New Tumble Etched Dragonscale Bead Sets

Hello, bead lovers! Today I want to share with you some of my favorite dragon-inspired beads. I have always loved dragons and their magical abilities, so I created these beads to reflect their beauty and mystery.

These beads are made with a special technique that gives them a textured and matte surface, like the scales of a dragon. They come in different colors and shapes, and each one has its own personality. I think they are perfect for making unique and whimsical jewelry pieces.

Do you like dragons too? 

What do you think of these beads? 

Let me know in the comments below!

The first set of beads is based on the idea of a green dragon with golden scales. 

I used Effetre Army Green opaque glass as the base and applied 99% fine silver foil on top.

Then I sprinkled some Val Cox Purple Rose frit over the silver and melted it all together. 

The result is stunning: the silver foil creates a shiny contrast with the green glass and the purple frit adds some depth and texture. The beads look like they have tiny golden scales that sparkle in the light. The spacers are pure Effetre Army Green glass.

The second set of beads is inspired by a pink dragon with metallic accents. I started with Moretti Tongue Pink opaque glass as the base and wrapped it with 99% fine silver foil. 

Then I added some rare Val Cox Purple Rose frit on top and melted it in. The effect is amazing: the silver foil forms a metallic layer around the pink glass and the purple frit creates a pattern of "dragon scales". 

The beads look like they have a delicate golden coating that reflects the light. 

The spacers are pure Moretti Tongue Pink.

I hope you like these dragon-inspired beads as much as I do. I'm sure Nortel has the best selection of glass for your projects. Jean & Jennifer will be very happy to have you as a new or returning customer!

Thank you for reading and stay tuned for more Pendragonfyre Tales adventures!

#effetrearmygreen

#morettitonguepink
#effetre
#nortel
#valcoxfrit
#99%finesilverfoil
#pendragonfyre
#handmade
#handmadeincanada
@nortel_glassgirl

Frit Painting with Val Cox Rio Nights Frit

In this blog post, I will show you some of the beads I made with a frit painting technique. 

I used Effetre pale purple transparent glass as the base and covered it with a thin layer of clear glass. 

I dipped a clear glass rod into Val Cox Rio Nights frit and applied it to the bead, creating striations of color around the bead. 

I sprinkled a bit more frit on each bead to finish the design. 

The result is a set of round beads with a colorful and abstract pattern.

Within this frit, "copper goldstone adds sparkle to this multi-hued blend including Multicolor Dark which color shifts in lively and unpredictible ways with each use.

The spacers are Effetre pale purple.

I am always attempting to also practice my work with hollow beads, so this color combination was an opportunity to make a hollow.

This hollow was simply a base of Effetre pale purple with a sprinkling of Val Cox Rio Nights. I like the result!

I have checked availability of Effetre pale purple (#046) as In Stock on Nortel Glass' online shopping cart.
I believe that Val Cox has stopped production of the frit, so I will have to cherish what little I have left on my shelf!
Reach out to Jean or Jennifer at Nortel for your glassy needs!

#effetre
#handmade
#handmadeincanada
#nortel
#valcoxfrit
#rionights
#pendragonfyre
@nortel_glassgirl

Dragonscales Beads - Can you imagine a dragon?

Can you imagine a dragon? If one existed, I imagine it look like the beads in today's blog post.

I want to share with you some of my latest creations inspired by these majestic creatures. 

This is a bead style that I regularly made several years ago.

I have always been fascinated by dragons and their mythical powers, so I decided to make some beads that capture their essence.

Note: I have left these beads with their glossy surface for today. 

To create a more tactile bead, I usually will pop these in the rock tumbler for a few hours to create a matte surface.

The first set of beads is based on the idea of a green dragon with golden scales. 

I used Effetre Army Green opaque glass as the base and applied 99% fine silver foil on top. Then I sprinkled some Val Cox Purple Rose frit over the silver and melted it all together. 

The result is stunning: the silver foil creates a shiny contrast with the green glass and the purple frit adds some depth and texture. The beads look like they have tiny golden scales that sparkle in the light.

The spacers are pure Effetre Army Green glass.

The second set of beads is inspired by a pink dragon with metallic accents. I started with Moretti Tongue Pink opaque glass as the base and wrapped it with 99% fine silver foil. 

Then I added some rare Val Cox Purple Rose frit on top and melted it in. The effect is amazing: the silver foil forms a metallic layer around the pink glass and the purple frit creates a pattern of "dragon scales". 

The beads look like they have a delicate golden coating that reflects the light. 

The spacers are pure Moretti Tongue Pink.

I hope you like these dragon-inspired beads as much as I do. I'm sure Nortel has the best selection of glass for your projects. Jean & Jennifer will be very happy to have you as a new or returning customer!

Thank you for reading and stay tuned for more Pendragonfyre Tales adventures!

#effetrearmygreen

#morettitonguepink
#effetre
#nortel
#valcoxfrit
#99%finesilverfoil
#pendragonfyre
#handmade
#handmadeincanada
@nortel_glassgirl

Midweek Bits and Bobs For Beads!

Just a few beads to share today to get through the last full week of April.

The glass frit bead set for this week is highlighting Val Cox Oleander frit over a base glass of CiM - Creation Is Messy's Lumen. It is described as an ethereal white moonstone.

 

This particular frit is a beautiful blend of gold pinks transparent and translucent frits, with an accent of spring green. 

 

 

The pinks leds-bearing qualities strike quickly and this is a frit to use "only a sprinkle" as it will spread.

Along with the round beads, there is one single heart as an accent bead.

 

 

The shape of these beads is simple but the focus is on the silver glass tendril running under the clear encasement.

 

Created on a base of CiM Mantis green, ribbed streams of Double Helix Psyche was added, reduced and encased under Double Helix Zephyr clear. 

 

 

A few dots of Psyche were added for surface texture.

This round focal "big hole bead" started with a clear Zephyr core, dotted with CiM Hades black and Double Helix Garage Sale 2016 test glass coded as CL/OD.e. 

 

This glass is a relative of Clio which is a color shifting reducing glass.

 

 

As I had over struck it to create the golden tan reaction and wrap of 99% fine silver, its color is natural and understated. 

Silver glass doesn't always have to be all shine and glitter!

 

One last set comprised of a focal "big hole bead" barrel created with a combination of Double Helix Zephyr and Lumiere Luster Agua Verde, an incredible dichroic-like color shift in micron thin flake. 

There is a faint stream of Double Helix "mystery" glass that was a single rod including in one of past glass orders.

Capturing the luster flake between layers of clear glass is a bit tricky... I need much more practice with this technique until I am comfortable in creating beads consistently.

 

The spacer beads are a mix of several CiM pale green transparents.

 

May is just around the corner! 

 

Thank you for tuning in and follow my journey to the creating of my online shop later this spring.

#creationismessy
#cimglass
#cimlumen
#cimmantis
#cimhades
#nortel
#doublehelixglass
@jetagestudio
#lumierelusters
#pendragonfyre
#handmade
#handmadeincanada
@creationismessy
@nortel_glassgirl

February Flashback - Digging into the CiM - Creation Is Messy Archives - Part 4

More beautiful glass from the CiM Archives to flashback on sets of beads made with colors that are listed as Sold Out on the CiM website, but I have checked availability of these glasses as In Stock on Nortel Glass' online shopping cart.

 

On a base of CiM's Azure, a rich transparent blue, Double Helix Triton silver infused glass frit, decorate each round bead. Triton spacers are included in this set.

The glittering shine from these beads is amazing!

 

This shard bead set is a base of CiM Larkspur with Double Helix Aurae silver infused glass shards. CiM Larkspur is a transparent glass color that shifts between blue and lavender depending on your lighting.Love it for winter as it is rich and luxurious...
The Aurae shards cast golden, silver and copper tones within each reduced shard.

 

This set of goddess series beads were created on a base of CiM Grumpy Bear, an opaque periwinkle blue with layered dots of Effetre Dark Ivory and mixtures of Double Helix silver glasses and Catalyst ES-404. Highlights of Double Helix's silver glass, Ekho, create the bling dots for this set.

 

CiM Tardis is an opal blue that I paired with a basic frit and formed it into cubes.
It is a muted blue base and flowed beautifully as a great background for Valerie Cox’s Sunflower Fields artisan frit.

 

 Reach out to Jean or Jennifer to add some of these "archive" glasses to your new CiM - Creation Is Messy glass order. 

 

#creationismessy
#cimglass
#cimarchive

#cimazure

#cimlarkspur

#cimgrumpybear

#cimtardis

#doublehelixglass

#nortel

#pendragonfyre

@creationismessy

@nortel_glassgirl

A Few Bits and Bobs of Beads - Varieties of Glass Combinations

This blog post is a bit of this and that. 😊

A few glass experiments that I completed in a studio session testing out combinations of glass.

First up, a glass frit set created with a combination of CiM - Creation Is Messy's opaque green named Primavera and Val Cox Songbird frit.

I really like Primavera as a base glass. It melts so smoothly and allows each bead to be shaped quickly and allows the glass frit to flow into unique patterns.

The flat tab bead shows for comparison the base of Primavera against the frit patterning.

This focal bead was my experiment with CiM’s Eden, a extremely dense pine green transparent with added adventurine. I started with a clear core and encased it with Eden as I was hoping that the sparkle of the aventurine would be more evident.

The resulting bead is still very dark green and the sparkle was difficult to truly capture with the camera.

The flower petals were created with layers of CiM’s rare Ra, Double Helix Chloe and capped with Double Helix clear Zephyr. Dots of DH OX-376 complete the bead.

                        

The final set to share today is a revisit back to Effetre glass. 
I must admit that I am a CiM - Creation Is Messy bead maker of which 90% of my beads are made. I love the color palettes that produce true tones and quality of the glass.

Effetre glass is still beautiful quality, it just needs more experimentation to consistently produce the results that I expect.

This set of tile beads was created with 2 Effetre glasses as it’s base, Pistachio 415 and Avorio Pervinca 296. Both glasses have striations that produce a more rustic natural look in the finished beads.

The centre twisted stripe of each bead is a Double Helix silver glass tagged as Terranova 2021.

The silver glass produced tones of blues with just a touch of silver fuming in the kiln.

All the glasses used in this post are ready and available at Nortel Glass in Toronto. Reach out to  them to order these affordable options for your glass bead making!
Til next time,
D.

#creationismessy
#cimglass
#cimprimavera
#effetrepistachio
#effetreivoriapervinca
#valcoxfrit
#nortel
#doublehelixglass
@creationismessy
@nortel_glassgirl

A Study of Pinks and Purple Tones - CiM - Creation Is Messy Limited Runs

 In this blog post, I am revisiting a few pinks and purple CiM - Creation Is Messy glass offerings.

CiM’s Inca Rose Ltd Run is a cloudy pale transparent pink in CiM’s  offerings of limited runs.
This set of zulu shaped beads was created with a base of Inca Rose with a sprinkling of Val Cox’s Songbird frit.

As with other cloudy transparent, I preheated the rod to reduce the stockiness and allowed the glass to melt smoothly.
The bead on the end shows the Inca Rose base color for comparison.

CiM’s Rosaline Pink Ltd Run is cloudy transparent pale pink that is a nice neutral glass with pink tones. I have used it in the past and despite it’s stockiness, I was pleased with the resulting color as a base for frit beads.

This set of tile beads combined Rosaline Pink with Val Cox Moonflower frit. The plain bead provides the comparison of the base glass.

Finally, CiM’s Yours Truly Ltd Run is a pinkish purple transparent with a wide variety of color results, depending on your working atmosphere. 

For my set of frit beads, I used Val Cox’s Oleander frit. This is a beautiful blend of gold pinks transparent and translucent frits, with an accent of spring green. 

As a result, I see the base CiM Glass in more pink tones than purple. These photos were taken under an OTT light for the most natural tones.

Although the CiM - Creation Is Messy website shows Rosaline Pink as Sold Out, it is still available through Nortel Glass in Toronto.
Reach out to Jennifer or Jean at Nortel as they  still have stock of some of Val Cox frit used on these beads that may not be available from Val's site directly.

Be quick as some stock is low and going quick.

#creationismessy
#cimglass
#cimrosalinepink
#cimyourstruly
#cimincarose
#nortel
#ValCoxfrit
@creationismessy
@nortel_glassgirl

CiM - Creation Is Messy 2022 Color - Fjord Milky Ltd Run

This simple set of jewelry box beads were created on a base of CiM's Fjord Milky Ltd Run, bluish teal milky opal, sprinkled with Val Cox Sadie Hawkins frit currently available through Nortel Glass in Toronto

Two crystal shapes, four rounds and two spacers make up this set.

#creationismessy

#cimglass

#cimtesting

#cimfjordmilky

#cimnewcolors

#cimglass2022

#nortel

#valcoxfrit

#pendragonfyre

@creationismessy

@nortel_glassgirl

CiM - Creation Is Messy 2022 Color - Rare 2021.09.25

Each year when I have the wonderful opportunity to test new CiM - Creation Is Messy colors, there is always a rod or two of a surprise color that was part of their color recipe experiments.

This time around it was a rod of a light yellow cloudy transparent simply called 2021.09.25. It was not put into a production run, but the color is so pretty that I hope it may be created again in the future.

 

In this set of simple frit beads, the base glass was sprinkled with Val Cox Painter's Series - Neptune frit. 

 

 

This frit appears to no longer be available on Val's site, but I do see that it is in stock at Nortel Glass in Toronto.

 

The spacers are solid 2021.09.25 test glass. It melted smoothly like butter and I love the soft yellow tone.

 

 

#creationismessy
#cimglass
#cimtesting
#cim2021.09.25
#cimnewcolors
#cimglass2022
#nortel
#valcoxfrit
#pendragonfyre
@creationismessy
@nortel_glassgirl