Patriotic Celebration Beads!

These 4 focal beads are made of a base of CiM - Creation is Messy Cinnamon Jelly red glass.

Double Helix Clio silver infused glass was layered and wrapped with 99% fine silver wire. 

The silver glass bloomed to beautiful blues shine. 

Each focal bead was encased in a layer of clear glass to further magnify the bead’s core. 

CiM - Creation Is Messy & Double Helix glasses are available from Nortel Glass in Toronto. 

Cinnamon Jelly is rare and showing sold out on the CiM website, but I believe Nortel may have it as part of their red bundle offer.

Reach out to Jean or Jennifer at Nortel to add some of these glasses to your collection.

 https://pendragonfyre.etsy.com/listing/1719412790

#creationismessy
#cimglass
#cimcinnamonjelly
#doublehelixclio 
#nortel 
#etsylove 
#etsyshop 
#2024
#doublehelixglass 
#doublehelixglassworks 
@creationismessy
@nortel_glassgirl

Sunday Blues

In today's post, I am sharing two sets that I recently posted on Etsy.

First up is Effetre Cobalt Blue transparent with a wrap of silvered ivory stringer and 99% fine silver wire. These have a rustic antique look for silver jewelry designs.

I recently scored some old Vetrofond glass in a bundle purchase from Nortel in Toronto.

This bead set was created on a base of Vetrofond Dark Sky Blue with dots of white opaque.

These beads were tumble etched for a smooth matte finish.

I purchase my CiM glass from Jennifer and Jean at Nortel in Toronto. Reach out to them for your glassy needs.

#effetremurano

#vetrofond

#99%finesilverwire

#nortel

#pendragonfyre

#handmade

#handmadeincanada

@nortel_glassgirl

Silver, Silver and More Silver!

Today I am showing you another style of Pendragonfyre beads using silver glass and 99% fine silver wire.

I find this method of capturing the reduction of the silver glass under the clear encasement allows the colors and mother of pearl shine to be magnified tremendously.

The first set is made with CiM - Creation Is Messy's Eel Grass as the base glass. This is a lovely transparent green that reminds me of nature.

I added a stripe of Double Helix Psyche silver glass in the middle and wrapped some 99% fine silver wire around it. Then I reduced and encased the bead to bring out the amazing blues, creams and purples. 

The silver wire melted and formed little drops and streams of silver under the thick layer of Zephyr clear glass. The spacer beads are pure Eel Grass.

The second set is made with CiM - Creation Is Messy's Burnt Sugar as the base glass. This is a warm transparent brown with a peachy tint.

I used the same technique as before, but with Double Helix Kalypso silver glass instead of Psyche. The result was stunning, with rich blues, creams and purples. 

The silver wire also created beautiful patterns under the clear glass encasement.

The spacers are pure Burnt Sugar.

As a final bead, I used the same glasses as above and created a hollow focal bead.

I am still practicing the technique of hollows. 

This one was created on a puffy mandrel and I am pleased with the result.

As always, I hope these beads inspire you to create something beautiful in your world!

Both CiM and Effetre glasses are available through Nortel in Toronto through their online shopping cart. I suggest ordering some very soon.

Til next time,

D.

#creationismessy

#cimglass

#cimeelgrass

#cimburntsugar

#99%finesilverwire

#doublehelixglass

#psyche

#kalypso

#zephyr

#pendragonfyre

#handmade

#handmadeincanada

@creationismessy

@nortel_glassgirl

@doublehelixglass

Silver Glass and Fine Silver Wire

I have always been fascinated by silver infused glass and how it reacts with different types of glass. I enjoy creating unique effects with CiM - Creation Is Messy or Effetre glasses and silver glass.

In this set of 6 encased round beads, I used CiM Blueberry Muffin Ltd Run as the base glass. This glass is a very dark opal indigo purple that looks almost black when used as a base.

I started with a clear glass core and covered it with the purple glass. I added some dots of Double Helix Notos silver glass and plunged them into the base. 

After a reduction and encasement each dot resulted with several layers of Zephyr clear glass to create the subtle color variation and beautiful mother of pearl shine!

The round beads are about the size of marbles and they are paired with chunky nugget spacers made with a mix of clear and Blueberry Muffin indigo purple glass.

This style of Pendragonfyre beads are named Silvertails for the 99% fine silver wire that I wrap around each round bead. 

For this set the base glass is called CiM - Creation Is Messy Wheatgrass, a bright misty opal green. Although it is said to be a misty opal, I found it to be more of a transparent glass with such a clear and clean fresh green hue.

I have checked availability of these colors as In Stock on Nortel Glass' online shopping cart.

Reach out to Jean or Jennifer at Nortel to add some of these glasses to your next CiM - Creation Is Messy glass order!

Happy torching!

D.

#creationismessy

#cimglass

#cimwheatgrass

#99%finesilverwire

#cimblueberrymuffin

#doublehelixglass

#notos

#zephyr

#pendragonfyre

#handmade

#handmadeincanada

@creationismessy

@nortel_glassgirl

@doublehelixglass

Hollows - On My Annual Technique Pursuit of Creating Hollow Glass Beads

About once or twice a year, I spend a day working on making hollow beads. 

Usually I end up with some wonky egg shaped hollows as my technique is not the most efficient for heat control.

I am fortunate to not having any disasters or explosions of glass, but my end result beads are certainly not perfect - Is that what they call One Of A Kind? 😉
I am still in search for the best technique to consistently create hollows. Suggestions from my fellow glass artists is always welcome!

This post will show the various hollow beads from my Easter break.
My goals for each bead was:
- Clean Bead holes
- Some expansion of each hollow bubble
- Each bead survived a night in the kiln and emerged with no cracks.

Let's take a look at the beads!

 

CiM's Lake Baikal is one of my favourite glasses. I love the striations of red and blue that run through each rod that transmit wisps of lavender within the blue base glass.

These 3 hollows are pure Lake Baikal with the centre bead wrapped with 99% fine silver wire. These beads range in measurement of 22.4mm to 28.6mm hole to hole.

On the same blue theme, CiM Jetstream was the main glass in these two hollow beads.

 

 

One bead, egg shaped, was wrapped with 99% fine silver wire measuring 26.9mm hole to hole.
The other bead has CiM Ming added to each bead end measuring 31.6mm hole to hole

This bead was my most success in creating a round hollow bead shape. It was created on a base of CiM Leaky Pen. Leaky Pen is a very dense transparent glass that in hindsight should have been diluted with clear to show the true color in the hollow round. 

 

 

I placed a wrap of Double Helix Psyche silver glass around the centre, a couple wraps of 99% fine silver wire and melted it in to secure the silver droplets. This bead measures 18.4mm X 21.7mm.

These next two hollows are bright for spring composed of CiM Scotch Broom glass with silvered ivory stringer decoration. CiM Scotch Broom is a luminous golden yellow with varying degrees of transparency/opalescence. These range in size of 17mm to 21.1mm hole to hole.

 

CiM's Beeswax Misty is a soft pale misty opal yellow that can strike to a deeper amber depending on the time and temperature it is worked. In this hollow, the centre glass was shouldered with Double Helix silver glass known as OX 459, an emerald green luster that shines to a metallic sheen when reduced. The gentle wrap of 99% fine silver completes the bead.

Finally, two hollows of bright green for sunshine days of summer!
CiM's Budgerigar is a candy colored yellowy green misty opal that creates the hollows of these two beads.
Hollow 1 is a simple one with a wrap of 99% fine silver wire measuring 21.8mm hole to hole.

 

 

Hollow 2 is measured 25mm X 25mm with streams of Double Helix OX 459 melted in and reduced to create the reactive golden streams for this one of a kind bead.

Each hollow bead would look great on a simple chain!

Glass availability at the time of this post may be available through Nortel. I purchased Lake Baikal there recently. Budgerigar, Scotch Broom, Beeswax Misty, Leaky Pen and Ming are showing as available in their online cart. Jetstream may be available at other CiM distributors.

I purchase my glass from Jennifer and Jean at Nortel in Toronto. Reach out to them for your glassy needs.
#creationismessy
#cimglass
#cimlakebaikal
#cimbudgerigar
#cimbeeswaxmisty
#cimleakypen
#cimscotchbroom
#cimjetstream
#doublehelixglass
#99%finesilverwire
#nortel
#pendragonfyre
#handmade
#handmadeincanada
@creationismessy
@nortel_glassgirl

CiM - Creation Is Messy 2023 New Color - Delft Misty Ltd Run

CiM Creation Is Messy created a number of new limited run colors for 2023 that were based on popular colors from the past.

Today, I am showing off a couple of beads for the new Delft Misty Ltd Run.

Delft is based on the former CiM Ming opal glass introduced a number of years ago. It was so similar to CiM Cornflower that I don't think I ever actually tried Ming.  I have used Cornflower many times, check out some of my past post here of this lovely blue opaque glass.

 

You may want to check with Jennifer and Jean at Nortel to see if they still have some stock of Ming or Cornflower available if you want to try it along with the new 2023 Delft!

CiM - Creation Is Messy's Delft blue opal the is offered in both a misty and milky version.
The beads within this post are created with the misty sister.
 

I used Delft Misty as the base on which a layer of Jetage Studio's Lumiere Luster named Maleficent was added. 

 

 

 

Maleficent is a gorgeous color shifting flake of intense deep blues that shifts to magenta-red  to orange and gold depending on the angle it is viewed. 

It lightens considerably when used in glass work but I liked how it worked in this barrel bead.

 

 
The luster glitter flakes were encased with Double Helix Zephyr but I left the end of the bead pure Delft Misty.

 

I wrapped and melted in some 99% fine silver wire along the end of the bead for added shine.
The spacers are pure Delft Misty to show the base color blue hue.

 

All the new CiM colors for 2023 are available through Nortel in Toronto through their online shopping cart. I suggest ordering some very soon before it is gone.

#creationismessy
#cimglass
#cimnewcolors
#cim2023
#cimdelftmisty
#jetagestudio
#lumiereluster

#doublehelixglass
#nortel
#pendragonfyre
#handmade
#handmadeincanada
@creationismessy
@nortel_glassgirl

CiM - Creation Is Messy 2023 New Color - Aubergine Misty Ltd Run

What can I say about CiM - Creation Is Messy's selections of purples?

I have so much to say and when new colors come out each year, purple is the first color I gravitate to. This year, we have been blessed!

I have already highlighted Charisma in a previous post - check that out here.
Today, we are looking at the misty version of the new Aubergine Ltd Runs. 

 

According to the CiM Website, the melt was an attempt at recreating Eggplant (one of my favourites from the past). Click Here to see a set that was published in Bead Trends magazine.

The result of the recreation of the glass didn't reproduce Eggplant, but it produced a color more similar to CiM's rare Plum and I am not disappointed as I have also used a number of CiM Plum unique rods over the years. Click Here for an example from way back in 2010.
Note: As of the time of this post, Nortel has Eggplant along with both Aubergine Misty and Milky offered in their online shopping site.

So for 2023, Aubergine Misty Ltd Run is a purple misty opal. In the past, opals had a tendency to pop when I introduced into the flame. This year, I am not experiencing any of that and the glass is wonderfully smooth when kept warm within the upper part of the torch.
I must admit that I work cooler than many other artists as I prefer to work slow to allow me to shape each bead and avoid burning out the color.

Today's test beads document my test day's success and one user mistake.

First up, of course, is a test with silver glass! I like using Double Helix Garage Sales glass.
To explain, as an observation, I purchased a garage sales box in each 2015 and 2016 to allow me to test silver glass without the BIG $ price point.
With a little experimentation, this purchase of a selection of glasses has been successful to me and I am still working through each glass a little at a time and love what it creates. I recommend this to anyone that is stressed about the $$ purchasing silver glass.

These 3 round beads were created on a base of CiM Aubergine Misty with a central sweep of Double Helix Garage Sale 2016 test glass coded as CL/DK.cc. 

 

 

 

In using this silver glass, it reminds me of Clio Dark and it produces some great color hues. I wrapped a couple rounds of fine silver wire and encased the whole bead with Double Helix Zephyr.

 

The photo below shares the other two beads that I created with this purple.

 

A simple heart started with Aubergine Misty with a wrap of Riley Dichro Pink/Teal Crinkle encased with Zephyr.

 

I can be personally challenged with using opal glass through the process of encasing the base and keeping the bead warmed through while shaping a larger focal.

I unfortunately created the most beautiful bead focal but took too long to shape it... and it presented a thermal crack after it emerged from the kiln. 

Such a beautiful bead that will most likely go in the "future cabochon" bottle as the glass is too pretty to abandon to the flower bed.

For the details of the combination, this large pillow focal is a based of Aubergine Misty with the same Riley Dichro as the heart. I added a couple streams of Double Helix Oracle Violet Opal and encased in Zephyr.
I intend to recreate this bead again paying more attention to keeping it warm until it goes into the kiln as the combination is so pretty.

 

Reach out to Jean or Jennifer at Nortel to add some of these glasses to your new CiM - Creation Is Messy colors for 2023.

#creationismessy
#cimglass
#cimnewcolors
#cim2023
#cimauberginemisty
#doublehelixglass
#zephyr
#nortel
#pendragonfyre
#rileydichroic
@creationismessy
@nortel_glassgirl

February Flashback - Digging into the CiM - Creation Is Messy Archives - Part 3

With the hundreds of colors that CiM - Creation Is Messy has created in their extensive palette since 2006, so many colors are small batch offerings that I know many lampwork artists cherish and save in their collections for those perfect opportunities to use them in their designs.

In this post, I am highlighting a few more of my favourite CiM Archive glasses that I have used over the years, have still a few rods in my collection and I encourage other glass artists to explore them.

Each glass is showing as currently available through Nortel Glass in Toronto, as well I am sure may be readily available online outside of Canada for USA customers.
With the USD$ dollar exchange rate, I still lean toward Nortel as my supplier of choice.

As a CiM glass tester, my tests usually pair new glass colors with silver. 

I use 99% fine silver wire, foil and silver infused glass from Double Helix.

In all my blog posts, I document each glass combination testing notes to use an archive of information that I am willing to share with fellow artists.
I have been blogging each and every bead set I have created since back in 2008 as a newbie to glass art.

Now let's get to today's beads!

This set has a base of CiM Candlelight Ltd Run, a lovely transparent yellow, with these lovely shards created subtle patterns.
Hand-blown glass shards of CiM’s Chocolate Ltd Run with silvered ivory. Chocolate is a cloudy brown transparent that is true to it's name.

 

In response to requests for streaky rods, CiM - Creation is Messy created a new limited run color named Yangtze with "a core of clear, encased in transparent yellowish green, encased in clear."

 

 

The description doesn't sound all that exciting, so I was not sure what to test with it. When this happens, it is always better to go simple - less is more. So I paired it with 99% fine silver wire.
There was just a slight reaction to the silver with small trails. There was some scumming and micro-bubbles, but I encouraged it from the glass as it gave an antiqued sea glass glow even though I left them with a shiny gloss finish.
The result is a simple yet elegant set of beads that would be awesome in a ivory bridal set of silver jewelry.

This set of beads was created on a base of CiM Ltd Run, Frangipani, very pale opal purple. Double Helix's Aurae frit was generously sprinkled and reduced the glass to a golden sheen and metallic shine!

 

CiM's Indian Summer Ltd Run is a transparent brown that strikes to a rich color. In the middle bead below I simply wrapped some 99% fine silver wire and the glass color stayed true with no adverse fuming or color change in comparison to the spacers.

Reach out to Nortel to order these glasses before they are gone.

#creationismessy
#cimglass
#cimarchive
#doublehelixglass
#nortelinstock
#pendragonfyre
@creationismessy
@nortel_glassgirl

CiM - Creation Is Messy 2022 Color - Lake Baikal Ltd Run - A Revisit

Creation Is Messy’s 2022 Lake Baikal Ltd Run is a transparent blue with subtle lavender wisps.

I fell in love with this glass during my spring glass testing and was so excited to pick up some rods of it on a recent visit to Nortel in Toronto. 

First up, a small set of Goddess beads.
I had previously tested CiM’s Birchwood Ltd Run for its friendliness to other silver glasses, so it was fitting to create my Goddess beads to test how Lake Baikal would behave with layered portals.

Starting on a base of this glass, I layered dots of CiM Birchwood, CiM’s extremely dark blue Indigo , CiM’s Jetstream transparent blue. I used some Double Helix test glass named SR859 and reduced it. 

Clear portal dots of Effetre clear were added to capture the stormed reaction of the silver glass producing streams of blues.

Dots of Double Helix Elpis complete each bead.

Next up, a set of tapered flat focal beads.

This set of beads started with Lake Baikal with ends of CiM’s transparent blue named Jetstream.

I wrapped 99% fine silver wire over the centres and encased it with Effetre Clear glass to allow the silver to melt to droplets and protect the surface of each bead.

These would be beautiful together in a necklace or made into separate drop pendants.

The CiM - Creation Is Messy website shows Jetstream and Indigo as Sold Out, so contact Nortel as they may have some in stock. 

#creationismessy
#cimglass
#cimlakebaikal

#cimbirchwood

#cimindigo
#cimjetstream
#cimglass2022
#nortel
#doublehelixglass
@creationismessy
@nortel_glassgirl

CiM - Creation Is Messy 2022 Color - Elegance Ltd Run

Glass beadmakers are always on the hunt for a new pink - everything from a pale rose to a hot bubblegum pink. The ingredients to create a pink glass are pricey so each time a new pink comes out for testing it causes me a bit of anxiety to ensure that I am properly handling the glass for optimal testing results.

My "thing" is to test with silver glass, most notably Double Helix, so I embarked on creating this set of beads with high hopes.

CiM's Elegance Ltd Run is described as an opalescent pink. Yikes... Will I be able to maintain the opalescence?
I consulted with the CiM Testing team and found that some were successful in maintaining the glass quality and translucency while others appeared to create more opaque pink beads.

 

 

This set of crystal and round shapes are the result of my tests.

 

 

Layers of CiM Elegance, Effete Super Clear, Double Helix Aurae, 99% silver wire with a final encasement of Super Clear was shaped in to crystal and round beads.

 

Was it the shaping of the beads that caused the pink glass to turn opaque?
I definitely need to come to a better experiment and hypothesis on this new pink glass.

Stay tuned for my next post for more details.


#creationismessy
#cimglass
#cimtesting
#cimelegance
#cimnewcolors
#cimglass2022
#nortel
#vdoublehelixglass
#pendragonfyre
@creationismessy
@nortel_glassgirl 

 

 

CiM - Creation Is Messy 2022 Color - Glycerin Milky Ltd Run - Part 2

Just a quick post on another quick glass frit test using Creation Is Messy’s 2022 Glycerin Milky Ltd Run.

As I mentioned in a post on May 1, 2022, Glycerin is an off-white milky opal that bead testers describe as a moonstone. It is a clean white in my opinion and it melted smoothly with no issues.

In this mini-set of beads, I used Val Cox Montmartre. This frit pairs generous chunks of Purple Rose with a blend of golden transparents to create beads that appear to be illuminated from within.

Worked in a neutral flame, these beads were easy to complete with a sprinkling of frit and a wrap of 99% fine silver wire.

The spacer beads are pure Glycerin to note that the change in the color came from the orange and gold transparent rather than a reaction to the silver wire.

Val Cox Montmartre glass frit is available through Nortel Glass in Toronto as I do not see it on Val's site currently.

#creationismessy
#cimglass
#cimtesting
#cimglycerin
#cimnewcolors
#cimglass2022
#nortel
#valcoxfrit
#pendragonfyre
@creationismessy
@nortel_glassgirl