Trollbeads Inspiration: Naughty & Nice, part II

Enough teasing… now it’s time to be naughty!

This bracelet design is a riot of rich, seductive colour… think “agent provocateur”, with black, coral, pink, purple, red and orange.  This design is flamboyant, and wisecracking, with red lipstick, hot pink nails, stiletto heels and a teeny little black dress.

You won’t find blushing roses and pearls here; instead there’s cheeky black and white polka dots, deep purple sparkle, tropical flowers at night, bubbles in a glass of pink champagne, and of course, “diamonds are a girls’ best friend”…

This “Black Gold” is like a band of gold lame… the “Lucky Clover” invites you to get lucky… “Summer Dot” is a flash of red and purple bikini & “Coral Flowers is hibiscus as floating decorations at a rat pack pool party.  It’s dancing on the edge of being tacky, but it’s gorgeous, and has a big heart…

Clockwise from clasp:  “Large Flower Clasp”, “Pink Bud”, “Golden Cave, “Silver Trace, Pink”, “Two Sides to Everything”, “Amethyst”, “Brown Dot”, “Pumpkin”, “Endless”, “Pink Diamonds”, “Heart”, “Limited Edition Christmas in Hawaii”, “Coral Flowers”, “Black Gold”, “Paradise Birds”, “Summer Dot”, “Lucky Clover”, “Purple Stripe”.

So which is more fun?  “Naughty” or “Nice”?

C.

Trollbeads: iittala inspired

A new shipment of glowing glass from iittala of Finland inspired today’s bracelet… we had such fun putting it together on our workbench!  There’s just something about blue glass that strikes a chord with me… it makes me think of water, beach glass, antique bottles and my Mum’s collection of art glass (some of which, of course, was iittala!)

Anyone who is familiar with iittala knows that they are very famous for their gorgeous glass birds… so I thought I should select the “Swan Lock” as a starting point for this design…

For glass beads, I immediately thought of liquid-blue “beach” and “Turquoise Ribbon”, with its clear body and narrow swirl of colour.  Also, one of my favorite beads (and soon-to-be-retired) “Blue-Green Feather”, with it’s perfect teal.  I wanted the overall theme to be blue, teal and a touch of green, but couldn’t resist adding a “Labradorite” and “Azure Bubbles” to soften it and make it more wearable for everyday… last year we had mossy grey iittala, perhaps I was remembering them…

For a pop of brilliant green I chose “Earth”.  It’s truly incomparable for a mouthwatering hit of emerald.  Lots of our ladies repeat significant beads in a design, to give additional emphasis to a particular colour or pattern… I don’t often repeat, but decided to play with that idea a little this time, and tried two “Beaches” and “Jugends”.  I like the rhythm it offers, and the dominance of the unique, “Beach” blue.

Clockwise from clasp:  “Swan Lock”, “Turquoise Prism”, “Blue Desert”, “Green Flower Mosaic”, “Angel Feathers”, “Beach”, “Labradorite”, “Jugend”, “Earth”, “Jugend”, “Azure Bubbles”, “Beach”, “Zanzibar”, “Blue-Green Feather”, “Turquoise Ribbon”, “Grey Prism”.

C.