CiM Glass Testing: 116 Mahogany Ltd. Run

Lots of reds and neutrals were in the latest batch of test glass from CiM last month - which I really like.  Today, I'm talking about Mahogany, a limited run color that is an unusual shade of reddish brown.

I couldn't quite figure out what this color was supposed to be when I saw the rods - it was a shade or two lighter than Effetre's old Cinnamon Chocolotta, and was labelled an opaque red on CiM's website.

For me, the name is kind of confusing.  When I think of mahogany, I think of the wood - a rich, dark reddish brown.  This color is more like cinnabar, or even a brick color, but not as orange. It sits right between red and brown for me, making it difficult to classify. Whatever we try and call it, it is a color we don't otherwise see in the 104 COE lines, which is great.

Mahogany is a nice fall shade - it goes really well with the ambers and browns of the season, and fits right in.

I love the density of this glass - it's well saturated, so it doesn't wash out or go translucent under encasing.  Layering is easy - it stays opaque.  The glass itself isn't too stiff or too soft, and didn't have any shocking problems.

Mahogany does have a tendency to striate - and strikes just a little.  You'll get little reddish streaks if you work the glass for awhile. Under clear, the color goes more brownish than red, especially if it's not melted in. 

It  encases like a dream, and doesn't bleed or spread much at all.  The glass is stable and the color stays put, even when used as encased stringer.

In these sets, I paired mahogany with Effetre Opal Yellow, Medium Topaz, Light Topaz and Black.  Clear was used for any encasing or layering over the Mahogany. 

All in all, I really like this addition to the color palette.  Nice and spicy for fall!

My Favorite Color for May

Yey, it's May! Happy May Day and Happy Beltane, everyone. This midpoint of spring makes me think of lovely, cheerful spring green hues that are just a shade or two away from yellow and lime - the perfect color for the fresh new blooms of the season.

In glass, Effetre 071 Transparent Yellow Green is the perfect color. I adore this color - it's light enough to encase with and lends a crisp, vibrant aspect to the beads I make with it. It's one of those versatile glass colors that will go with anything, I think - especially purple!






Try layering this easy-to-use color over Effetre Uranium Yellow (as shown in these beads), or CiM Dirty Martini. For darker shades, try Effetre Copper Green, or layering it with other, darker transparents such as Effetre Grass Green for lime-ier hues.

Have fun! :)

Color Inspiration

For me, there's nothing like a colorful fashion magazine to get my creative juices flowing, and the April 2009 issue of InStyle certainly does not disappoint! I picked this up at the store because it leaped off the shelf screaming at me - it's "The Color Issue"! Yey! A whole issue devoted to color and fashion. Even the ads are gorgeous.

In fact, I think many of the ads even outshine the articles when it comes to color schemes and visual creativity. Whoever's designing some of these ads is a genius.

There do seem to be some recurring color themes throughout the issue. For the most part, the colors are either incredibly bright and saturated - like the colors of the rainbow, but even more so, or they are muted and subtle. Some of the little blurbs have clothes or items laid out in rainbow order, and they are bright, vivid and almost jarring. Other articles show the subdued but not quite pastel colors of spring. And there's lots and lots of grey! I'm excited about the grey because I love mixing grey glass with other colors.



For instance, check out this blend from a Chevy ad whose tagline is "cargo couture". It makes perfect sense. The car in the ad is silver, and the rest of the page is a lovely shade of grey/berry that just is lovely. Grey/silver and shades of purple are sprinkled over many pages of this issue, so I detect a trend here for the coming season, which I might duplicate in beads soon!

Purple and lavender, along with violet are all really popular in this issue - and pairing them with reds, fuchsias and black is all over the place.



This Mac ad scheme is shown in an ad with a woman wearing a stunning dress of feathers. The effect is so pretty, I almost want to frame it. There's a darker version of this vivid scheme in a Coffeemate ad towards the end of the issue.



Throw in some deep red and chocolate brown with the purple and a bit of tuxedo black and white and you get this delicious scheme, shown in a dress ad by Badgley Mischka.



I think my favorite ad of the bunch is this two-pager by Got2Be hair products. The picture is lush and opulent. I'd buy these without caring what they contain, just to have the bottles, which are a sweet combination of berry and creme brulee that kills me dead. If I can figure out which glass colors will give me this combination, beads will definitely be made.




Some of the ads and articles featured colors that I never would have put together on my own - like this one, shown in a shoe ad from Privo by Clarks. The black/maroon and grey/camel shoes are floating on a sea of greyish aqua blue that I can't even think of a good name for! The effect is lovely and soothing. And totally makes me want to buy the shoes.



Another totally unexpected delight is the ad by Dexter and Payless Shoes, which features a girl in a bright yellow sweater lounging on a grey/blue/aqua sofa chair thing. Her shoes are cute, but I don't care, because they are totally outshined by the black/yellow/blue of the ad. This weird shade of grey/blue/green is in quite a few places. I just wish I could think of a name for it.



A more subtle version of this color pops up again near the end of the issue, in the feature article section. Stones, greys, peaches and this lovely blueish whatever look so pretty together in the "Pastel Done Pretty" pages.

Another highly popular color this season is green - of all shades, it seems. Whether paired with grey or popping with lime and orange, it's everywhere.



I love, love, LOVE this version of subtle green that tends to show up everywhere - it looks gorgeous with the silver metallic accents in this issues "Spring Trends" section, and even alone with creamy whites and lighter mints in the Macy's "showered ever after" ad.



A brighter version of lovely spring green shows up with yellow in a pretty ad by XOXO. The dress is just stunning - like a flower.



Here it is again with oranges and yellows on a perfect silvery grey background in a Clorox ad, all paper flowers. Bliss.

There's so much more color in this magazine that I didn't show - you should pick up an issue. I'll have bead color ideas for months!!

Is Grey the New Brown?

I'm not sure if it's all the rain we get this time of year, but grey has just been calling my name lately. For me, grey is a nice alternative to brown when you want to have beads that will go with cooler colors instead of warm. Grey adds a touch of understated class, and goes really well with silver.

This week I have been playing with adding touches of grey and black to my favorite lighter colors. The results are sets of beads that I kind of think of as business suit beads. I am of course calling them my Midnight Rain series, and they can be seen over on my website if you are so inclined.

In the 104 COE line of glass, there are a few shades of grey, and I look for the more neutral shades. Grey can look khaki green if you don't pick the right one, and that adds a little too much warmth to the color schemes, in my opinion. I went with Effetre Dark Grey for these, and used clear as my encasing to brighten everything up a bit. You don't want too much grey!

I think the contrast of black added a nice backdrop for these pretty colors, and it sets off the grey nicely. And who doesn't love pink and grey? Pink and grey were big in the 80's when I was a teenager, so the combo is kind of nostalgic to me.

I did wonder if these combos were a bit too dreary for the upcoming spring season, but decided, well, nah. Sometimes understated class can be a welcome change when brighter, paler colors are in season.

Spring's Not Here Yet, But....

Making beads in spring colors just seems right. Spring is nature's hopeful time when everything is new and bright....and we sure need that in this world right now. We got that hint of hope last week with the changing of our leaders in office, but for the rest of us regular folks, it's taking some time for spring's newness to come upon us.

These rays of hope have been peeking through for me, thank goodness. The depression of this last winter is starting to lift. I'm not normally so depressed over the winter months, but this year was quite difficult for me, like it has been for many people.

Color always lifts my spirits, though. Playing with color and light seems appropriate this time of year, and pink always makes me smile. So I paired it here with that lovely green I captured in my last bead set to make beads in a classic spring scheme. I think these turned out really well.

I was moved again to list them on ebay, because the last set is doing quite well. So, yey - here they are!

The set, called Strawberry Fairy, is playful and happy - something which I want to be right now. I almost always equate the pairing of green and pink with fairies. I'm not sure why - it's a feeling I get. That forest-y dew of the green with delicious, sweet pink makes me think of those pretty little nature spirits. It's hard to put into words. And the designs are fairy-like - with tiny flowers and dots and scrolling lines, these beads could almost be little fairy furniture.

I had a lot of fun making them. Hopefully the fun trend will continue!

On Seasonal Color

Do you often find yourself sorting colors in your mind? I do - and it's almost always by season. I have colors in my head that are intrinsicly autumnal, and so forth.



This often helps me when I am picking out colors of glass for making a bead set. I think about what season it is - or what season it will be soon - and certain colors just stand out.

For some strange reason, I am not a Christmas Red and Green kind of gal. Unless the colors are a very specific shade, I kind of don't like red and green together. Give me a velvety deep purple-red and a pine green, and I might be okay with it. But tomato red and kelly green are nauseating.

Right now, I am working with pinks and reds for winter - specifically for Valentine's Day beads. Now, that's pretty self explanatory. But what colors would be good for winter in general?

For me, I like icy blues, minty greens and cold purples for winter. And of course, winter white is always nice.

When the new year comes, I kind of slowly slide over to the hot pinks and reds for February, then the sweet spring-ish greens for March.

Once spring starts to near, I like to work with soft pastels with shiny black as an accent - especially lavender and green. Coral is a fantastic spring color that will hold right into summer.

Of course, in summer the deep aquas, teals and greens are wonderful to play with - makes me think of swimming and the beach. Summer is a great time for anything vivid and cheerful.

By far, my most favorite season for color is autumn. You can see it in my gallery - most of my bead sets are in autumn shades of deep purple, amber, pumpkin, black and green.

Neutrals are also wonderful this time of year because they will last throughout the fall and winter season. I adore Halloween, too - which adds a whole new dimension of color.

What are your fave seasonal colors?