Vetro 960 Light Pink Pastel vs Vetro 956 Dark Pink Pastel

These two Vetro odd-lots are named Dark and Light Pastel Pink - but the difference between the two is subtle, subtle, subtle.

However, it is a very pretty light rose - so it really doesn't matter which one you grab!

The unworked is a rather dull and uninspiring pale mauve - and looks like it might be somewhat greyish.


Here you can see the beads lined up with their respective rods. The 960 is the bead/rod toward the top of the pic, the bottom/left is the 956.
Here they are again - 960 Light Pink on the left (although - if I had to say - I'd say the 960 is darker) - and the 956 Dark Pink on the right.
Here is a bead with the base of 960 on the left side of the bead, and and 956 on the right. The dots are EDP. Interesting separation.

Nice shade of pale pink and significantly prettier than the rods look like it will be. Odd lots are limited in quantity - so snap it up if you love it!

CiM 109: Bordello

Another colour I seem to have missed in testing - CiM Bordello, a very dark, very intense red.

By itself - it is so dark - it can read as almost as an opaque.

I did not have a problem with it going brown and livery - although others have reported this.











On the left, Bordello thinly layered over clear. On the right, self-coloured.

And over white. It really pops like this.
This was a thin core of Bordello, with Double Helix Kronos, and heavily encased. It might as well be black.

Here it is in a sculptural piece. You can really see a lot of colour variation, due to it's striking. Areas that are re-heated are darkest, areas that are not - stay shades of light red and amber.


For making twisties and stringers and cored canes - where you need a really dark, intense colour - this would be an excellent choice. Otherwise, you may have to dilute it by using it is over clear or white.

CiM 402: Celadon

I just decided to double check the Creation is Messy (CiM) colours to make sure that I had them all. This is a far less daunting task than, say, cross checking all the Effetre colours, as I started reviewing when CiM was fairly young, and have kept up with it.

So, of course - it's some of the older colours that I have missed.

CiM Celadon - a greenish turquoise - reacts strongly with ivory.








This is Celadon, self-coloured. Slightly streaky.

Here, with Light Ivory dots (Effetre I think, but not sure). Very strong reaction. A bit much for my taste, not quite as over the top as the Lauscha Turquoise.
Here is it with dots of CiM Fremen - which is a blue-turquoise.

Celadon is really pretty colour - a must have in my glass palette - adds a really nice green in a hole left by the other glasses.

CiM 482 Mojito vs Effetre 073 Transparent Pale Green Apple

In the rod - CiM's Mojito and Effetre's Transparent Pale Green Apple look similar - the Pale Green Apple being a slightly lighter colour.

In the pic, Mojito on the top, (obviously,) Pale Green Apple on the bottom.

Once worked - that distinction remains, with the Mojito being just a little darker. In some applications - you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference. In others - you could use it to good effect to create a subtle shaded effect.


Pale Green Apple on the left, Mojito on the right. Both are a pretty, pale, yellow-green.

How to Make Sparkling Dichroic Beads: Tutorial by Patricia Frantz.

This tutorial starts with the introduction:

"So many beadmakers have told me over the years that they find dichroic glass scary and difficult to use. I have written this tutorial ... to show how I work with the remarkable glass and make it sparkle."

I have also found this to be true - and so many of my students are so intimidated by it, and by the price! - that they buy a tiny scrap and hoard it for years, never working up the courage to use it. Or they try it, aren't happy with the results, and never try again.

Well - for those of you with dichro-phobia - you should definitely turn to Patricia's tutorial. It is a series of projects, starting with a simple spacer - and working your way up to more complex projects.

She takes you through the process step by step, and has some truly excellent tips on getting good results - especially getting a smooth look without a line at the end of the dichro strip. Actually - even though I've been working with dichro for years with what I like to think of as a reasonable degree of success - (ha ha) - there were some tips in here that I found valuable and have adopted.

Recommended if you are scared of dichro, or even if you aren't.

Ms Frantz sells the tutorial on http://patfrantztutorials.com/

Another crack at Helios

OK - so I have one of the beads I made with Double Helix Helios sitting on my keyboard - and while they are not as metallic as I had hoped (see post) - I guess it is growing on me - so I thought I would take another swing at it.

This time - the glass worked quite differently - developing an overall, opaque haze when I reduced it. I didn't much like the look of the haze, and so I turned the oxygen back up and burned it off - and re-reduced them - so of these beads, I had to repeat these steps a number of times - to try and get them without an opaque haze on them. They have all come out with a richer colour and a more varied surface colour. A sort of smoked honey effect. I think I like them better this time around.

Variable rewards - that what the exotic glasses are all about - variable rewards!

Effetre Copper Green

Effetre Copper Green - well known for being one of the more "reactive" glasses. However, a recent introduction to a certain gecko got me thinking about using it for it's natural colour. It matches very nicely to a rather handsome gecko that I just met, (no really - I have friends w a houseful of lizards).

I thought I'd better get a handle on the colour, the reactions, and oh yeah, as I remember - it reduces in the kiln.

This is a self-coloured spacer - Copper Green. It comes out of the kiln with a dull, grey layer - quite unappealing.



As with the turquoise glasses - when they do this, I soaked the beads in CLR. I was a little short of it, so I actually used a solution of about 50% CLR and 50% water. Generally - I only have to soak beads for an hour or so - this diluted solution (and maybe the layer on the copper green is tougher?) took longer - I let them soak for about 2-3 days. I could see improvement after the first 3 hours - but I wanted more - so I left them longer.


Above, this is the same bead, post CLR'ing. (CLR is a cleaning solution for removing Calcium Lime and Rust. It is now also a brand for other cleaning products. You want the original. I've tried cheaper brands - they don't work as well.)

The colour is very close to what I had in mind - a soft, pale green.

Next - also a solid Copper Green bead - this one was deliberated reduced. Note the large patch of red that it has developed.

And, here is the same bead, post-CLR. The red patch is much more vivid and vibrant. I like the hue much better.
This is a base of copper green, with EDP (Effetre Purple) dots.

And below - post CLR. I actually like it less now - less character.
This is a base of EDP, with copper green dots. Note the truly magnificant separation effect - making the single copper green dots look like a dot on dot effect.



Post CLR, again, I think it has lost some character.

Ivory base, with Copper Green dots, and ivory dots again.

Post CLR - the copper green is brighter, but I think I liked the first version better.


So - an extended soak in CLR will take off the dull, metallic haze - which is what I wanted to know.

Effetre Goldstone Filigrana

I've talked in the past about Goldstone/Aventurine ribbon - but goldstone also comes as filigrana. (It also comes as frit and chunks, for that matter - but that's another topic.)

In fact - prior to the ribbon - the filigrana was the easiest way to use it - but not necessarily the most satisfactory.

It's a little on the thin side, in terms of the amount of actual goldstone stuffed into the middle of it. The end result of that is, that it's not a very intense effect when used.




You can see here, in this close up of the rod - that it is not that intense.
And consequently - beads just wound out of the rod - come out a little wispy. Not that wispy is bad . . . unless you wanted intense.

This really comes to light when you put it down over another colour, like the turquoise here. Instead of a dramatic effect - you get a subtle brindle effect.
I like brindle - but not so much on my beads.

Easy to use - rods look great - but if you want intense glitter - go for the ribbon. Course - subtle might be what you are all about - in that case - go for it!

CiM Crocus and DH Triton

Have to admit - I did not expect such a radical colour change in the Crocus!

The top mandrel is CiM Crocus - a truly lovely reddish lavender purple.

The bottom mandrel is the same color - with a trail of Double Helix Triton, and reduced. The effect of the Triton reducing on the Crocus is quite dramatic! The crocus now looks much more pinky.

Veddy interesting.