Some Words on Lampwork Glass Quality and Prices

I am currently working on the new CiM test batch, and should have a blog post or two done this week. In the meantime, I want to talk a bit about something that has bugged me for years. This year will be my 15th year of lampwork beadmaking. Not to be cliche or anything, but time sure has flown by!

Over the course of the last 10 years or so, I have noticed a steady decline in the quality of some of the 104 coe glass I have worked with, particularly with Effetre. I'm not putting Effetre down - I still love their glass. They easily have the most variety in color and, for the most part, the best prices. That's changing, though.

One thing I have been experiencing over the last decade or so is the increase in the air bubbles that run lengthwise through an Effetre glass rod - especially in the handmade opaque colors like Dark Pink, Opal Yellow, Copper Green, Sage and Avocado. Air holes like this cause shocking (and the eventual shattering), but they also make the glass impossible to use for making encased stringer. This might not be such a major deal if the prices for these glass colors wasn't so high.  When I pay a higher price for handmade glass, I don't expect it to be practically unusable. Especially since the quality of the handmade rods used to be really nice, around a decade ago. Granted, Effetre does have machine made glass that is somewhat less expensive, but the machine made versions of those colors just are not the same shades. Machine made Sage is a lot less rich and brown than the handmade version.

Speaking of Sage, the last time I bought the handmade version of it, all of the beads I made with it cracked - something I have never dealt with before with that color.

This brings me to the issue of different batches of the same color name. Effetre is not the only glass company that has issues with this - all of them do. And they aren't all that consistent with labeling when it comes to a difference in a color batch. For instance, I use CiM Adamantium and CiM Lapis regularly. They both used to be darker in color. CiM is usually really good about changing the name of a color if it comes out different, but once in awhile they don't. Effetre almost never lets us know when the batch is off on some colors like Rubino Oro or Silver Pink. But they have so many different shades of Coral and Dark Pink that it borders on ridiculous. And we have not seen the original shades of either color in years and years.

Shocking was never a problem for me a decade ago - now I am careful with every opaque rod I put in the flame, no matter what brand it is, because easily 50% of them shock a little, and I have way more problems with a total shattering rod than I ever used to have. Shattering rods are a complete waste of my time and money - and when it's an expensive color, I want to scream when it happens. 10 years ago, I barely knew what shocking was. Now it seems like everyone talks about it as a common occurrence.

The one company that seems to almost never have quality issues is Double Helix. Since they have decided to make their version of Rubino (called Rhea) a regular color, I am switching to it, no matter how much more expensive (and it really is expensive), because it is just so much better. Hopefully they will eventually make a version close to the Vetrofond version that I miss so very much. I'd pay really good money for that. DH glass is such good quality that I pay easily 4-5 times more for their clear glass - I will never go back to the scummy, bubbly, crappy monstrosity that is Effetre clear, no matter how much people try to convince me that it is an okay clear. It's not. Not for what I like anyway - which is optical clarity and neutrality.

Speaking of scumming and bubbling - I've noticed that has increased as well over the years in lighter transparent colors - especially blues and pinks. CiM's colors that bubble will respond to more heat and the bubbles will evaporate away most of the time - especially with their aquas and even their newer clear (which is the only one I would ever consider using in place of DH Zephyr if I ever can't get any). Effetre's transparents however will not respond that way - the more you heat them, the more they bubble. I have to be ultra -gentle with their pinks for sure.

For these reasons, I have more and more been replacing my Effetre colors with CiM colors when I find an equivalent. CiM's glass almost never has air bubbles running the length of the glass, and their rods tend to have more consistency in color than Effetre - with a few exceptions. CiM can be somewhat more expensive, unless it's on sale (which at Frantz it often is), but the quality is worth it. I do use Effetre still - some colors are just not found anywhere else (Dark Pink, Ink Blue Violet, Grass Green). It just irks me when a color I love (Opal Yellow!!!) has declined so much in quality but still costs a lot.

I guess, such are the trials and tribulations of being a perfectionist when it comes to glass. I don't think the Italian glassmakers really pay much attention to beadmakers, and never have (from what I've been told). They have much bigger markets to pay attention to. So the quality of the glass they send to Frantz is not high on their priority list. We get what they give us, period.

I am happy that companies like CiM and Double Helix do pay attention to us and are concerned with giving us the highest quality glass they can. So, silver linings. :) Rant over - thanks for reading if you got this far!  Comments and discussion are encouraged. :)

Glass Testing: CiM 716 Chateau Ltd. Run and CiM 530 Zoe Ltd. Run

Continuing on with the testing for the giant batch of new colors I got from Creation is Messy, today's colors are the gorgeous aqua called Zoe, and the soft neutral called Chateau.

First up is Chateau, and lovely transparent brownish beige. It reminds me a bit of cream soda, and is a nice alternative for Effetre's Light Brown transparent.

 According to CiM's website, this color was created to be similar to Sepia, but without the reddish undertone.  It fits the bill nicely - it's a true pale brown without any reddish or greenish undertones, and works nicely as an encasing layer for any browns or creams.

One thing I need to mention is that this glass can scum easily if you heat it too fast.  Work it under a cooler flame, and when using it as stringer, don't let it get too melty or it will bubble up.  It's not too stiff, so there's not much of an issue getting it to melt.

One other thing - when using this color with Effetre Sage (the new handmade version, not the machine made version) I had some severe compatibility cracks when making encased florals.  I am not sure what the culprit was - but using it under a thick encasement of clear (DH Zephyr) produced cracks like I have never seen. I didn't get cracks with other combinations of similar colors, so I have narrowed down the culprit to either Sage or Chateau. The cracking didn't happen in any other beads made with these colors - just the encased florals.  So just bear that in mind.

Other than that, I really love this color - it's a nice neutral that adds a soft beigy brown cast to anything it's layered with. 

Chateau layered with Effetre Mudslide makes a nice toffee color.

Chateau layered with Effetre Sage is a soft latte brown - use sparingly to avoid cracks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On to one of my very favorite selections in the new color batch - Zoe.  When CiM sent the new batch of colors, there were quite a few in the aqua/teal/blue range.  That thrilled me because I really love those colors.  Zoe is one of the best. For some reason, this color just shines and sparkles more than any aqua I've seen in any brand of glass.

Okay, enough gushing - on to the important stuff.

The first thing you need to know is that transparent aqua shades are a bitch to photograph.  Seriously.  The camera just does not capture the real color very well.  It doesn't even look right on the CiM website, which frustrates me to no end, because I want to relay to you, the color addict, just how gorgeous this aqua blue really is. 

CiM made this color to be a light version of Pulsar ( which is basically CiM's version of Effetre Dark Aqua) It succeeds - it's lighter and slightly less saturated than Pulsar, which I really like.  This makes it the perfect shade for springy aqua beads.

As usual, CiM's aqua glasses are better behaved than Effetre's - they don't scum or bubble or spread or bleed, etc.  Zoe is no exception. There may be some scummy spots when you first melt the rod, but those will disappear quickly as you melt the glass.  Zoe can take a lot of heat without burning out or bubbling, which makes it an ideal layering color.  Zoe isn't too stiff, which is also nice.

I think Zoe makes a wonderful layering color with either Effetre Light Sky Blue (for a brighter shade) or CiM Duck Egg (for a softer shade). 

As I mentioned before, there are several other aqua shades in the new CiM color batch. Most of these are very close in hue, with just tiny differences in the amount of green/blue and in saturation. I'm sure there are lots of opinions on which is best, but Zoe is my personal favorite. Since color love is subjective, your mileage may vary.  So far, I am of the opinion that any one of these aqua shades will be a great addition to your palette. :)

Zoe layered with Duck Egg (the purples are Heffalump, Dark Lavender and Pale Ink Blue)

Zoe layered with Duck Egg (the purples are Heffalump, Dark Lavender and Pale Ink Blue)

Zoe with Duck Egg as a raised floral is nice and bright.

Glass Beadmaking: Absence of Color - Focusing on Design

This time of year, I usually start making beads in fall colors - purples, ambers, oranges, greens, browns, etc. For some reason this year, I remain sort of uninspired.  Maybe it's the weather (which has been uncharacteristically warm in the Northwest this year). Maybe it's the stress. Who knows. So, I decided to take the color out of the equation this week and just work with black and white. 

Glass used: Vetrofond Black, Effetre White and Double Helix Aether.

Working with black and white is fun because the stability of the glass I use allows me to go crazy with stacking, masking, raking and twisting, and still end up with crisp, clear designs on the beads.

My favorite bead uses encased white stringer with masked black and white dots.

For black, I primarily use Vetrofond Black. It's sad, though, because it's been discontinued and I can't find it anywhere anymore.  I am down to my last two rods (!!)  I am hoping that CiM Hades will work in its place, but we'll have to see.

For those who are unaware, all black glass is not alike.  The reason why is that black is not an opaque color - it's a very, very dark transparent color, technically speaking.  Effetre Black, which I think is the most commonly used black glass out there (in beadmaking anyway), is really just a super dark transparent plum/purple. It's not dark enough to prevent it from bleeding into other colors, though, and that's most evident when you use it with white.  Lines are not as crisp, and you can see a slight purpling of the edges of the white when both are layered together.

Most other black glasses I have used have similar issues. They either spread, feather or discolor any pale opaque color used with them.

Some black glasses are actually made that way on purpose (Effetre Intense Black for instance). Some beadmakers are very adept at using that property to their advantage when making beads with organic, freeform designs.

Vetrofond Black is great, because it is based in blue and not purple, and it seems to be darker and to have more stability.  So the lines are really crisp, and there is very little bleeding.

CiM has several black glasses, and I have read that Hades is the best when it comes to stability and darkness.  Yey!  In the meantime, I am going to keep my eye out for stashes of Vetrofond Black.

Beads with designs close to the holes

I got a lot of joy making black and white beads this week.  I think my designs have gotten more intricate over the years, and my beads have gotten slightly smaller.  I really love tiny intricate work!

 I've also been focusing on asymmetry - making the designs pull focus toward the hole and not toward the center of the bead. Just for fun and visual interest.

Next week, it's back to fall colors, I think.  I really do love autumn, so hopefully inspiration will find its way back to me. :)

These are all available on my website of you're interested.

Glass Testing: CiM 210 Sunset Ltd. Run and CiM 614 Jellyfish Ltd. Run

Creation is Messy has a new batch of Limited Run colors up this month, so I put my two favorites together for this test.

First up is CiM Sunset - which was a happy surprise for me!  Almost

all of the coral/orange glass I have ever tried, which has usually been made by Effetre, has had cracking problems when encased in clear or even in light transparent colors.  It doesn't always cause the bead to crack, but it does enough of the time to keep me from wasting my time making encased beads with any coral/orange glass I have.

So, when I saw this lovely, dense, streaky orange rod from CiM, I thought to myself..."hmmmm I wonder if this cracks under encasing, too?"  The good news is that as far as I can see, Sunset doesn't have the cracking problems that all the Effetre 420 odd corals have.  But it does have the same lovely, juicy, saturated orange that we find in those Effetre coral oranges.


Sunset works up a little nicer than the Effetre coral oranges - not too stiff, has a tendency to streak and strike in the flame a little bit, but not as much the Effetre.  Also, Sunset doesn't have the rough texture that sometimes happens with Effetre corals. No pitting or air bubbles that I saw. No bleeding or spreading that I saw.

The color of Sunset is a true orange - it doesn't tend toward either red or yellow.  Encasing it in clear lightens it just a little bit.  For fun, I encased it in Jellyfish, and got a lovely watermelon orange which looks delicious.

I had no problem layering this dense glass - it keeps its color very well.

1. Sunset with clear encased Sunset scrolls. 2. Effetre Lavender Blue Pastel encased with Jellyfish, with clear encased Sunset scrolls. 3. Clear encased Sunset with Lavender Blue Pastel and Jellyfish dots. 4. Jellyfish encased Sunset with Jellyfish encased Lavender Blue Pastel scrolls.

Jellyfish under daylight lamps

Next, we have CiM Jellyfish, a pretty transparent lavender that shifts to lighter bluish in fluorescent light, just like other lavender glass out there.

This version of lavender is very close to the old CiM Count von Count - maybe just a touch lighter. Not as light as Larkspur, and not as pink as Purple Haze.  Not as muted as Tranquility. Compared to Effetre Dark Lavender, Jellyfish is just a touch lighter.

There's nothing that sets this glass apart from all the other lavenders that CiM has released over the years - it works up nicely, isn't too stiff, holds its color and is really pretty. It does scum up a little on the rod as you melt, but that goes away when worked into a bead or pulled as stringer.  It's not as scummy as Effetre versions.

I'm glad for the release of this color, because it's been difficult to find Dark Lavender, and the other CiM lavenders have mostly been discontinued (Except for Larkspur, which is lighter than Jellyfish).  As long as CiM keeps bringing out the lavender glass, I will buy it because I like the consistency better than Effetre.

I am hoping that Jellyfish doesn't turn out to be as expensive as Purple Haze was! Both of these colors are set to come out sometime this month.I'm looking forward to making pumpkins with Sunset and lots of flowers with Jellyfish.  They are limited runs, so get them as soon as you can, because I think they will sell fast. :)

Summer Sunset set, same colors as beads in the above pics.

Pantone Color for 2014 Radiant Orchid - A Tall Order for Glass Beadmakers!

Radiant Orchid

Pantone - the influencial color design company - just announced their color of the year for 2014 - a gorgeous pinkish purple called Radiant Orchid. It's such a lovely color - I could hear the jubilant cheers of designers from here!

However, as I am sure lots of glass beadmakers would agree, it's kind of a mixed bag for us in the lampworking world. While Radiant Orchid is really beautiful, it's not an easy color to find in glass.

The closest hue I can see would be Effetre's 254 Opaque Purple, which is nicknamed EDP, or Evil Devitrifying Purple. Most glass beadmakers I have talked to have a love/hate relationship with EDP, me included. It's a singularly beautiful shade of orchid purple, but it has a habit of blooming into a chalky, yucky, pitted pinkish matte color when worked in the flame. Encasing it is damn near impossible.

One of the only times I used EDP successfully - as a base and as frit.

These days, EDP has been reformulated and has come in several batches, each one having a little less of a tendency to devitrify, thank goodness.  The most recent batch I bought doesn't devit nearly as much as the original, but it still bleeds and spreads when you layer it.  Therefore, it's best used as a base, which really limits its usability for me. Frantz Art Glass has a blog post about working with devitrifying glass - and it is helpful for those beads that just have EDP as a base. 

There are some beadmakers out there who do amazing things with EDP, and have learned how to coax out the best properties of the color - and to those miracle workers I doff my cap to you.

Lavender glass with Rubino scrolls - somewhat close to Radiant Orchid?

In the days ahead, I am going to try and layer different shades of pink and purple to see if I can approximate Pantone's Radiant Orchid - we'lll have to see if I am successful.  It should be a fun journey!

A Beadmaker's Signature Color Scheme...

Sweetest Thing Sets - Feb 2013

We all know about signature designs in beadmaking.  Whether or not we agree that there should be such a thing, it's hard to ignore the fact that some beads just scream the artist's name.

Venus Flowers - Oct 2006

Is there such a thing as a signature color scheme, though?   I think so.  I'm not talking about exclusive rights, mind you - I don't think there can be a right to claim an entire color scheme as one's own.  That would be silly - there are only so many glass colors out there.

What I mean is that some beadmakers really identify with a particular color or group of colors.  They've worked so much with these colors that they really know the glass in and out. When looking at these colors, the artist feels at home, familiar, content and even joyful.  When people see those colors in beads, they might even recognize the beads as belonging to the artist - even if the designs are not as familiar.

Sweetest Thing Trio - Feb 2013

As an artist, I think I have one of those signature thingies. For years, I have loved making beads using a sweet combination of pink and yellow. I've called these beads a number of different names over time, depending on how they turn out, and on my whim.



It all started with the discovery of the nature of some of the handmade glass out there.  Particularly, an Effetre handmade color called Opal Yellow, an Effetre staple called Rubino Oro (a.k.a. Gold Pink) and an Effetre mistake called Streaky Pink.  I realized that these three colors together did something really special, and I immediately fell in love.

Pure Joy - Mar 2006

Throughout the years, the glass changed slightly.  Streaky Pink was no longer made, so I replaced it with various batches of Effetre 256 Dark Pink - sometimes a frustrating venture. 256 has changed so much over time, that it's hard to predict how that glass will turn out.  Sometimes it came in rich batches of pink (like the old Crazy Cane or Raspberry that I have run out of but still lust after).

Sometimes the batches were a lighter pink, but still struck slightly darker. Often, and more common lately, 256 is a lighter pink that shifts a greyer tone when worked. This means I have to work really hard to get what I want out of it.  It's a challenge I still gladly take on in order to get the lovely combination I still find intoxicating.

Opal Yellow has also shifted through the years - sometimes striking deep peaches, sometimes striking an almost mustard-y yellow.   Often staying lighter and even washing out. The same story goes for Rubino - a glass that's famous for being really unpredictable in its color and nature.

The one thing these glass colors all have in common is that they are striking colors that combine together to create an almost endless array of shades of pink, orange and yellow. They all layer so well and spread out to make glorious designs with an almost painted look. 

Sunset - Feb 2004

The love affair started with a set I called Sunset. It's hard to believe I started making beads in these colors over 9 years ago! These first attemps were when I had only been making beads for a year or two, so please be gentle. :) My flowers were atrocious, so I concentrated more on layering and twisting dots. I also vetured into the world of cubes, which I found to be a lot of fun. These beads were made when I was still using a larger mandrel for the hole, which is why the beads are less round and more donut-y.

Sugar & Spice - Mar 2004

Pink Fire Focal - Feb 2004

Burst - Oct 2006

Over the years, I got better with my design work, but never lost my love for these colors. As you can see, my photography skills changed over the years, too - as well as my actual camera. Some of these pics show a real change in these colors, but that sometimes had more to do with lighting and such than the actual glass I used.

Dawn Flower - Jun 2007

By 2006, I was working on the smaller mandrels, and rounding out my beads a little more.I tried surface florals in these colors, but found that the spreading of the Rubino made the flowers distort more than I liked. Leaving the flowers slightly raised looks much better.

Pink Carnival - Mar 2006

I tried different shapes at that time, and found that pressing these colors sometimes yielded really pretty results. Etching them, however, wasn't as attractive. Rubino can sometimes etch unevenly, leaving a rough texture.

Sunshine - Jul 2006

Flame Tabs - Jun 2008

 As time went by, I got the hang of these glass colors and their little idiosyncracies, refining the designs to bring out the shades' natural beauties.

These days, this color scheme is what I do when I am in need of comfort. When my mojo is off, and my muse is on vacation, I can always count on this scheme to come out at least somewhat nicely.

Flame Cubes - Jun 2008

Well, they look nice coming out of the kiln, anyway.  Taking pics of these colors has been a serious challenge.  Opal Yellow can look green-ish or more mustard-y in a picture than it does in real life.  And the pinks can be washed out or even purple-y.  Fine tuning the color in the photo-editing program (in my case, Paint Shop Pro X) requires a delicate hand and a sharp eye, or the pic can come out looking over-processed, as some of these do.

Fields of Joy - Jun 2008

I hope the more current beads look better in pictures, but the fact remains that they look infinitely better in the hand - at least I think so. The very last pic here is one of the batch of trios I just listed on Etsy yesterday. I made them earlier this week, and still found bliss while at the torch. I hope you enjoy looking at all these pics, and that you had fun strolling down memory lane with me.

So, how do you feel about signature color schemes? Do you gravitate toward any one color combo - and can you think of any other artists that have one?   I'd love to hear about it in the comments!  Have a great day, everyone. :)

Bliss - Jun 2012

Joy - Aug 2013

CiM Glass Testing: 408 Leapfrog Ltd. Run, plus Gathering Stuff

Hi everyone - I'm back!
So was the title of this post enigmatic enough for ya? :)

First, I've had a bunch of people ask me to post an update about how the Gathering went a couple of weekends ago.  In a word - great!! There were awkward moments - as there always are when one has social anxiety and other mental issues... but for the most part I had a wonderful time.  Most everyone was so nice - and seeing faces to go with names again was great.  I am so glad I swallowed my fear and went - I knew I would regret it if I didn't.

I've posted pics and comments on my Facebook if anyone wants to check those out. 

While I was at the Gathering, I picked up a couple of bundles of sample glass from Kathy of Creation is Messy - one is the group of colors she has released already and you can see pics of over on the website.  One is a bundle of brand new colors that don't even have names or numbers yet (!!!)

I have to tell you, I am so excited by the colors I got, I can barely type!  :)

There are quite a few colors, but several really stand out, and I will be testing them as quickly as I can.  We have both an opaque peach and a transparent peach!  Peach is one of those colors that really does not exist in any kind of saturated form at all in the 104 COE line.  The transparent version will be one of CiM's basic colors and looks soooo promising, I can't even tell you.

The other color I am dying over is a transparent dark navy blue.  Navy!!  Finally!!  I have been hoping for a navy blue ever since I ran out of that odd lot of Vetrofond that I think was called Denim Blue that I can't even find anymore.

There are also several opals - one of which is a deep and dark and luscious teal green.  There are some weird reds, a couple of yellows, and lots of green.

Speaking of green - that's the first color I am showing today - and it has no name or number, so the rod was just labelled "A".  (note: as of 8/29/12, this color has been named and numbered 408 Leapfrog Ltd. Run) No, I won't be going in alphabetical order... this is just the first color that came about, because I wanted to make pumpkins, and could use this for the stem/vines.

Soylent, Split Pea, "A"

"A", I was told, is an odd lot of Split Pea, a lovely soft opaque green. It's possible that this will be a limited run color, but we'll have to see.  It doesn't even have a page yet, so I will have to wait to link to it.

Soooo, this odd lot is a touch lighter and brighter than Split Pea, and I think a great name for it would be Pistachio.  It kind of sits between Split Pea and Soylent (a brighter Christmas green).

"A" is entirely opaque and pretty dense.  While Soylent striates pretty heavily, this new color only does so a little bit - more toward the hole than in the middle of the bead.  It's a smoother color - much more like Split Pea.  The consistency is nice - not too stiff and not too soupy.  I didn't see any bleeding or spreading, as in many Effetre opaque greens - and this is something CiM continues to impress me with. Their opaque greens tend to be more stable and layer really well.

"A", encased with DH Aether, and as plain spacers

Pumpkin - Effetre Tequilla Sunrise Coral, "A", Effetre Lt Grass Green

Encased, "A" gets a little lighter without losing its opacity. I encased it with DH Aether (clear) on the spacer, and with Effetre Light Grass Green on the vines in the pumpkin beads. The stringer layed very well and melted nicely.

Pumpkin - no bleeding from the green!

This shade makes a nice addition to the green palette for CiM - one I probably will buy.  There are a LOT of greens in CiM's line - especially opaque greens - but so far, none of them seem redundant. 

More colors coming soon!  :)

Cim Glass Testing: Let's Talk About Red!

This post is a long one, so grab a cup of coffee and settle in!

Today I am going to review a group of CiM glass colors in the red spectrum - and we'll also hear from guest blogger Kim Affleck!  I asked Kim to help me test one of the reds that I got, because she is really great at striking transparent red, and she agreed.  She has lots to say about this new batch of reds that came in recently.

Red glass in general has properties that are different from other glass colors, and comes with its own set of unique challenges for glassworkers. Most transparent reds are striking colors - they change shade based on temperature and type of flame.  They tend to get brighter as they are cooled and reheated over and over.  However, transparent reds tend to burn very easily and will boil if heated too quickly or for too long.  Opaque reds are notoriously variable from batch to batch, and most of them striate. They also turn black in the flame - so keep that in mind when working together with black glass - you can't often tell them apart until they cool off.

Specifically, we're going to look at some of the brand new reds CiM has released, as well as an older CiM red that I really love.  I'll also talk about a vivid orange.

First up is CiM Valentine, a lovely deep opaque red.  This color can best be compared with some batches of Effetre Purple Red, but as we'll see, they are not exactly alike. Valentine is slightly warmer.

solid spacers

Valentine is a true red, and appropriately named.  It's incredibly saturated in color and looks to have fallen right off the Valentine's Day shelf.

Working with this color was fairly easy - it's a typical opaque red.  It striates a little when used as a base, but not overly much.  It's not too stiff for an opaque, which is nice, because I enjoyed using it as a layering color.  I did end up having a couple of cracking issues when layering this with DH Aether clear, but that could have been user error, in that it only happened on two beads out of a full kiln.  Because red can be temperature sensitive, keep an eye on your heat and don't let the reds cool too quickly.

Valentine makes fantastic stringer when encased with CiM Sangre (covered later) - probably the most gorgeous encased stringer I have ever seen.

If Valentine remains consistent from batch to batch, I am probably going to use it in place of my normal Effetre Purple Red for holiday beads and for basic red in general.  Because I like my reds saturated and deeper, this is a wonderful addition to my color palette.

Below, this first set has Valentine as the opaque red.  Sangre is used in the center bead, layered on the Valentine.

On the set below, Effetre Purple Red is used, by itself on the left bead, and layered with Sangre on the other two.  You can see it is slightly darker and colder than Valentine is. 

Next, we have the new CiM Maraschino - a semi-transparent light bright red, that looks exactly like it sounds.  It's cheerful and youthful - like cherry candy.

Maraschino acts pretty much like any other semi-transparent red glass.  Semi-transparents are different from opals - they carry no opalescent sheen.  They just sometimes opacify in the flame - usually underneath the top layer of transparent glass. Most "transparent" reds that aren't strikers do that.  Unlike striking red, the color in a semi-transparent remains saturated, but sometimes can't be totally seen through.

This is why I really like these types of colors as layering glass only when used with an opaque that is similar in shade.  Semi-transparents can then be used to brighten the opaque and make it really shiny.


These Maraschino spacers turned out to be sometimes transparent and sometimes like an encased bead.  The bead on the upper right looks to be somewhat opaque. What you get seems to be kind of random - I haven't yet figured out the specific temperature or flame environment that causes the opacity to come out in any of these types of reds. I've had similar reactions with Lauscha's transparent reds.

This shade of red was really tough to photograph.  It's so vivid that it threw off the camera, I think.  Red tends to do that, but this specific shade was tougher than most. 

My favorite red in the whole 104 COE line is CiM Sangre.  This is one of CiM's older basic colors, and I find it to be consistently beautiful and easy to use.  It's also a semi-transparent, and is a vivid Christmas red that's very similar in shade to Valentine.  I consider it to be relatively close to Lauscha Cherry Red from way back when. It's the perfect red for me - not too warm and not too cold, on the darker side - like red velvet cake.


Sangre doesn't really strike - it's basically the same intensity, no matter how you work it - as long as you don't burn it out.  It's a wonderful layering glass, in my opinion, but can almost seem like an opaque when you use it as a base by itself. It's not too stiff and doesn't spread or bleed.  None of the reds seemed to bleed at all, and stayed put for the most part on all the beads, even when raked.

Christmas beads and Valentine's beads really stand out when you use Sangre with Valentine - they work very well together. Below, you can see them in one of my latest sets.  The stringer is particularly pretty - Valentine encased with Sangre.

Next in line are two brand new reds that I got even before they were named. They started out as 11.10.9 and 11.10.9s. Now they are known as Crimson and Ruby Slippers respectively.  Both are limited run colors, and Crimson is already available, while Ruby Slippers will come out sometime in April, according to CiM's website.

I am doing these two together for a couple reasons.  First, as many CiM testers have verified, they look to be essentially the same color, even though the formulas are different.  Second, they both have some serious issues that make them unusable for me particularly.  These are also the colors I asked Kim to help me with, and she agrees that they are problematic.

This swatch is of 11.10.9s - Ruby Slippers.  I tried making a swatch of 11.10.9 Crimson, but it shattered every time I put it even near the flame.  I am guessing that's not normal for the color, as Kim was able to work with it without having it shatter.

Both colors are striking red transparents.  They change color when heated, cooled and reheated. 

Here's what Kim had to say about Ruby Slippers:

"This transparent struck easily for me with two strikes.  However, it is really easy to overstrike and gets livery (cloudy brown)

The plain spacer (3rd from right, above) was heated until clear, allowed to cool, then struck, allowed to cool, then struck again.  I got a nice red but there is too much brown in it for my taste.

The encased spacers (far right, above) were worked basically the same way but as you can see - they went VERY cloudy.

The bicone has a core of white, THINLY encased with 9s transparent red, then THINly encased with clear.  Nice red on this one.  it struck well - the uneveness of the red is due to the thickness of the application, rather than any uneveness in striking.

On the florals, I used the darker red for the base of the petals in one bead, and I used white for the base of the petals in the other bead.  I did not get the lovely, velvety red I was looking for and you can see that the red in the lighter flowers has a lot of brown."

As for Crimson, which is not pictured, Kim had this to say:


"It goes livery even easier that the other.  Frankly, it is an ugly red. No point in going any further with it.  It was also a bit more difficult to strike than the other one.  Did not like!  LOL!!"

Now, this is saying a lot, given that Kim is very good at striking red glass!  She regularly uses Effetre Striking Red, which is probably the most comparable to these two shades.

I personally prefer semi-transparent reds to striking reds, so it's likely that I won't purchase either of these.

Last but not least, we have CiM Pimento Ltd Run, a super vivid cool orange-red that can almost be called neon.  It's so freaking bright!  Especially when used as stringer.

Pimento is very saturated.  Like intensely so.  I am shocked by how much color is in this glass.  It overtakes everything!  It's your basic opaque - not too stiff, doesn't bleed, or spread, and is consistent in shade, for the most part.  It pretty much acts like an opaque red in the flame - it turns black when hot and can burn easily.

By itself, I don't find this a very attractive color.  It sits between red and orange and is just not my thing.  However, according to Pantone, this shade of orange is super hot this season, so there you go.  I'm not as fashionable as I thought!

This is one of those colors that seems to get brighter as its thinned out.  Encased stringer made with Pimento and clear is amazingly bright and pretty - a lighter orange.  However, an encased base with this color and clear is almost too dark for my taste.

On the set below, I tried using black and white to temper the sheer brightness of this color, and it worked to a point.  It reminds me a bit of the color of clownfish.  However, even the pic of these beads downplays the brightness of the orange.  Put on sunglasses!

Whew, that was a long one - hope you enjoyed the reviews - and hope your eyes don't hurt! Till next time.... :)