Showing posts with label Clockwork. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Clockwork. Show all posts

Monday, March 16

Queen's Court Sampler - Part 2 Results!

I have been away from the blog busy with life but had been posting quick peeks on Instagram as I work through Nortel’s CiM glass sampler named Queen’s Court. 

You can order this sampler of 17 colors that are both new and former favourites via Nortel’s new online shopping cart here.
Please check out Nortel’s new online ordering website as many of these CiM colors are in limited runs only. 

Although the following sets have popped up on the Pendragonfyre Instagram feed, I like to keep record in this blog as my online journal of working notes and test results.

Let's get caught up!

These beads use CiM Baked Alaska with fine silver swirls with CiM Sacre Bleu skies!
That glittery moon is Double Helix Aurae
The blue is stunning in person and the beads found a home with a happy customer very quickly.


CiM's Merryweather is a pretty blue opal glass. I sprinkled it with Fortune Teller Lumiere Lusters by JetAge Studios. I have to be honest, I have never been a fan of pixie or mica dust as it flies everywhere in the studio, so if I need to use it, it is the last set of beads for the day's session... followed a cleaning of the torch table. 
I loved working with this now rare glass, but not so much a fan of the dusty result.


So I will make another attempt to tame the glitter and see how it goes. Silver glass has just as much impact without the mess.
The color of Merryweather is a happy blue so looking forward to using it again in some future beads.

Three more colors from the Queen’s Court CiM glass sampler. 
These colors match well and love silver. 
I call this set The Jester. Let's cover off the details of the CiM glass colors:
Ocher, an opaque yellow
Quetzal, an opaque blue with green undertones.
Coronation Day, a dark opal purple
This created an amazing combination. Each glass melts smoothly, layered without issues and the silvered ivory stringer detail on the focal bead was beautiful.


I have to say, the color selection in this sampler set is ample. 

I was able to use 4 CiM colors in this new set of beads. I wanted to test with both silver wire and silver glass to see if there were any reactions to the two types of glass.
CiM Colors in this group:
Merryweather, a happy opal blue
Mantis, a vibrant misty green opal.
Clockwork, a vibrant orange striking glass
Byzantium, a purple moonstone

When these emerged from the kiln, their translucency reminded me of Lifesaver candies. The glass was smooth to work with with little to no bubbling. No reactions to silver, so these will go into my list of base glass for future silver glass designs.




These beads are created on bases of CiM Rainforest, a greenish teal opal and CiM Atlantis, a bluish teal opal. These are rich base glasses with jewel tone hues.
Handmade shards of CiM Tahitian Pearl were gently added to create a tactile feel and medieval look. 

Stay tuned for Part 3 of the review of the Queen's Court Sampler!

D.

Wednesday, January 15

Nortel's Queen's Court Sampler Testing


Just a quick post to show a couple of new sets of beads using base glasses from Nortel’s CiM glass sampler named Queen’s Court. 

You can order this sampler of 17 colors that are both new and former favourites via Nortel’s new online shopping cart here.

First up - CiM Clockwork is an amazing orange that reminds me of Orange soda pop.  I used it as a based glass encased in clear on which I streamed Double Helix Clio Dark. The hot pinks, blues bloomed over the orange. Very cool result that shifts in iridescence shine from every angle. This glass is showing as sold out on the CiM - Creation Is Messy website, so definitely contact Nortel to order it while it lasts.


When I saw rods of CiM’s Eggplant, Maroon and Monarch, I immediately paired them with silvered ivory stringer to create a rustic bead set that reminded me of of the Queen’s Court in medieval times. The patterns and colors are complimentary and allowed for many bead shapes. 
























Both these sets were made on 3/32 mandrels and perfectly fit on new sterling silver chains that I ordered online over my Christmas holiday.
Looking forward to a few more sessions at the torch to complete the testing of the samplers I have from Nortel. 

Stay warm, til next time.

D.

#creationismessy
#nortel
#QueensCourtSampler
#cimclockwork
#cimeggplant
#cimcmaroon
#cimmonarch