that the espresso uniques chat nicely with the hint of black in the centerpiece “Kyang” bead. I didn’t want to add too much orange to this composition, but alluded to and echoed the mandarin dots in the Tibetan bead with the amber tones of the small and beautiful uniques that help to give a finishing flourish to this bracelet.
Clockwise from clasp: “Golden Flower Lock”, “Unique Glass”, “Unique Glass”, “Art Deco” (retired), “Pink Petals”, “Unique Glass”, “Desert Rose”, “Royal”, “Limited Edition Summer 2014 Flourish”, “Engraved Romance”, “Kyang” (retired), “Rose Quartz”, “Unique Glass”, “Etruscan” (retired), “Unique Glass”, “Limited Edition Christmas 2010”, “Summer Dot”, “Art Deco”, “Unique Glass”, “Rosa Pearl”.
All beads featured today are currently in stock at Tartooful. tartooful@gmail.com, 604-924-0122 or drop by and pay us a visit in the village!
C.
Happy Halloween
It’s the spookiest day of the year, and to mark the occasion we’ve pulled out all the stops, creating a bracelet that is pretty both a treat to see and quite tricky to pull together. (Hee hee…)
Eschewing the usual orange and black concoctions, (which we also love), we decided to play with pale and eerie colours. Think hand painted black and white photographs, greyed driftwood or dried flowers on bent and broken Autumn stems…
Of course, we couldn’t resist the latest designs from Trollbeads that are apropos at this time of year… the “Sleepy Bat” and the new bat themed decorative lock. However, we also reached for Halloween stars from previous seasons such as “Inner Glow” and “Skeleton Spirit”. The skeleton is really such an amazing design… each vertebra is so
lovingly sculpted, and the curve of the back is perfect. I almost like looking at it’s back best! The “Bead of Fortune” is one of the other very few designs that features a skull…
The “Trinity” is shimmery spooky lovely and is a fun, tongue in cheek reference to the “Holy Ghost”…
Another fun troll fact: Melanie noticed recently that the “Spirit of Freedom” is seated in precisely the same pose as the “Skeleton Spirit”. Could it be that our skeleton friend is intended to really be Peter, but in a form that is just a shadow of his former self? She has the two beads on the same bracelet for a touch of fabulously dark humour.
Clockwise from clasp: “Spooky Bat Lock”, “Rosa Pearl”, “White Paper Fold”, “Trinity”, “Unique Amber”, “Engraved Romance”, “The Diamind Bead, White”, “Bead of Fortune”, Silver Mountain”, “Rose Quartz”, “Inner Glow”, “Skeleton Spirit”, “Blizzard”, “Silver Trace, Gold”, “Silver Mountain”, “Forest Treasures”, “Unique Amber”, “White Steel”, “Rose Quartz, Round”, “Sleepy Bat”, “Unique”, “Unique”.
Well, you’ve seen the treat… now it’s time for the trick! On this bracelet there is not one, but two glow in the dark beads. The white “Blizzard” bead glows a lovely lavender shade after being exposed to natural light, and the “Inner Glow” is a vibrant green after charging up in artificial light. We’ve often said that one would have to be very organized and plan ahead to build a bracelet and have them both glowing at the same time! Aaaand… TA DA! Happy Halloween everyone!
C.
Trollbeads Inspiration: Dress Up Like a Tree
…What Trees Know
looking out the window at the garden this morning one colour stands out. It’s clear that the trees and plants in my garden know a thing or two about dressing up for this season. Everywhere there are flourishes of rich ruby red. It’s in the lacy leaves of the maples, in the berries dotted about, and in the last stubborn flowers of the year.
This warm and winter-y colour always inspires me… From cosy knit sweaters on a crisp morning, to woolly plaid blankets thrown over a comfy chesterfield (that’s a sofa for you non-Canucks…) to my cranberry coloured duffle coat with antler toggles…
…It’s all very “Autumn”.
Wonderful, isn’t it? Really, for me, red makes up for the fact we’re going into the dark months. This is the time of year that I wear my red-pink-cinnamon bracelet the very most, and I just love it every time I put it on.
This bracelet is one we made up for display at the gallery… so if there’s anything that catches your eye be sure to look for it at Tartoofultoo online shop – or give us a ring at 604.924.0122 or drop us a line at tartooful@gmail.com.
C.
Trollbeads Inspiration: illuminated green
looking out my window this morning I notice that there’s a different feel to the green that surrounds me at this time of year. It’s a combination of a few things, I think…
Here in Canada the light is low in the sky and the shafts of morning light shine right through the delicate, late leaves. With the busy patterns and myriad shapes it feels like a cool quiet cathedral, framed by verdant stained glass. Even though many of the leaves are still brilliantly green, the angles and depth of shadows are unmistakably different than in the Summertime. We’re aware of how tenuous this last gasp of green is, that it could blow away in the next brisk wind.
With these Autumnal greens fresh in my mind, I designed a bracelet with a range of woodland hues… moss, vine maple leaves, rocky pathways, cedar bark and forest shadows inspired the palette of this composition. It’s the colours and textures of the “West Coast Rainforest”, but the imperfect Autumn version…
The new “Aqua Edge” series of beads finds a perfect home in this design, giving a satisfying “edge” to greens that otherwise might feel too clear and cheerful. I like having natural stone designs on this bracelet, and the “Dalmation Jasper” feelslike a creekside pebble. Artisan glassmaker Kathy Perras’ version of “Old Earth” strikes the right note.
This retired “Lime” gives that top note of acid green to the bracelet. I wouldn’t want to infuse the design with too much of this showy colour, but just a little gives it bit of energy and interest that just wouldn’t be there if it were simply soothing and sedate forest greens. Too much would evoke too tropical of a feel… a little is just a sunny highlight.
I couldn’t resist the lure of this Unique Glitter Python for this bracelet. It’s big, dramatic and beautiful. I love everything about it… the deep, clear & luminous green background… the acid touched vicuna patterning, with aqua edge on each one. Finally, the crowning touch of just a hint of glitter on each one. It’s one of the nicest pythons I’ve seen.
Clockwise from clasp: “Troll Tree Lock”, “Acorn”, “Unique Amber”, “Planet”, “Kathy Perras Artisan Bead”, “Labradorite”, “Aqua Edge Triangle”, “Sweater”, “Classic Unique”, “Lime” (retired), “Blue Tigers Eye”, “Triple Pearl Black”, “Green Jasper”, “Diamond Bead, black”, “Classic Unique”, “Ball of Yarn”, “Aqua Edge Triangle”, “Dalmation Jasper”, “Kathy Perras Artisan Bead”, “Autumn Splendour”, “Aqua Edge Pumpkin”, “Black Silk”.
C.
Trollbeads Autumn 2011 Collection
…Now in store at Tartooful!
They’re here, they’re gorgeous and we can finally show you pictures!!!
Here we go: Some of our favorites…
“Coral Flowers” is a riot of joyous colour on a perfectly clear ground… and “Purple Wave” is a complex, rich bead that will satisfy the purple urge.
The new precious stones are wonderful additions to the collection: “Blue Tigers Eye” is a very dark navy with a shimmery flash that catches the light. The two new round stones are “Blue Goldstone”, which is navy with an electric blue sparkle, and “Goldstone” which is terracotta with copper sparkles.
Of course, we’ve all been thrilled by the rumors of purple armadillos… and yes, it’s true – they’re here! The first ones we’ve seen are very round, and bursting with rich colour and depth. They really pop on a bracelet, and I can’t wait to see what tartooful’s creative Trollbeads collectors do with these designs.
The Folklore Kit
The Organic Kit
We’re going to have so much fun with these….
There’s too much to show & tell in one, breathless post, but lots more to come – I promise…
Tartooful opens at 10am – see you there!
C.
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