Most of the time my bracelets have no meaning, they are just beads that I think work together, so I thought I’d try to put together a bracelet that makes me think of things I like in the winter. That would not include standing out on yard duty in -12C weather, but there really are some lovely things at this time of year.
For a colour scheme I went with white, blue and green in the iciest shades that I have. There are always lots of animal tracks in our backyard, so I’ve included the Redbalifrog Jackalope. We’ve had tracks from what we think are bunnies, skunks, raccoons, squirrels and chipmunks over the years. Once a deer came running down the street, which is amazing considering we live in a very urban neighbourhood and I can see the Starbucks that’s about a block away!
Valentine’s Day is coming up, so I put on the Heart of Roses, also by Redbalifrog.
I used the Frangipani bead in order to keep all the silvers by Redbalifrog and because we have a small indoor market where I live that has a couple of flower stalls. Sometimes on a weekend we head down there and enjoy coffee (juice for the kids!) and a cookie and sit near the flowers.
The centre white Pandora facet and the two Ohm Beads Cold Milk beads are the only non-Trollbeads glass. Do you make bracelets with beads that mean something to you or mostly go by what beads look good together?
marthnickbeads 
I use both methods of assembling bracelets: a definite theme, plus beads that look good together. Admittedly, that can sometimes complicate the process of putting together an attractive bracelet that I enjoy seeing on my wrist. My husband found me (yet again) sitting in the rec room last evening dipping into my bead/bracelet boxes, and laughingly said I wasn’t the “Crazy Cat Lady”, but the resident “Crazy Bead Lady” instead. Chamilia is having their after-Christmas retirement sales of at least 50% off at participating retailers, so I’ve been stocking up on beads and bracelets I’ve been wanting for a while. That entails new bracelet designs for me, so I spend my free time lately contemplating which beads would work best with others, including sprucing up bracelets I already have, and using loose beads that would be good with the new ones. Anyhoo…your question made me realize why I have to really plan out my designs, because they need to fulfill both those requirements that you listed: form a cohesive theme, and complement each other visually. I’ve tried just the theme objective, and I always wind up being dissatisfied with the way the design looks, starting over with new beads to make it something I won’t get tired of looking at. There’s also the issue of combining bead brands (which I’ve always done freely), to make a design look tied together (or not). Sometimes I’ll make something with various brands, only to realize they just don’t go together well. I like everything to look like it’s meant to be connected. I’ll also sometimes be surprised how 2 seemingly very different brands/beads will turn out to look great placed together. It’s hard to tell sometimes until a bracelet or necklace is put together what would really work and what won’t.
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OK, so I can see how that would be tricky to make a bracelet with a theme plus trying to fit in certain beads. You are not the only one with a husband who perhaps rolls his eyes at the sight of putting together bracelets. I also looked at the Chamilia after Christmas sales but didn’t buy anything. I always think their Muranos are so pretty when I see them at the mall!
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The funny thing about Chamila is that they’re usually *so* much prettier in “person” than in the stock photos. Chamilia really should invest in much better photography for their promo shots! The stock ones are drawings or something (computer enhanced, but still)…and they often look really, really different than the actual product. Unfortunately, I don’t have much in the way of Chamilia retailers around my area; I have to find “live” images online, plus I also depend upon the graciousness of retailer employees via phone conversations to clue me in to variations in bead colors and other details about appearance. I love to see other collectors’ pictures on the blog sites and on Pinterest of their pretty beads; often I’ll be really encouraged to track down a particular murano, Swarovski crystal bead, silver bead, etc., after seeing personal pictures like these. They’re really helpful. My husband has his hobbies as well, so he can only chuckle at me so much before I start cracking jokes about his various interests and collections also. All in fun, right (if a tad condescending at times)?!
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And right there exactly is what I’m trying to do with this blog…take photos in natural light so people can see what the beads really look like. While I can see Chamilia and Pandora any time I want at the local mall, if I buy Ohm, Trollbeads, True Beadz or RBF it’s all online. So many times I know I’ve purchased a bead after seeing it on Endangered Trolls or on Instagram. Nothing can beat a live image, I think! 😀
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*Since I rambled on about the subject of your post of what method to use when putting together a design, I forgot to mention how pretty your color choices are. I love them, and I also really love Redbalifrog’s heavily textured Jackalope bead (I want that one!), the Heart Of Roses, and the Frangipani beads. They all look great together, and I like to read the story behind why you’ve included them.
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Thanks for commenting Kim7! I love to hear other people’s bead stories. The Jackalope really has such pretty details! I might take an up close photo for Instagram when I get home as there are some ladies who are keen on it too. Maybe I’ll tell more stories about why I choose certain beads. I’m not a writer at all, so have avoided doing it up until now. I know that I always love seeing Jenny @ Ohm’s stories about why she likes certain beads, so I shall give it a try! 😘
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I’d most definitely love to hear your bead stories! I almost always have a story behind my themes, as well as each individual bead (especially silvers; the muranos and crystals are often chosen for color, though color is very important to me also). Reading about other collectors’ bead choices and the stories behind them very often gives me food for thought, and sometimes I get an idea for a whole bracelet theme.
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Ok, good to know! Thanks for telling me!
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I really appreciate blogs like yours that post live images; they are often the only real indication for collectors like me of a bead’s true appearance. Thanks!
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My pleasure!
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