Queen's Court Sampler - Part 3 Results

This post will cover the last of the test beads using the CiM - Creation Is Messy glass colors within the Nortel Queen's Court Sampler pack.

This first set of crystal  and barrel shaped beads were created with stripes of the following Limited Run colors:
Ocher, an opaque yellow
Monarch, an opaque yellow orange
Budgerigar, a misty opal kiwi green
Oobleck, an opaque vibrant acid green
Each bead was sprinkled with Val Cox rare Purple Rose made with Z-99 glass frit. 
I rarely use my small supply of this frit as it is no longer available for purchase.
A few beads got a wrap of 99% fine silver wire which was melted in for a tactile feel.

These fine silver wire wrapped beads were created on bases of CiM Butter Pecan, a creamy non reactive opaque beige and CiM Maroon Ltd Run, a dense maroon red. 
The glass melted smoothly and there was no adverse reaction against the silver so colors stayed true.

These mini beads were created on bases of CiM Red Alert Ltd Run, a bright red and CiM Blue Arrow Frog Ltd Run, a bright opaque blue. 
Simple dots of CiM Peace for a classic look.

The next few posts for this blog will review some colors within another Nortel Sampler named Bountiful Harvest as well as previewing new 2020 CiM color releases!

Stay Tuned and thank you for following Pendragonfyre Tales!

Smiles,
D.

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.

Playground Fun Sampler - Rainforest & Ocher

This week I am sharing the results of the testing of the glass colors contained in the Playground Fun Sampler pack of CiM - Creation is Messy colors from Nortel. 

These sampler packs are great for artists that:
- want to "try" a new color without the commitment of purchasing a minimum 1/4 pound of a specific color
- want to create multi-colour beads from a coordinated set of colors.

This CiM sample pack contains a spectrum of crayon-like colors:
- Poison Apple
- Limelight
- Frozen
- Bing 
- Orange Crush
- Blue Arrow Frog
- Ocher
- Rainforest

First up for testing, this set of silver wrapped barrels made with a combination of Rainforest and Ocher. 

Rainforest is a greenish teal opal and Ocher is a opaque yellow with a mustard seed undertone.

These two glasses kept their true color with no change in reaction to silver creating a earth based set of beads. Both glasses melt smoothly with no stockiness.

As always, I encourage you to reach our to Jean at Nortel to pick up a sampler or two.

More color results from this sampler coming up in new posts this week!
Stay Tuned.

Two Pendragonfyre Classic Sets

Dragonscales
CiM - Creation is Messy Glass, Silver Foil and Val Cox Glass Frit

On a base of CiM's Ocher Ltd Run opaque glass, 99% fine silver foil was added and layered with Val Cox Purple Rose frit. The combination was then melted into the surface and the beads were tumble etched for a smooth tactile feel. Each micro-drop of silver has taken on a golden glow.

Pale Green Love Sonnet
Effetre Glasses and Pendragonfyre Frit

Starting on a base of Effetre white encased in Pale Yellow Green transparent, handmixed Pendragonfyre Love Sonnet frit including Gaffer and Raku was sprinkled to create these 10 romantic beads. These have been etched to provide a smooth tactile feel to each bead.