First Look - CiM New Greens

Before I dive into each of these colours individually - I thought I would do a first-up head to head comparison.

The new selection from CiM this season contains a lot of new greens in some very juicy new shades. Let's look, shall we?


Top Mandrel, Two of each colour, self-coloured, from the left:
CiM 480 Anole, CiM 486 Elixir Sparkle, CiM 485 Elixir.
Middle mandrel (aqua marker) From the left, two each of:
CiM 473 Eclectus Parrot, CiM 474 Ectoplasm, CiM 477 Budgerigar. 
Bottom mandrel, (mermaid marker) From the left, two each of:
CiM 472 Mantis, CiM 471 Wheatgrass, CiM 487 Poison Apple.

 Same arrangement, but with flash and some backlighting.

I think at this point, I am most excited about Elixir and Eclectus Parrot and Budgerigar. And Mantis.

Poison Apple (right) has been re-formulated to stay translucent, and Wheatgrass (left) is the companion to match as opal version. Looks like Poison Apple definitely stayed translucent, but Wheatgrass came out pretty transparent for me. But the colour match is good.

Mantis and  Eclectus Parrot (which gets my vote for the most-likely-to-be-misspelled) are another matching pair. The Mantis is the misty opal (bottom) and the E.Parrot is the translucent (top). Definitely a winner here.

Budgie (my vote for name-most-likely-to-be-shortened) (right) and Ectoplasm (left) are another matching pair, with Budgie being the misty opal (yes) and Ecto being the translucent (also yes.) And good colour match.

Anole (left) and Elixir (right) are another matching pair (I sliced up the photo to put them side by side), with Anole being the tranlucent opal and Elixir the misty opal. Colour match is also good.

And finally - Elixir Sparkle, which doesn't sparkle, or match Elixir, so not sure what to say about that. It's a pretty cool colour, actually, the poor thing just look drab in the company of all these other juicy greens. It's not easy being green. ;-)

The option to use various degrees of translucency looks like a lot of fun, and these bright happy greens are certainly a welcome addition to the palette - so yay for greens!

CiM 558 Troi and comparison CiM Mermaid

CiM Troi, a deep, opaque blue-green. It comes up very streaky, which I like, but may not be your cup of tea.

Three spacers in Troi, with the middle one with Eff 276 Dark Ivory dots. You can see there is a very pronounced reaction with the ivory, and the dots sunk into the Troi and got all malformed instead of staying round.

I thought it looked like an exact match for CiM 586 Mermaid,  except the Mermaid is not so streaky. The malformed blob on the right is Mermaid.

Other folks however are reporting that it is more like Cotswold Blue and not this close to Mermaid. So, as always, your mileage may vary.

Does that phrase even mean anything to anyone any more?

Troi - streaky version of Mermaid in my books so far.

CiM 688 Wisteria and comparison CiM 660 Crocus

In the new run of colours from Creation is Messy is a shot at making colours that match but have different translucencies. So in the case of this new colour Wisteria, it was to be a more translucent version of 660 Crocus.

I would say that they nailed it.

 On the left (in both photos) is the Wisteria, on the right, the Crocus.















Four self coloured spacers from the left, in Wisteria, and one Crocus on the right. You can definitely see the crocus is translucent, while the Wisteria is little misty.

 Same, shot with flash. On my phone.

Because my photo booth is back there somewhere ... 



and the other end of the office looks like this. 

Turns out, there was no insulation in the walls. The window has a better R factor than the walls. :-(

yay for 60's construction.

Anyway - Wisteria - super nice. Perfect match for Crocus.

CiM 559 Cerulean and CiM 560 Cerulean Sparkle

Creation is Messy's new colour line-up includes some "Sparkle" colours - colours with aventurine added for some sparkle. This is new for them, and I was very excited to get my hands on it.

Sadly, however, someone appears to have been a little conservative adding the sparkly stuff, and it is pretty much invisible.

:-(

I apologize for the photos. My photobooth is currently buried and filled with other stuff as I renovate my office. Feel my pain.

Anyway ... it is a super pretty transparent aqua - just about an exact match for the colour of Windex.

 The picture below, the top mandrel (2 self-coloured spacers and colour over white) is the Cerulean Sparkle. And the bottom mandrel (over white and 2 self spacers), is the Cerulean.

 Order reversed, bit of an angle. I found the Cerulean to be a little gassy, giving me some bubbles, and I definitely found the Sparkle to be stiffer.

 Sparkle on the left, non- on the right.

 Plain for the top one, sparkle for the bottom one.

It's a super pretty colour, but sadly, the sparkle is invisible. :-(

Val Cox Frit: Flora

Flora - new frit from Val Cox. This is a reduction frit, a mix of transparent green and aqua, but the green tends to overwhelm the aqua, especially when reduced.


The frit itself ... very pretty. 

These are both a base of clear (Effetre), layer of frit, layer of clear, another layer of frit. Not reduced, but worked in a very slight reduction flame.

 The barrel bead is a core of clear, a spiral (uneven) wrap of white, frit, reduce, spiral wrap of clear, so that some of the reduced is encased and some is not.

 Here, the top and bottom are made with a gather of clear dipped in frit, and the middle two are the same, but reduced.

 So, while if you look hard, you can see the influence of the aqua in little hints, the predominate effect is that of green, and with reduction, a sort of gold-y green.

It would make a nice base for something with flowers on top.

Pulling beads

When I learned to make beads, I was taught to pull them holding the mandrel with pair of pliers.

But this is much easier on the wrists.

A good quality vice, mounted on a sturdy table that is attached to the wall. 

• open the vice, 
• clamp the mandrel, close to the bead
• twist the bead off
• release the mandrel and repeat

The bead release ends up falling on the floor, and is easy to sweep up, but you could set up so there is a pan to catch the bits.

If you are pulling beads that might break or have rough edges, I suggest holding them with a cloth.

You can soak the beads in water if you want to keep the dust down. It might help lubricate stuck beads, but improving your technique and buying good bead release will probably help more.


Cheers!

Comparison: Double Helix Lotis vs Effetre Veiled Rubino

Effetre Veiled Rubino is a light version of Rubino, made lighter by mixing clear into the rod - you can see it if you look down the end of the rod. (Actually Rubino has a clear core too, as it is so dense, it does not show well by itself. Which is why, if you are trying to be frugal, and doing tiny little dots pulled from the center of the rod - they come out clear and won't strike, because you are pulling out clear glass. Anyhoo ... )

Comparing the colours of Double Helix's Lotis (a light version of Rhea) and Effetre's Veiled Rubino (a light version of Rubino) ... the Lotis is on the left - over dichro, with some clear in a dots (mostly to fill in the shape). Veiled Rubino is on the right, self-coloured spacers and a cube over dichro. The Lotis is lighter and pinker, the Rubino is more ruby and smidge more raspberry.

Both are pretty. Just different.

Double Helix Lotis

Double Helix Lotis - Double Helix calls it a "A pink version of Rhea. A lead free gold pink that plays well with silver colors and survives a reduction flame without discolorations."

Lotis was a nymph in Greek mythology, just in case you were questioning the spelling.

As I considered Rhea to be pink, I'm guessing that this is a lighter version of Rhea. I think the rods might be slightly less intensely coloured.

 I find that the colour shifts a little depending on the light source - hard to quantify.



These spacers, on the right, over white, are clearly and obviously pink. The self coloured spacers on the left are a lovely colour but less in the pink category and more in the ... claret? Sherry?

This is a big hole bead, base of white, silver foil* applied to half, encased Lotis.

Here, a base of clear (I think it was Zephyr), rolled in silver foil, burnished and encased in Lotis. You can see that I got a significant amount of fuming from the silver foil which has resulted in a lot of the glass/foil combo appearing to be gold.

This one was a base of Effetre clear, silver foil, and encased in Lotis. Again, significant fuming - but I was using the Nortel Arrow, which delivers significantly more heat for the amount of oxygen used than the Mid-Range, so it is possible that not using a clear base and working cooler might get you less of the gold effect.

Regardless - the gold is very pretty.

Lotis does, in fact, play well with silver foil. Anyone who has ever directly encased silver foil with Effetre Rubino Oro will be delighted with Lotis.   ;-)

*For those of you new to lampworking, you should know that all references to silver foil mean pure silver, 99.9%, not sterling silver, which will just go black in the flame as the copper in the sterling instantly reacts to the flame. It also does not mean the mylar films that are silver coloured that you might have considered purchasing from the local craft store.  They just burn.

CiM Substitutions - Equivalent colours

Run out of a colour and you are stuck? Try this substitution list for a reasonable facsimile. Remember, the list works in both directions too - it all depends on what you have on hand.

CiM Substitutions List


 

	Name	Closest 104 compatible replacement
511109	Bordello	121 Garnet or 122 Maroon
511128	Sangre	123 Hemoglobin, 120 Ladybug, or Effetre transparent red
511204	Peachy Keen	214 Nectar
511241	Creamsicle	216 Monarch or 217 Harvest
511351	Stone Ground	313 Painted Hills or 312 Yellow Brick Road
511422	Aloe Juice	463 Siren
511441	Dragon	435 Ogre
511443	Spearmint	462 Chrysalis
511448	Dirty Martini	440 Pistachio Ice Cream
511450	Chartreuse	461 Jelly Bean
511451	Inchworm	461 Jelly Bean or 478 Oz
511475	Commando	455 Troll, 464 Camouflage, 466 Amphibian
511476	Olive	436 Leaf Men
511483	Slytherin	456 Eel Grass for hue, 432 Loch Ness for density
511508	Leaky Pen	527 Anchor
511550	Chalcedony	589 Zachary or 509 Poseidon
511562	Ming	571 Cornflower, 542 Blue Arrow Frog, or 555 Sacre Bleu
511570	Grumpy Bear	589 Zachary or Effetre dark periwinkle
511590	Great Bluedini	534 Aegean for hue or 548 Barrier Reef for density
511653	Larkspur	652 Count von Count, 626 Enchanted, or Effetre dark lavender
511660	Crocus	645 Heffalump
511701	Ginger	703 Butter Pecan
511815	French Grey	816 Nimbus
511820	Hades	Effetre intense black
511834	Clear	Effetre clear
511835	Peace	817 Foam or Effetre white
511872	Tuxedo	Effetre regular black
511885	Gunmetal	Effetre metallic black
511907	Rose Quartz	904 Gelly's Sty or 910 Paris
511915	Pink Champagne	911 Venus
511921	Blush	909 Charlotte, 910 Paris or 908 Tutu

 

Effetre 258 Tongue Pink

I have used Effetre 258 Tongue Pink in the past, and never been able to get any strike out of it at all.

The story goes, and this may be completely wrong - but what I heard was that Tongue Pink started as a contaminated batch of white, that some people liked, and so it was re-branded. Is it true? I don't know for sure.

Anyway - it finally occurred to me that it might do interesting things when worked in a dragon - due to the lengthy working time and repeated heatings and coolings. And worst case scenario - I had a white dragon.

And, in fact - it did strike - it came out quite nice.

For comparison, here is the Powder Pink dragon (on the right) with the Tongue Pink dragon (on the left). Really - you can't call either of them pink - the Tongue pink is a shaded vanilla and salmon, and the Powder Pink is a milk chocolate with cream - but if you ignore the disappointment at neither of them being actual pink - the colours are quite nice and useful in an earthtone palette.

Effetre 262 Powder Pink

Powder Pink is one of those variable colours that you use for how it interacts with other colours, not so much for it's inherent colour. It's earthy, not "pretty."

So here it is in a sculptural use, where you get a lot of heating and cooling going on.

And in this use, it is very nice. The variations in colour make for very nice shading and highlighting.

NanoGems

I heard about the new "nanogems" for firing and including in Metal Clay. Cubic Zirconias that are "fire in place" can be used in lampwork (assuming they are small enough) - and you know - emailing the company and asking what the COE of the item is - that's a lost cause. First you have to explain what COE is. Then you aren't going to get an answer anyway.

So - I just bought some and tried it.

Verdict is: Nope. Encased or not. The bead doesn't survive and neither does the nanogem.

Oh well - it was worth a shot.

Well - doesn't work with 104 COE glass. Maybe I should try with boro?

Tools - Pi Divider

Well - this is pretty darn cool.

Effetre 238 Navy Blue

I reviewed this before - and totally forgot about it. As before - I don't really consider this to be "Navy Blue," more of a Confederate Blue.

And, as before, it tends to get a metallic dull grey sheen on it.

However, unlike before, this time I etched it ...











And what I got was a lovely slate blue-grey.

This is definitely a colour that responds well to etching.

I like it a lot better now. ;-)

Desert Adventures

Jean at Nortel has been putting together CiM sample packs, new colours, or coordinated colourways, so that you can try different colours without committing to a full pack of each.

She put one together (at my insistence) that is called Desert Adventures. It looks like a pack of brownish neutrals - hence the desert part of the name, but is made up of CiM colours that can do tricksy or interesting things. Primarily - I wanted to be able to test the different colours - so there might have been a wee bit of self interest in my urging. ;-)

If you want to explore a pack of neutrals/browns/naturals/earthtones for animals, landscapes, or just earthy inspired images - this is a great way to go.

Here be dragons:

Top row, from the left:  CiM 722 Canyon de Chelly - etched, with dots of Effetre 238 Navy blue. Next, CiM 313 Painted Hills - turned out surprisingly light. Next, CiM 719 Moccasin, with turquoise in the base bead, and last in the top row, CiM Canoe, etched. This is my new favourite colour.

Bottom row, from the left, CiM Phoenix. What a great dragon colour! and finally, CiM 727 Van Dyke Brown.

There are more colours in the Desert Adventures, but as you can imagine, making a dragon is non-trivial and takes a lot longer than a simple spacer. ;-) And I wanted to let you know about this colour pack, cuz I think it's cool.

Val Cox Frit: Viola Blue

Another new frit colour from Val Cox - this is Viola Blue. I was drawn to the blues and purples in the mix, and it does not disappoint.

Again, one of the colours makes pits in the glass, so you will not get a mirror smooth finish unless you encase it.

This is over a base of black, with a couple of streaks of white, and then rolled in the frit, melted in, and mashed. 

 This is just over a base of white. Both are very nice. I think I see the face of a baby donkey in the frit in the bead above (in the top left corner.)

Val Cox Frit: Jellyfish

Picked up some new Val Cox Frits - from her collection of new colours. This is Jellyfish, and it's pretty cool.

This little square tab is a core of clear, and Jellyfish on top. 

This larger focal is a core of white, with an opaque dark grey at each end, and jellyfish all over. 

One of the colours in there definitely makes pits in the glass, so you won't get an all-over smooth finish. I think I like the clear base one better, but that could be because I happened to get a nice blobby swirl of turquoise and purple.

Double Helix Skiron

This is my first run at the new Double Helix Skiron, and again, I don't think I did it justice.

Double Helix says:

Skiron is our new, sliver-striking, rainbow glass.  A major improvement over Luna 3 and Khaos, it resists over striking to khaki.  Skiron works best when reset, cooled, and struck. Cooling and striking times will vary based on bead size, flame temperature, and...

Not sure if I defied the "resists over striking" or just didn't strike it enough.  Above is a single round and 4 spacers with a base of Double Helix Oracle, and Skiron applied. The spacers just show a faint smear of blue. Not sure where the Skiron went.

 This is two sides of the same bead. Clearly more experimenting is required, as I am not getting the full range of colours.

 I am thinking I did not strike it enough. Oh well - I will try again.

Double Helix Pheobe

This is my first run at the new Pheobe - and I don't think I did it justice.

The disk is reduced, and the square is reduced and encased.

Double Helix calls it a "peachy super luster" and I think I might have missed that a bit. It is very nice though and I think I have to try again.