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

Jet Age Studios Lumiere Lusters - A Full Session of Experimentation!

Pendragonfyre Tales blog is where I share my passion for glass bead making. 

Today I want to talk about something that has somewhat changed my perspective on adding sparkle to my beads: Lumiere Lusters!  These are products from Jet Age Studio that create stunning color shifts and shimmer effects on glass. 

I have been experimenting with them since my last visit to Nortel and I recently spent a full day at the torch working on a proper method for me to incorporate them into my style of bead making. 

I have never been a fan of glitter or mica dust in my studio as I find that the cleanup after a torch session created more work than the reward. I preferred to use silver glass to create the bling in my designs.

But then I decided to take on a challenge and try something new. I wanted to give a true review and "re-light the fire" of glitter in my studio. These are not your ordinary glitters, they are flakes of pure magic that transform your beads into dazzling jewels. They come in a variety of colors and effects, and you can use them with any type of glass.

In this blog post, I will show you some of the bead sets that I made using Lumiere Lusters and CiM - Creation Is Messy and Effetre glasses. 

CiM is one of my favorite brands of glass because they have such vibrant and unique colors. 

Note: I chose to use Effetre clear for each of the bead sets within this post, because I wanted to see how the lusters would look with different base colors.

First up, combining the luster with CiM's Eel Grass, a nature-inspired transparent green that reminds me of seaweed and algae. 

I sprinkled some Lumiere Luster's Shangri-La on top of the Eel Grass before encasing it with clear. 

Shangri-La is a gorgeous color shifting flake that goes from bright deep magenta / berry-pinks to bright orange to gold depending on the angle it is viewed. 

The result was stunning! 

These round barrel beads sparkle as you shift them with gold accent glitters!

The spacers are pure Eel Grass.

Next, I used CiM's Cleopatra, a super dense saturated transparent purple that is so rich and royal. It is so dark that in many bead applications, I dilute the glass with clear otherwise the beads appear almost black. 

But for this experiment, I wanted to see how the luster would contrast with the deep purple. So I used Lumiere Luster's Agua Verde, a beautiful color shifting flake that shifts from deep greens, to aqua, to deep blue depending on the angle it is viewed. 

I applied some Agua Verde on top of the Cleopatra before encasing it with clear. 

The result was amazing! These round beads look like they have tiny galaxies inside them!

I'm so excited to show you these amazing barrel beads that I made with Effetre striking red transparent glass and Ion Opal luster from Jet Age Studios. 

This luster is a stunning flake that changes color depending on the angle and the light. 

It looks like magic on these beads!

The color of these beads makes me think of candy apples that I used to eat at the country fair. They are so delicious and shiny!

The next set of barrel beads that I want to share with you is made with Effetre Black Olive glass, which is a dark transparent glass that has a brownish tint when it's thin. 

I used Flame Red Opal Lumiere Luster for this set, which is another gorgeous flake from Jet Age Studios. 

It has a fiery red glow that contrasts beautifully with the dark glass.

I hope you enjoyed this blog post and got inspired by the possibilities of Lumiere Lusters. They are truly a game changer for adding sparkle and color shift to your glass beads. If you want to try them yourself, you can order them from Jean or Jennifer at Nortel  in Toronto. And if you do, please share your creations with me! I would love to see what you make with these magical flakes!

#creationismessy

#cimglass

#cimeelgrass

#cimcleopatra

#jetagestudio

#lumiereluster

#lumierelusteraguaverde

#lumierelustershangrila

#lumierelusterionopal

#lumierelusterflameredopal

#nortel

#pendragonfyre

#handmade

#handmadeincanada

@creationismessy

@nortel_glassgirl

New CiM Colors for Spring 2017 - New Green Hues

This post will introduce you to more new green hues that CiM - Creation is Messy has released this season.
Note that these colors are limited runs, so grab them up while they last!

First up, CiM's Peridot Ltd Run. 
Described as a "transparent gemstone green". It is a yellow green almost pale in hue.
I wanted to test it against silver glass, so I sprinkled one of my "go-to" fine frit, Double Helix Ekho.  With the frit coating, you don't see the micro-bubbles that occur when you work the glass in a warmer flame, so if you want crystal clear beads, definitely work in a cooler flame.

Next up, CiM's Eel Grass Ltd Run.

Described as a "natured inspired transparent green". I love this green as it is not too yellow and not too blue. Just right as a spring green.

I paired it as a base in my goddess style beads with layers of Effetre Light Ivory, CiM's rare Black Currant Ltd Run and some Double Helix mystery silver glass (maybe a Terra). 

The portals ranged in pinks and blues with some micro storms. 

The single bead on the right side shows the color of the glass alone. The silver glass didn't fume and the green shade stayed true.

Next up, CiM's Inchworm.

This is a juicy bright opal green!

I wanted to run it through several tests so making some bigger hole beads were in order.

This set from left to right:

1. Single spacer bead showing the true color in all it's glory!

2. Wrapped in DH Triton silver glass shards.

3. A Goddess bead with DH Kronos portals

4. Simply wrapped in 99% fine silver wire. 

5. Single spacer bead

6. Barrel bead with streams of rare DH Kronos melted in.

This glass works beautifully with silver with no adverse reaction lines. It seems to have an inner glow that is bright and cheerful for this spring and summer!

Spring is here and the greens have it!

Have a great week!