New CiM Color for Spring 2017 - Prussian Blue

CiM's new Prussian Blue is a color that I am not sure if I like or love.
As testing the color allows me to work with one rod of the color, I wanted to vary my sample test beads this time around to see how the color would behave.

CiM Prussian Blue is a opaque blue laden with silver.
The following are a few examples of it's reactions:

Test 1: Mix it with more silver. I melted and rolled the glass in 99% fine silver foil and pulled a stringer.
These beads are a base of new CiM Koala grey.
As you can see from the photo below, Prussian Blue created extremely dark, almost black dots with defined dots with minimal bleeding. The micro-dots of silver are quite lovely.

Notice the beads on the left? The glass seemed to shift from grey to a green cast. 
Prussian Blue has been reported to behave in this manner when it is worked hotter in the flame. It is an interesting but unpredictable result.

Test 2: Encasing in clear glass.
This bead on the left is a mixture of a base of Koala with the silvered stringer layered and encased with clear. The stringer has much more of a navy blue hue with the captured microdots of fine silver.
The right bead is solid CiM Prussian Blue that I found was striated with very dark, almost black lines thorough the bead.

Test 3: Glass Frit
These beads used Valerie Cox Wild Raspberry Frit. This frit is described as " a very high gold content pink. This makes it a deeper and darker pink than any other opaque pinks in the line. Combine this with silver foil for a rich golden hue."

The pink opaque does appear as well as the golden tones as it mixed with the silver content in the Prussian Blue base glass. There is a cast of green through the bead as well.


Test 4: Silver glass overload!
I took what was left of the rod of Prussian Blue and added loads of TAG's Cezanne, Taxco Silver, Double Helix murrini and dots of clear. I worked it hot and rolled and twisted the heck out of it. 


It resulted in an oil slick reaction that which varies depending the angle. 


It was a difficult bead to photograph, but lovely in natural light in person

So in summary, this is a glass to definitely experiment with as what you may expect is not always what you will receive along with some pleasant surprises !

New CiM Color for Spring 2017 - Chartreuse

Spring is definitely on it's way and that means another new green from CiM - Creation Is Messy!

This post introduces Chartreuse.

CiM's Chartreuse is an interesting color that I have experimented with some silver glass to see if it mixes well without reaction.
In the photo below, you get a preview of the color in solid spacers. It is definitely a lime green opal glass. Bright and sunny!
The bump bead has silver glass dots encased in clear bumps to magnify the reaction.

These single beads were experiments with Double Helix silver glass murrinis that were melted in and swirled. No adverse reaction between the glass and Chartreuse base glass.

This last bead has lots of silver Double Helix glass swirled and worked into the base Chartreuse glass. The bead was bathed in a quick reduction flame to bring out the silver oil slick reaction.
Side 1

Side 2

New CiM Color for Spring 2017 - Refresh

Over the next couple of weeks, I will be testing and posting about the new color palette being launch by CiM - Creation Is Messy glass for Spring 2017.

First up - Refresh
These beads were made on a base of CiM Refresh, a new light green transparent.
I added Valerie Cox's Desert Spring frit to create the floral like beads.



This second photo gives you a better look at the glass itself. A very pretty light green very aptly named. The glass if worked too hot did have some bubbles, so it is best to work on a cooler flame.