Firecracker Celebration Beads for the Holiday Long Weekend!

Today's post highlights a set of glass frit beads with multi-coloured patterns created using glass frit.

Effetre White opaque is sprinkled with Glass Diversions frit named Firecracker. This blend is a mix of cherry cold red, indigo, pinks with iris orange raku.

Glass frit is a wonderful addition to a bead maker's tool and supply box as it allows beads to be created in unique combinations of colors using mixes of crushed glass blended by hand.

A shoutout to Julie Miller at Glass Diversions! I started using this frit over a decade ago when Robin Koza was the owner. I am running low on my stash, so 2024 will be my restocking year to select a new sampler set.

Nortel Glass in Toronto is my Effetre supplier in Canada with quick shipping and most colors in stock and ready to ship to you.

#pendragonfyre 
#handmade
#handmadeincanada 
#lampworkglass 
#maker 
#lampworkbeads 
#glassbeads 
#lampwork 
#lampworker 
#beadmaker 
#softglass 
#handmadebeads 
#sodalime 
#craftsperson 
#madewitheffetremurano
@glassdiversionsfrit
@nortelglassgirl

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

The heart and rounds bead set for this post was created on a base of CiM - Creation Is Messy 2023 glass named Cremello Misty Ltd Run.

It is a white misty opal with a hint of peach that unique to the color palette and I sprinkled in a Glass Diversions frit named Firecracker. This blend is a mix of cherry cold red, indigo, pinks with iris orange raku.

The spacers are pure Cremello Misty to show the pure glass 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

#cimcremellomisty

#glassdiversionsfrit

#nortel

#pendragonfyre

#handmade

#handmadeincanada

@glassdiversionsfrit

@creationismessy

@nortel_glassgirl

CiM - Creation Is Messy 2021 Colors - Reds - Vampire and Firecracker Ltd Runs

This blog post will introduce two new reds for 2021 from CiM - Creation Is Messy.

CiM has always had a wonderful palette of red shades and this year is no exception.
Check out the Red CiM palette here.
First up is CiM Vampire Ltd Run is an opaque red that I knew would work amazingly with Double Helix striking silver glass.

This set started with a base of Vampire. 

Streams of Double Helix Terra 2 was struck and reduced, copper foil oak and dragonfly inclusions were added and each bead was encased in clear Double Helix Zephyr glass. 

This set has a variety of round, barrel and flat tab bead shapes to complete a set of beads just waiting for the perfect jewelry design.

Vampire had not issues in melting and shaping and the colors that it presented with Terra 2 is glorious.

Another new red, Firecracker Ltd Run, is an opaque dark cherry red that has been remelted for 2021.
I have used it many times with silver glass and it really sings. CiM's website displays some of my previous beads if you are interested.

This time around I used Firecracker with Italian murrini to create some fun and bright round beads. 

I added extra dots to each bead with CiM white Peace and yellow Schoolbus Ltd Run.
As in the past the glass melted beautifully and retained it's cherry red color after a quick striking.

A pleasure to work with.

D.


#creationismessy
#cimglass
#cimtesting
#cimnewcolors
#cimvampire
#cimfirecracker
#cimpeace

#cimschoolbus
#cimglass2021
#nortel
#doublehelixglass
@creationismessy
@nortel_glassgirl

Nortel's CiM Glass Sampler - Bountiful Harvest - Part 1

This is the first post to cover off new beads made with CiM - Creation Is Messy glasses within Nortel's Bountiful Harvest sampler.
This sampler is available via Nortel's online order site.

The 15 colors included in the sampler are:
CIM277 Phoenix
CIM720 Autumn
CIM442 Prairie Grass
CIM465 Oobleck
CIM718 Indian Summer
CIM216 Monarch
CIM217 Harvest
CIM106 Fire Cracker
CIM780 Maple
CIM121 Garnet
CIM487 Poison Apple
CIM729 Serengeti
CIM211 Orange Crush
CIM308 Ochre
CIM470 Eden

Although this sampler seems to be more of a "autumn" set of colors, I thought the colors are bright and cheerful for this first day of spring!

I recently used a few of these in previous posts, so as I work thru this sampler, I will"throw-back" to beads where I have already used up the sample rods.

For this post we will cover off 5 colors, so let's get started.

These 2 beads were created on a based on CiM Serengeti. This is an opaque earthy brown with red undertonesI made hand-blown glass shards of a Double Helix test glass named DH OX459. These shine beautiful when added to the Serengeti base bead.

I had a bunch of shards on a shelf in my studio that I purchased from thepurplelilydesigns.com. I hadn't worked with them since I learned to make my own. I pulled them out to spend an afternoon using them.

CiM's Poison Apple is a dense, saturated opal green that has always seemed to turn into an opaque glass after it is worked and annealed in the kiln. It has been in production for many years, artists have asked for CiM to try and re-engineer this glass to keep it's translucency. 
I received a rod of the new formula, so I will review it in a future post.
The beads below are the older formula.
You can see in the bead set how some beads are more opaque than others. this is due to the heat and amount of time the glass was worked. The shards are named Rainforest.

This bead shows the difference from the centre of the bead to the glass closer to the surface.

CiM Autumn is an opaque peachy brown. 
In this set of beads I used shards named Mood Swings. 
I wasn't overjoyed with the shard results, but the end result of the 99% fine silver wrap helped make these beads look a bit more rustic and I may try etching them to see if that endears them to me more. CiM's Autumn is still a beautiful glass color with a bit of a reaction to silver.

CiM Firecracker is an opaque dark cherry red that I have tested in the past with silver glass and it really sings!

For this test, I used Midnight Shards and the blue/ silvered ivory against the rich red is really pretty. My only observation was that Firecracker was a bit shock with a few small air bubbles in  the rod.

___________________

CiM Maple is a transparent warm golden brown. I have used this glass many times in the past and it is a go to brown when paired with silver or silver glass.

This set of beads were decorated with my own hand blown shards of silvered ivory.

Happy Spring!
D.

A Study in Harvest Hues - Soft Yellows and Peach

This post comes as the autumn wind swirls around us changing our lawns from greens of summer to yellows, oranges and reds of the season.
Today, I have 3 sets of beads to share and news of new yellow glasses from CiM - Creation is Messy.

CiM Painted Hills Ltd Run - an opaque soft yellow that gives a bloom of other shades depending on how you cool and heat the glass while working it.
It is similar to opal yellow so I decided to see how it would mix with fine silver wire.
As you can see from the photo below, it turned the silver wire to a warm golden glow with unique striated effects in each bead.

The other new yellow glass from CiM that I played with last week was Yellow Brick Road Ltd Run. It is another opaque yellow deeper in tone and casts caramel tones as it is heated.
I sprinkled some Glass Diversions Persian Paisley frit and created the twists in the melted in frit.

The last set for this post is a older limited run CiM - Creation is Messy glass named Nectar.
It is a peachy transparent which is unique to the color palette and I sprinkled in a Glass Diversions frit named Firecracker. This blend is a mix of cherry cold red, indigo, pinks with iris orange raku.

CiM Color Testing 2014 - New Reds - Firecracker, Bing and Rudolph Ltd Runs

Hello!

I have to admit that I have been "in hibernation" mode over the past couple months and ask forgiveness to everyone for that! LOL.
This past winter has been a killer in Northeastern Canada and as a result, my time at my torch has been limited to mild days when my studio could be warmed up enough to ensure the "Glass Gods" would be kind.

Over the past couple of weekends, it has been acceptable weather to spend some time back in the studio and over the next couple of blog posts, I will share my recent CiM glass testing results.

Topic of this post are the CiM Red palette:
There are lots of new red limited runs from CiM over the past 2 quarters including Firecracker, Bing and Rudolph.

Usually most red can be a bit fussy in striking, but CiM never disappoints and combining it with my beloved silver glass creates some wonderful reactions.

As you will see, these CiM Reds strike easily and stay true red and are great paired with gleaming silver infused glasses!  Can you see that Red is a favorite color of mine!

First a photo of the group of test beads:

Closeup below of the following (left to right):

Bead 1 - CiM Firecracker Ltd Run with Double Helix Psyche Light lines lightly reduced.

Bead 2 - CiM Firecracker Ltd Run with Double Helix Psyche Light scrolls reduced

Bead 3 - CiM Bing Ltd Run with Double Helix Triton Frit encased in Effetre Clear

Closeup below of the following (left to right):

Bead 1 - CiM Firecracker Ltd Run with Double Helix Psyche Light dots medium reduction

Bead 2 - CiM Bing Ltd Run with Double Helix Triton Frit encased in Effetre Clear

Bead 3 - CiM Rudolph Ltd Run with Effetre White Dots

Bead 4 - CiM Firecracker Ltd Run with Double Helix Psyche raked stream with  medium reduction