Glass Color Testing: CiM 553 Poolside, 315 Buttermilk and Monarch 216

Three more CiM colors to chat about today! I used these three together, for a nice autumn contrast.

First up we have a pale, creamy opaque color called Buttermilk. This color is
so pale you might almost mistake it for white until you put it next to white. Then you can see the creamy yellow undertones. It's kind of like an eggshell with just a tiny hint of yellow if you strike it right.

Buttermilk is pretty well-behaved, but will spread a little bit if you don't cover it completely and carefully. It's not too stiff, but not at all soupy like other pale opaque cream colors tend to be. It also wasn't shocky, which was really nice.

Buttermilk might technically be a striking color - I did notice that it would blush slightly yellow when I pulled the sample petal, but honestly, that goes away when working the glass with other colors. I think it might streak a little when used as a sculptural base, but that's it as far as striking goes.

I like Buttermilk as a base for amber shades, but I probably will stick with the cooler/less yellow cream colors for layering browns and creams. Also, this color is too light to substitute for Opal Yellow or Painted Hills.

Next we have Monarch - a lovely striking yellow/orange opaque. Monarch is a striking color that goes a bit more yellow when worked - depending on whether it's encased or left as a base. In the rod, it's decidedly more orange and bright, but as you work it it transforms into a more subtle shade of orangy yellow. I just love how it brightened the amber I used with it.

Monarch is a really easy glass - no shocking, nice consistency.

 What I did notice was that I got a reaction when layering Monarch with Buttermilk and some transparent ambers (Indian Summer and Medium Topaz Effetre). I am unsure which color is responsible for the devit lines I got surrounding the melted in petals on some of these beads. I decided they were pretty, though.

When I encased Monarch it had no spreading issues, so I think any spreading would be more due to whatever transparent glass might react with it. This might be worth exploring a little further.

Last, we have a contrasting color - a gorgeous transparent medium teal called Poolside.

Poolside is a gorgeous shade that is lighter, greener and more vivid than the rest of the teals in the 104 palette. I think it goes perfectly on top of Quetzal, as it matches the tonality really well.

I had no bubbling issues with this color, but as usual if this shade of teal scums up on you, you can likely melt it off by gently continuing to heat your gather. The consistency of this glass is great - it melted smoothly and stayed stable.

The following beads were made with all three new colors, plus Quetzal, Indian Summer, Medium Topaz and Double Helix Helios.

Glass Color Testing: CiM 546 Quetzal, CiM 313 Painted Hills, and CiM 548 Barrier Reef

Hi, everyone! It's been quite a few months since the last test, but the good news is that Creation in Messy just sent a huge batch of new colors for me to try out and blog about. There are a whopping 20 new shades of glass in the batch - all of which are limited runs (which I think will be the trend for the forseeable future). I'll try to get to most of them, I think.  There is only one opal color in the batch, which excites me because virtually all the new colors are ones I can really use and layer with.

CiM went a little nuts with the blues and greens this time - there are a ton of new shades that are great additions to the 104 palette that we don't usually see.

So first off, we have Painted Hills - an interesting light creamy yellow that really reminds me of the lighter batches of Effetre's famous Opal Yellow.

Painted Hills is a striking color - tending toward the lighter, almost washed out side when encased with clear, unless you strike it by cooling and reheating a few times. When used as a base, you can get blushing creams and yellows with a hint of rosy ivory at times. 
The longer you work it, the more color you can get.

The glass does behave somewhat like Opal Yellow in the flame as well - it can spread, especially when layered with a transparent color, but not to the point of being unusable. I really like this color as an alternative to Opal Yellow, because it is lighter, and because it doesn't have the air bubbles and holes that Effetre's handmade colors tend to have. So it doesn't have a shocking problem, and is pretty well-behaved.  If the price is right, I might completely replace my Opal Yellow with Painted Hills until they run out!

Next up are two teal shades called Quetzal and Barrier Reef. I used these two together because they complement eachother really nicely.

Quetzal is an opaque medium blue-green that sits somewhere between turquoise and teal to my eye.

Barrier Reef is a super intense dark transparent teal that can really only be seen when layered or encased - otherwise it looks almost black.

Encase Quetzal with Barrier Reef and pull into stringer and you have a magnificent deep rich teal that I just love!

Quetzal is very well behaved for a turquoise - it doesn't pit, doesn't striate nearly as much as a lot of greenish opaques, and is a lovely consistency.  It also doesn't go silvery like the Effetre turquoises. It will lighten a bit when encased, but still stays a lovely color. There's no shocking with this one either. It will bleed a little out the sides when making stripes if you're not careful to cover the edges well.

Barrier Reef is slightly stiff and very, very dark. It also turns really green in the flame, so don't let that surprise you - it goes back to teal when cool. Use it in thin layers to bring up the color - especially when using it as a base. Layer it thinly over a lighter opaque and then encase with clear.  I had no problems with bleeding, scumming or shocking.

In the beads shown here, the three new CiM colors are used with CiM Indian Summer, which is layered with the Painted Hills for a range of colors from light rosy amber to deep rusty amber.

you can see the Quetzal bleeding on the edges just a little

lovely shade of teal is made by layering Barrier Reef over Quetzal, then putting a small amount of clear on top.

scrolls of encased stringer make lovely teal striations under the pale flowers.

Painted Hills makes a wonderful base color for layering ambers and oranges.

Painted Hills can create lines of tiny bubbles when layered and melted in on top of clear, so watch for that.

Barrier Reef over Quetzal makes a wonderful dark teal stringer. Indian Summer over Painted Hills yields a soft rosy amber.

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: 201 Marigold Ltd Run

Before I get into the nitty-gritty about this lovely new color, I want to mention a couple things about some small changes over at Creation is Messy. As stated on their website and in their latest newsetters, CiM has changed the way they label their newer colors.  Instead of the "Unique" label, they are now using "Ltd Run" for odd lots and colors they may not make again.  I think this helps with some of the confusion around the term "unique", and lets us know that the color being sold is probably going to be limited or might change with each batch.  CiM's FAQ page has more information about why they have re-branded their color and how that might effect suppliers.

Now for the fun stuff!

People who know me and my work may have noticed that yellow is one of the colors I use the least in my beads.  And when I say yellow, I don't mean the buttercream shades I use (like Opal Yellow).  I mean actual yellow - the primary shade and it's derivatives.

Once in a great while I get a hankering for yellow beads.  Good timing, because CiM just released several new shades of yellow.  The one I decided to test first is called Marigold.

In my opinion, a prettier yellow does not exist in the whole 104 coe lineup.  In my opinion, yellow is one of those colors that is a bit overlooked and under-represented in soft glass. Unlike orange which is all over the freaking place. I'm not sure why that is, except perhaps that a lot of people don't really get all that excited over yellow.

Personally, I find that most of the opaque yellows in the soft glass line are streaky and somewhat tempermental.  The exception to this was 412 Dark Yellow many years ago.  It seems to have changed over time, though.

Marigold is different.  Like many of the CiM colors I have tested, this opaque shade is very stable.

Marigold is not too stiff, not too soupy when melting.  It melts very evenly and has a really nice consistency. I didn't notice any bubbling or shocking when melting on my Minor Burner. Like most yellows, Marigold turns a pretty shade of orange when heated, but gradually cools back into its original shade.

One really wonderful thing about Marigold is that it does not lighten when encased or pulled into stringer.  It's a very vibrant, saturated autumn yellow that fits the name of the glass perfectly.  Even thinly applied dots retain their vibrance.

Marigold also doesn't seem to spread out, bleed or overtake any color it's paired with. It encases easily and layers like a dream.

In these beads, Marigold is layered with clear (DH Aether) and paired up with Effetre 247 Pastel Ink Blue and Effetre Rosatta.  Plain, shiny black (Vetrofond) makes the colors pop.

Now I'm itching to make pumpkin beads and maybe even squash beads with this color for fall. :)
 

Glass Testing: Effetre 414 Butternut

Effetre's brand new Butternut color is so aptly named - it actually looks like real butternut squash to me!

As much as I really love fall colors, this one falls just a bit short for me, for several reasons, but I am going to start with the good points first.

Butternut does act just like a coral in the flame - meaning it has a nice consistency and a dense color. It works well, and is neither stiff nor soupy.

This color does encase very well - in fact, that's probably the only way I personally would use it. It does not bleed a lot and keeps its bright color through a thick layer of clear.

Its main negative point is that the glass does not stay bright yellow-orange, as I would like. The color tends to fade in and out and striate a kind of greyish green in some spots. This means it might be nice for organics, but for the kind of beads I make, it probably won't work. The golden yellow orange shade is lovely, but the grey streaks are a turn off.

I think I would be better off using one of Effetre's other regular yellow shades, like Dark Yellow or Red Roof Tile.