A Study In Blues

I love the richness of CiM - Creation is Messy blue glasses. There is a great range of transparents and opaques ready to combine without searching for a common hue.

Below is an example. The barrel bead at centre is a combination of rare Halong Bay (an original batch) at centre with new Royal Ltd Run rings capped off by French Blue. 

A simple wrap of 99% fine silver wire and the bead is complete!

Complementing the focal bead are solid beads of the 3 glasses. 

Note how French Blue has a clear reaction to the silver wire while the Royal Ltd Run shows the silver clean and sparkling with no reaction marks.

French Blue and Royal Ltd Run join with CiM Peace, a white opaque, to create the patterned focal below.

Royal Ltd Run is a great base for fritted beads as shown in the beads below.

If you long for truly blue beads... look to CiM Glass blues to fulfill your longing!

Smiles,
Darlene
Pendragonfyre Designs

As 2015 Slips Away, Time to Get Back to the Studio!

Hello and Happy December!

I am back to the torch after a long hiatus of travel and well just life in general.

I have been testing a number of CiM - Creation is Messy glasses so let's get right to the results! Over the next several posts, I will share my experience with my favourite lamp working glasses!

First set is beads is a limited run of pink transparent glass named Paris!

It is a lovely warm pink that is great as a base for glass frit such as the middle bead where I sprinkled a mixture of Val Cox Rio Nights and Double Helix silver glass Aurae medium frit.

The next glass is CiM Green Lantern. This limited run glass is described as a A green moonstone that is difficult to strike. It is a fresh clean "non-yellow" based green transparent.

This photo highlights how CiM Green Lantern can be used as a base glass for encased frit beads as well as silver glass reactions captured under clear glass portals.

Double Helix silver glass Aurae medium frit loves CiM Green Lantern and creates shine without over fuming the glass with yellow tones.

You will note a few bubbles in the glass in this Double Helix silver glass Triton raised dotted cube bead which may be the result of myself working it in a hotter flame.

The final set to share with you today demonstrates two limited run glasses that work well with silver glass and fine silver wire.  CiM's Moccasin and Eucalyptus.

Eucalyptus is a faded blue-toned green melts beautifully and as you can see from the photo below layers with fine silver foil and my hand blended Pendragonfyre frit that I use in my Dragonscale beads.

Moccasin is a light opaque brown that melts without shocking and loves 99% fine silver foil and wire as well.

There is a reaction between the 99% fine silver wire against the two glasses, however in this mix of Dragonscale fritted beads, the look works for a rustic natural style.

Bye for now!

Smiles,
Darlene
Pendragonfyre Designs

Fritted Beads - The Joy of Crushed Glass Designs

Frost and Oasis

This combination of base glass and grit was created with CiM's Frost Ltd Run with Glass Diversions Oasis Frit.
Frost, a pale transparent blue was a gentle base for the "serene and peaceful" hues of the frit. This set below is complemented by spacers of truly clear pale blue transparent by CiM named Ice Floe Ltd Run.

Aegean and Sand Dune

CiM's Aegean Ltd Run is a beautiful transparent teal that when paired with Glass Diversions Sand Dune frit created a lovely palette of "beachy" cube beads.

50s Kitchen and Utopia

A pale green opaque by CiM named 50s Kitchen Ltd Run rolled in 99% fine silver foil created a natural non-reactive base for a sprinkling of Glass Diversions Utopia glass frit. The silver droplets rise to the surface and frame the grit in a tapestry like look and feel.

Below is the same combination of glasses minus the silver foil.
A few 50s Kitchen spacers added for comparison to show the true hue of the base glass.
The silver seemed to bring out richer greens and darker hues of purple-browns.

An interesting discovery and a new set of Goddess beads!

In testing some CiM - Creation is Messy glasses, I came across an interesting discovery when combining CiM Cobblestone with a favourite black, CiM's Hades.

On a base of Cobblestone Ltd Run, an opaque gray, dots of Hades were added and the reaction between these two glasses created an interesting metallic halo ring around each dot.The other beads were dotted with Effetre Red Purple and White opaque glass that created no reactions.
For those looking to experiment more, this is definitely something to explore!

In trying out CiM's Mahogany Ltd Run proved it to be another versatile glass, which I love.

This glass is a true red opaque glass whose hues tend on the reddish brown area of the color chart without being orange.

Combined with 99% silver foil and Pendragonfyre blended frit, these Tapestry series beads create golden droplet frames around dots of raku and purple rose. The silver foil creates droplets of silver among the portals of tapestry like colors.

As a base for my Goddess series of beads, this glass is also a favourite of mine.

On a base of CiM Mahogany Ltd Run, storm portals of Double Helix silver infused glasses were captured under clear glass dots.  Dots of silver glass were added to highlight each bead.

New CiM Glass Testing: Zoe, Chateau, Duck Egg and Nimbus

In this post, I wanted to share with you some of the recent glass testing for brand new CiM glass colors.

Using these new CiM - Creation Is Messy glasses as bases for each design, I paired them with silver using either Double Helix Aurae silver infused glass or handmade Silvered Ivory stringers.

CiM Zoe Ltd Run
A transparent blue described by one tester as Zoe is a bright aqua color. With a more intense saturation than Frost, I would classify the color as lighter version of Pulsar.

In this bead set, streams of Double Helix Aurae  was added to create texture and shine.
The result is a beautiful combination ready for any jewelry design!

CiM Chateau Ltd Run
A transparent brown with champagne tones, a lighter version of  CiM's rare Sepia.

Paired with Double Helix Aurae glass frit, the result was a glittery yet delicate texture. The Chateau remained true to its color with little fuming from the silver glass.

CiM Duck Egg Ltd Run
An opaque soft blue that in itself was a true blue, but shifts to a soft green when mixed with silver infused glass.

In comparing Duck Egg on its own as spacers, the color is on the blue side, although these spacers were in the kiln near the silver glassed fumed beads as well. 

When mixed with combinations of silver glass and ivory, the base glass is fumed to shift the color to a opaque golden green pastel.

 In this bead set, stormed portals of silver glass were created and captured under clear glass portals.

CiM Nimbus Ltd Run
This glass is best described as a dark, stormy blue-grey opal glass by one tester.

To create the two sets below, I paired Nimbus with handmade silvered ivory stringers. The 99% fine silver in my stringers seemed to further darken Nimbus as a base glass to a deep navy grey black.

To my eyes, they are a deep navy grey that contrasts well with another grey opaque CiM glass named Cobblestone Ltd Run. The Cobblestone bead was highlighted with dots of Double Helix Aurae and reduced to fume the base glass and turn the dot's surface to a metallic shine.

Hope you try some of these new colors from CiM - Creation Is Messy in your bead designs!

Stuck in Winter Snow I share a favorite CiM-Creation Is Messy- Green for Spring!

Here on the east coast, it doesn't feel like the last day of winter with snowbanks that are 8 feet high and drifts in my backyard that are upwards of 15 feet tall.

In order to wish for spring to arrive soon, I wanted to share a quick post about a spring inspired green that is a favorite CiM-Creation is Messy Glass of mine.

Rather than just showing you just the beads, I have created a couple of jewelry designs incorporating the beads with some antiqued brass findings.

The beads are created with a base of CiM's Mint Chip Ltd Run that was rolled in Glass Diversions Coffee Bean glass frit.
This combination is perfect to pair with antiqued brass rather than the traditional silver or gold.
The owls add some whimsy and also function as time keepers as well.


Owl Design #1

Close up on the beads. I love the veining of the brown tones over the mint green base!

Owl Design #2

The beads were mixed with chocolate fresh water pearls and crystals.

Another close up of the beads.

2015 Glass Testing - Round 1 -Welcome Back to the Pendragonfyre Tales Blog!

Where have I been since 2014?

Life got so busy that each burst of creativity was met with limited time at the torch.

As a result, few sets were made available or purchase to my online Pendragonfyre clients.

I wanted to start March off with a series of blog posts catching up on some of the Glass Diversions frit and CiM - Creation is Messy glass color tests that I have undertaken over the past few months.

Let's start with Round 1:

Glass Diversions Bollywood on CiM - Creation Is Messy Appletini

On a base of Effetre white with an encasement of CiM - Creation is Messy's Appletini, these beads were rolled in Glass Diversions frit named Bollywood.

Robin at Glass Diversions describes this frit as "A complex blend of jewel tones give this an elegant feel! Vivid colors paired with tart green".
I am looking forward to trying this frit with silver foil to see what other reactions I can create.

Pendragonfyre Frit on CiM - Creation is Messy Cobblestone

This set of 5 tapestry inspired round beads started with a base of CiM Cobblestone, an opaque gray that when wrapped with fine silver foil and rolled in Pendragonfyre blended frit, brings out hues of golds, green, blue and purple.

The dots of silver foil have rimmed the frit pools with a golden tint. This glass is very nice with silver foil and glass creating a unique tapestry in each bead.

Glass Diversions Glimmer Canyon on CiM - Creation Is Messy Marble and Trapeze

Using Robin Koza's tutorial on Multi-colored Striations, I created a frit stringer with Glimmer Canyon on a based on CiM - Creation is Messy Trapeze Ltd Run.

I wrapped the stringer over CiM's Marble Ltd Run and the striations appear in hues of royal and navy blue.

Glass Diversions Persian Paisley on Effetre Glasses

On a core of White Effetre, an encasement of Effetre Rose Quartz transparent was added. Rolled in Glass Diversions Persian Paisley frit, the beads were shaped into round beads with both opaque and transparent tones.

This frit is described as "This blend works nicely on the surface and also encased for different reactions. A fantastic blending of opaque colors with a few light transparent tones that when mixed together they create a complex blend. It contains a misting of sparkling gold and a reactive Iris Orange (Raku) which color-shifts when worked with Silver."