CiM Glass Testing: 874 Adamantium Original and 874-1 Unique

I love grey - and it seems to be a really hot color this year.  CiM's Adamantium has been compared to Lauscha Cocoa, but I think that's not really an accurate comparison.

Adamantium is a warm dark grey, whereas Lauscha Cocoa is more of a dusty cool brown. I love both colors, of course!

I'll talk about the original version first.

This khaki grey came with relatively few surprises, which is good for me.  It's a slightly striking color, and can striate some when not encased. It's still pretty dense - not much washing out under transparent glass, and layers very nicely.  I didn't have any trouble with it spreading or bleeding - which suprises me a little bit.  This color is somewhat close to Effetre's original Sage (Sage is lighter than Adamantium, and has a tinge more green), which bleeds quite a lot (especially in stripes!).  So I expected this color to bleed as well.  I was so happy it didn't!

I also expected this color to be somewhat shocky, as Effetre's shades along this line are all a little shocky.  Adamantium isn't, thank goodness.

I seem to keep repeating the observation that CiM's glass is consistent and less troublesome than its Effetre counterparts - this remains true for me.  I'm beginning to switch over to CiM versions when they are similar to Effetre.  The quality just tends to be better.

What I loved best about this color is that it didn't lighten much at all when I encased it in clear - even in stringer form.  Usually opaque colors fade somewhat when pulled into stringer - especially under a layer of clear.  But my spacers and stringer look much the same in color, which makes me happy.

The unique batch of this color - 874-1 - is slightly lighter and warmer than the original, but only just.  I noticed very few differences in consistency and workability.  Even the swatches seem very similar.  The original batch is on the left.  The spacers show the difference in color.  It's worth nothing that the unique batch is a bit smoother in color - no striation occurs.  No bleeding, spreading or much striking, either.

The unique batch is even closer to Effetre Sage than the original - so much that I might replace the Sage with this Unique version.

The bead sets shown are Adamantium original with black, white and clear.  They're all on Etsy as well.

CiM Glass Testing: 586-1 Mermaid Unique

Rarely, a unique batch of a regular color comes along that I actually like better than the original.  This is one of those colors.

Now, the regular version of CiM Mermaid is a lovely, saturated teal color.  I've blogged about it before - once I got a non-shocky batch of it, I really admired this glass color.

A few weeks ago, I got the new release of the unique batch - 586-1.  And OMG, you guys. It's freaking delicious!  It's deep teal-blue - both darker and more saturated than the original, and slightly less green in color.  It's so dark that there's not much washing out when it's encased.  Stick some Leaky Pen over it and you have a color so deep, so rich, you can get lost in it.

My camera actually lightened this color a bit when I snapped pics of beads made from it, so imagine it slightly darker and more saturated.

The swatches shown are of the regular version (right) and the unique version (left) so you can see the difference. This shade is a color I have been hoping for for a long time.

Working this glass is pretty darn easy.  It doesn't bleed at all, and only striates a little bit.  It's dense - a little goes a long way.  It's neither stiff nor soupy for an opaque - the consistency is right on.  It doesn't bleed or spread out much at all - when I used it with Adamantium it didn't fight for space like I would expect a green/blue to do.  It's not reactive from what I have seen so far, but I haven't used it with any silver glasses.

It's just a gorgeous, dense, super-saturated teal that pairs wonderfully with Leaky Pen and Clear, or can be a gorgeous base all on its own.  I am totally getting more of this when I can.

Here are some beads I made with this color and Adamantium grey.  They're on Etsy if you're interested!

Cautious But Hopeful

After a six-week break, I lit the torch again a couple of days ago.  And it felt.....wonderful.

I've been really depressed this last several weeks, as you probably saw in posts before this. My life has been in turmoil, and the break I took was nothing like a vacation. I've been looking for a job, and while I knew it would take awhile to find something, I didn't realize just how hard it would be.  I've really been dragging my feet. It's probably because I just don't want to give up on beadmaking as my career. 

I can't say I've made up my mind at all as to what I think I should do these days.  All I know is that I finally was able to make beads without bursting into tears.

The colors I am using are dark - my mood is dark - but the creating brought me some peace and some hope.  So I am going to continue to try.

I think I might even put some beads up for sale soon - maybe on Etsy.  Just to test the waters again.  The summer was incredibly slow, sales-wise, but the grapevine is saying that people are starting to want to buy beads again.

So maybe this is another chance for me to start again - somewhat refreshed and hopeful. I would like nothing more than to keep making beads and make somewhat of a living at it.  I feel like that's where I belong. But a bunch of things need to happen for that to become my reality again.

I need to get out more - see people, socialize.  Maybe attend shows and meetings, etc.  My sales need to be decent enough to pay the bills.  My muse needs to hang out in the studio more often. And so on.

So I am cautiously optimistic. And kind of embarrassed and my constant indecision. And hopeful that people won't judge me too harshly.

Last Tuesday I made beads with black, white and grey glass.  They turned out really pretty.  :) Pics to come soon.

Fall Color - Like a Deep, Relaxing Breath

Fall is my favorite time of year, as most of my blog readers already know.  Truthfully, after a hot summer, seeing fall foliage and color relaxes me and makes me feel like I can finally breath again.

Now, I know that fall colors usually come out months - even years - before the actual season starts, but I have kind of been preoccupied.  So I hadn't really noticed much color until I watched the latest Project Runway.  Last year I wasn't thrilled with their color asthetic on that show.  This year is another story.  Even the colors the judges thought were awful got me excited!  Lots of rich, deep jewel tones, greys and silvers and lots of earthtones.  The plum and silver resort-wear swimsuit ensemble on this week's show was just gorgeous.

Now, I am not sure if it's my mood or my fashion sense, but the Lenzing fall color forecast - specifically the "Identikit" section, near the bottom of this page - really speaks to me.  Dark, rich, and very futuristic. Silvery greys, blurry browns and feathery greens soften the heavy purples. I want clothes and beads made of these colors right now.




Pantone's selection of autumn 2010 colors is a bit more lively - more saturated and friendly.  I do like the colors - but feel as though some of them are somewhat summery.  Maybe good for Indian summer weather, if we had it.  The bright coral and vivid, juicy purple shades are somewhat heavy-handed for me this year.  Seems like the designers are in love with the mossy green "woodbine" this year though, and I agree with them. It's gorgeous!

The understated quality of this year's camel and metallic selections speak to me more than the pale blues and bright reds on this fashion site that showcases the runway. And I am in love with all manner of olive green!

I'm also enjoying the color selections over at Cut and Sew - rich chocolate brown, soft camel tan and even a subtle medium bluegreen.  Put those together and you get bliss!

Happiness is a set of fall colors.  Even the vivid oranges, purples, greens and black of Halloween motifs are making me happy this year.  Now I just have to get my glass mojo back and I'll be set. Go Autumn!