Messy testing - Jupiter Storm, Ocher and Sunset ltd run

There are 10 new Creation is Messy ltd run glass colours in the pipeline that will on sale sometime soon. You can check out a the CiM preview page for a sneaky-peek.

By far the most intriguing to me was Jupiter Storm. In rod form it looks like a pale grey beige but this finished goddess bead has highlights in palest caramel orange that have nothing to do with fuming from the silver leaf burnished over the top. This colour variation adds a lot of depth and interest to my little goddess bead. Jupiter Storm reacts strongly with fine silver leaf, the dark caramel patches on the torso have been created by burnishing on small pieces of silver leaf and then vapourising it  in the flame.

Ocher ltd run is a fabulous colour, something like Effetre Mustard 460 but much greener. It has a very cool 70's retro feel about it. Although there is a big reaction between Ocher and fine silver, the reaction is not so much a colour change as an earthy organic ashen effect on the surface of the glass - which is much cooler than that description makes it sound (see the effect here on right side of this bead).

Sunset ltd run is a lovely rich and bright coral orange that puts me in mind of ripe Persimmon. It reacts with silver leaf very strongly to give a dark caramel brown organic stain on the glass in the places where the silver has been vapourised away in the flame.

I wanted to test this trio of colours first as they jumped out at me as belonging together.  I immediately wanted to team them up with a lovely bright turquoise and decided to go with Smurfy. I reckon they look great together (see image below) and look very "Desert Sunset". It seems to me that there is much less of the dark reaction line between the Smurfy and the Sunset and Ocher than I would have expected to see from a similar colour selection from the Effetre palette.

Have a lovely day, Jolene xx

New beads on eBay and Etsy

Messy testing - Muskmelon and Mint Chip

This week I have been looking at a couple of the newer pale greens to be added the Green CiM ltd run palette. These came out in autumn last year. First up is Muskmelon, a beautifully subtle shade of pale pistachio green that looks wonderful both glossy and etched.

Muskmelon reacts very strongly with silver. This goddess bead has been partially burnished with fine silver leaf which has then been vapourised in the torch flame. Where the silver was touching the glass there is now a deep toffee coloured patch encrusted with tiny little bead-lets of silver.

The next colour I have to show is Mint Chip. It is much greener than Muskmelon, a pale pastel minty shade of green. I love how Mint Chip looks etched, soft and rich at the same time. It is a great contrast for for the purple and deep green enamel that I've teamed it up with here.

This glossy Mint Chip goddess has been partially wrapped with silver which has then flashed through a very hot torch flame. The reaction is much less pronounced that you can see with Muskmelon but has given a very pretty contrasting reaction with the silver none the less.


Have a lovely week Jolene xx

New work on eBay

Some of my beads on eBay right now

Morning, I've put together a little showcase of some of my beads that are on eBay right now. There are lots of sweet and simple earring pairs and some lovely tiny goddess beads too.

Click here to go take a closer look

Have a lovely weekend, Jolene x

Messy testing - Trade winds, Neon Blue and Tuscan Teal

The first in the trio of CiM ltd run colours that I am looking at today is Tuscan Teal.I adore this colour, it is rich luscious and gem like. The focal to the left has a tube shaped core of Tuscan Teal which has been encased with Effetre 006 clear before I pressed it in to a coin shape. The bubble dots are made with Neon Blue over Effetre white.

This little set has been made using small dots of Tuscan Teal and Trade Winds over Effetre white to  form the core of these encased rounds and show what these two colours look like in dilute form. They compliment each other beautifully they both look lush!

Next up is a pressed coin shaped focal made with Trade Winds. This bead has a core of 006 which has been spiral encased with a thick layer of Trade Winds and a further encasing layer of 006. This lovely blue makes me think of Sapphires.

I have used a small footprint of Trade Winds to form the core of these little beads. The encasing layer is very thick but the core colour is a deep and gorgeous intense blue none the less.

The last bead I have to show toady is made with Neon Blue ltd run over a core of 006. I have encased it with 006 also.  This beautiful blue is much lighter and brighter than Trade Winds. It is a really happy colour.

Click here to see more colours in the CiM Blue Palette

Jolene xx

Kitzbitz Art Beads

Messy testing - Frangipani

CiM Frangipani is one of the most curious colours that I've seen in  quite a while. It is a sweet lilac opal shade that becomes more opaque as you work it longer in the flame. It also develops random striations in a slightly darker shade of purple too. This glass was originally named Unique Crocus 511660-2. I am quite taken with the cloud like effects that this glass can give you all on it's own and think these simple nugget beads are so pretty.

Jolene xx

Milk bottle bird feeders.......

The January Challenge set by Laney Mead for Craft Pimp peeps is to create bird feeders using "stuff"  from around the house. A quick google search later and I found lots of examples of sweet simple milk bottle feeders which looked an excellent starter project to do with my little ones. I asked the kids to doodle some shapes for the openings on each side of the bottles and helped them cut them out.

They had loads of fun filling them up with wild bird seed mix which went everywhere. I pushed through old chopsticks for the birds to stand on and popped some wool through the handles to hang them up by.

Time will tell how much of the wild bird seed will stay in when the wind blows! I hope these turn out to be popular with the local wildlife (which includes a flock of green parakeets) so that my little ones can enjoy watching the birds come by for a snack.



The kids loved making these and the next plan is to make some kind of  bird cookies or fat balls :-D

Jolene xx