Practice, Practice, Practice Creating Hollow Glass Beads

As I continue my "Practice, Practice, Practice" work with hollow beads, I have some results of recent work to share with you.

The technique I used was creating the two sides of the bead on a 3/32" mandrel and then connecting the two sides and closing the gap. Shaping the bead in the heat and allowing the internal air to heat up and inflate the hollow resulted in the bead sets below.

First up, This hollow features CiM Bewitched. This glass is a "streamer" glass with a clear base with indigo and purple streamers. 

It created the hollow and shaped it into the sphere and then added the dots of Double Helix Kalypso.

 Just a touch of reduction brought the multiple hue metallic shine to the surface of each dots. The spacer beads are CiM Bewitched.

I was lucky to get a CiM Seconds rod bundle back in April at Nortel and I have started to try a few of the rods in this selection. 

The first unlabelled rod in the bundle looks like possibly CiM Nymph or Persian Green.

This is a simple hollow that shows the misty color so beautifully.

This next hollow was simply made with with the same as above with some streams of CiM Amazon Misty and Double Helix Melia. 

The striations of the silver glass created a pretty mother of pearl reaction that has just a hint of a sparkle when it is closely observed. 

It is unfortunately that it is very difficult to capture in a photograph. 

The spacers are CiM Aiko, a vivid transparent teal green that compliments the hollow focal bead.

The next bead set is simply CiM Aiko. I am pleased with this hollow!

It is such a beautiful vivid transparent teal green. 

The spacers are also CiM Aiko.

The next rod I tried in the CiM Seconds Mystery bundle created these hollows sets below. 

As the rods are not labelled, I am guessing that it may be related to Cerulean or another CiM transparent aqua blue.

A lovely trio of hollows with matching spacers!

This glass does have some micro bubbles suspended in the glass... like little bubbles in the ocean!

Finally, a bead set with a single hollow with 2 spacers on each side.

How do you think I did with my session of hollow bead making?

These will be going up on Etsy over the next day or so.

It looks like CiM Aiko, Cerulean and Nymph are not currently available. 

CiM Bewitched is showing in stock in the online shopping cart at Nortel.
Reach out to Jean or Jennifer at Nortel for your glassy needs!

#creationismessy
#cimglass
#cimmysterybundle

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

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

Happy Saturday everyone!

The sun is shining and after a few days of snow this week, I am looking forward to warming up the studio and completing my 2023 CiM - Creation Is Messy color testing. I have been pleased with all the colors offered this year in their misty and milky forms.

I took the opportunity to get in a glass order of some CiM glasses that Nortel still had available to add to my glass stash including Eggplant, Barrier Reef and Raindrop. Those will be great for some of the bead sets that I have planned for later this spring.

For today's post I am sharing a quick set of CiM's new 2023 Amazon Misty Ltd Run as I tested it with Double Helix silver glass.

Amazon Misty was based on an older CiM color named Rainforest which is a greenish opal teal. Amazon is being offered in both a misty and milky version for 2023.

Below is a photo of the original Rainforest with handmade Raku shards from a post in 2018. Click here if you are interested.

For this big hole bead set, I started with a base of Amazon Misty on which I sprinkled and melted in from Double Helix Kronos frit and streamed some Notos silver glass. 

The mother of pearl and color striations were captured under an encasement of Zephyr clear glass. This flat barrel tab measures 27mm hole to hole.

The 4 spacers are pure Amazon misty to show the base glass in comparison.

I have checked availability of these glasses, at the time of this post, 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 new CiM - Creation Is Messy colors for 2023.

You may even be able to snag some CiM Rainforest as Nortel may have some in their inventory as well.

#creationismessy

#cimglass

#cimnewcolors

#cim2023

#cimamazonmisty

#handmade

#handmadeincanada

#nortel

#doublehelixglass

#pendragonfyre

@creationismessy

@nortel_glassgirl