A Different Kind of Halloween

I was convinced that I would need to break up last year's Halloween Bracelet* in order to make another as there were so many "must have" beads on that bracelet and I love the combination of black, orange and green!

*actually in my case an all year round bracelet - bats and skulls are not just for October!

OHM's lovely Deadhead Bead arrived just in time!

Then, being stubborn I decided to try and do something completely different with my haul of new beads - mixing them with beads that are currently "off bangle", available and perhaps some that have not seen much action lately!

This is what transpired, it is totally NOT what I had in mind when I ordered my new beads!

I went for a completely different colour palette of soft pinks and purples with metallic blues, hard stone and a sprinkling of soft black just to add some contrast.

The detailing in OHM's Deadhead bead is fabulous and you can just see the chain peeking through the eye and the teeth; I can't wait to try this on a coloured leather bracelet!

Another stand out bead for me is Elfbeads Everscale silver.  I love the sweeping curves that are not neat and even, and when you find the sweet spot for it on a bracelet it really *pops* - yes I know that sounds so cliched but it actually does!  Here I've used it nestled in between Trollbeads Blue Tiger and the original Aurora bead.

New to me, but an older Trollbeads Halloween bead is the Spider, it tends to spin on a bracelet looking like it's about to start creating a new web any second, it's a gorgeously detailed bead for those of us with a fondness for our 8 legged friends!

Another new one from my haul was Redbalifrog's Book of Spells, a  different design front to back and lovely "bookmark" detailing on the top and bottom of the bead.  Here it's between my Trollbeads Blue Hematite and Aurora Stripes, and to finish off this side of the lock; another of my favourites... one of my retired Trollbeads Zodiac Stars in Onyx.

My glorious new (to me) Redbalifrog Frog Lock, I've had my eye on this lock ever since it was released and I finally have one.  Longer than my average locks (think Big Fish/Flower in Trollbeads terms) it adds length to my bracelet but nothing I need to worry about.

Trollbeads Three Monkeys is another old bead, but again one that I've only recently picked up and not really used yet.  Great detailing as is often the case with older silvers, and it complements the same level of details on the new Trollbeads Heart Catcher (or more recently rebranded Wicked Web?).  A Spider on one side and a Heart on the other, either way, it's becoming a firm favourite of mine!

Incidentally on the Heart Catcher / Wicked Web shown above you can just about see that the heart and the spider are lined up in the same spot!

Another new silver (I really was on a shopping roll) was Cyclops Skull from Redbalifrog, I fell in love with this as soon as I saw the campaign images; it's just as glorious and full of detail in real life as we've come to expect from Redbalifrog.

Finally Trollbeads Silver Path of Life is seen here in between the Valentine bead from 2014 and the Aurora Flower bead.  I've barely used the Valentine bead but I love the contrast here between the copper hearts and the skull!

I had this bracelet as a Work in Progress when I first photographed it late at night to show some friends - but in truth I've not changed anything about it from my late night bead play.  All I needed to finish it was to see it again in daylight to realise I'd cracked it first time around.

What do you think to my new take on my Halloween Bracelet?

New era or should I stick to my beloved orange, green and black?