Messy testing - Chrysalis and Poolside ltd run

CiM Chrysalis ltd run was created in response to a request for an opaque version of Kryptonite. The hearts on the left are Chrysalis and the dotty beads on the right are made with Kryptonite. Chrysalis is a much paler pastel shade of green than Kryptonite, very pretty. It is denser than Kryptonite and does not appear to let any light pass through it at all but it also has special glossy look to it something akin to the gloss you see with some of the Effetre opalino colours. Chrysalis is a very pretty colour in it's own right and a welcome new addition to the 104 palette.

All of these flower bud beads have a base of Chrysalis with transparent teal petals swiped on over the top. The petals on the left most pair are made with Poolside ltd run and the petals on the right hand buds are made with Aegean ltd run. When placed as a very thin layer in this way these two pretty teal transparent glasses look very similar. In real life the Poolside beads are a touch lighter than Aegean.

These next  flower bead pairs were made with a base of CiM teal colours in various hues which have been partially encased with Effetre clear glass. On the left is Poolside, Aegean in the middle and Tuscan Teal ltd run on the right hand side. You can see very clearly here how different Poolside and Aegean look  when used to create the body of a bead. Below is a leaf created with layers of Poolside, Aegean and Tuscan Teal ltd run which gives it an effective looking ombre appearance.

Happy melting, Jolene xx

Messy testing - Experimental, Musk and Pistachio Ice Cream Ltd Runs

There are some new CiM ltd run colours on the horizon including a new formula for Clear called Experimental ltd run. I have made two similar sets of beads. The first uses Experimental for the encasing layer and the second uses Effetre 006 Clear.

To my eye Musk ltd run looks like a light version of Mojito so I decided to use them both side by side in the same set. This first set of beads has been made with thick cores of Musk ltd run (round beads) and thin cores of Mojito (tumble etched donuts). All were encased with Experimental. The rounds and donuts came out of the kiln looking much closer in hue than they do in rod form due to the relative thickness of the cores and thickness of the encasing layer on top. I have also used Mojito as the top layer on most of the stacked dots in this set as I felt that Musk might look too pale to have much impact when used in such a tiny amount over a coloured dot.

The stringer work was done with Pistachio Ice Cream ltd run, which is a really pretty very pale green opaque. It was much stiffer as a fine stringer than that I expected it to be considering it is such a pale opaque shade. I have also used a touch of Elphaba here and there to give the whole colour scheme a little zingy lift.

The beads in my second set have a core of CiM Aegean ltd run encased with Effetre 006 and decorated with Effetre Lapis 421 and Effetre white.

Below are two close up images showing just one bead from each set side by side, 006 on the left and Experimental on the right. Both clear glasses look quite good in terms of minimal micro bubbles and scum. Experimental just has a slight edge over 006 Clear in terms of clarity when you hold the beads up to the light. I found that experimental was softer than 006 Clear which means that it can be used to make a thinner encasement layer than the stiffer 006 Clear can. All in all I quite like Experimental.

Jolene xx

Messy testing - Royal, Anchor, Frost, Aegean, and Royal ltd run colours

There have been a lot of requests in for new shades of blue and so CiM has been melting experimental batches for new colours :-D The First of the new CiM blues that I have been looking at this past week is called Royal. It's a rich gem toned mid transparent blue unlike anything else I have come across in the 104 palette before.

Royal is saturated enough to lend itself to making lovely stripe cored beads where tiny dots of colour are placed around the edge of a disc bead and stretched out (and the colour diluted) under layers of clear glass. It is both pretty and versatile.

These two sets show a comparison between Anchor ltd run and Leaky Pen under clear as stripe cored beads. Leaky Pen is at the back with Creamsicle detail, Anchor is at the front with detail using Key Lime. Anchor comes out much bluer than Leaky Pen.

Both Anchor ltd run and Leaky Pen are super saturated transparent colours so a little goes a very long way. Anchor really comes into it's own when used as tiny dots and diluted and stretched out under layers of clear as shown withing the stripes and petals of this egg shaped focal.

Next to show is Frost ltd run, here is a side by side comparison of Frost againts some other pale aqua colours. From left to right there is CiM Ice Floe, Vetrofond 038, Frost and Effetre 038.

 Frost is a lovely subtle pale aqua, very close in tone to Effetre 038 but somehow just a tiny bit brighter. The bubbles in the egg shaped bead here on the right were incorporated by my laying down fairly messy wraps when building up the body of my bead. Frost is a lovely clean colour that is not prone to scumming or boiling even when worked quite hot (as I tend to do).

I imagine it would look delicious etched or tumbled but I have not gotten around to trying that yet....

Last to show today is Aegean ltd run. It is a truly beautiful deep teal which looks like a light version of CiM's Great Bluedini (Bluedini sample bead on the left).

Jolene xx