Rising Star: Vetrofond 958 Pajama Blue

Soft, muted and cozy - just like your favorite pajamas!  Vetrofond named this glass perfectly - it’s such a warm, lovely color.  It fits right into the blue-green palette - it’s a bit more muted and saturated than Light Sky Blue, but lighter and fluffier than Light Turquoise. I’m totally in love.

Pajama Blue came out as an Odd Lot I believe, sometime earlier this year. Most vendors do have it in stock as of this writing. It’s not too expensive, either - yey!

Pajama is an opaque color, and keeps its wonderful opacity even when spread out.  It reacts a lot like Light Turquoise when paired with any dark color.  Small striations of color appear when the glass is layered, creating some pretty effects.

I like to compare this color with Light Turqoise, because it really works very similar - it’s not too stiff, not too soupy - even for an opaque. It also can reduce for a little bit of greyish metallic near the holes of the base, but not nearly as much as Turquoise. It’s a pretty stable glass otherwise - it won’t spread too much when placed on other colors. And it doesn’t overtake colors, either.

I haven’t used this lovely color with some of the traditional reactive friends that Turquoise has (like Opal Yellow, Purple, etc.), so I am not sure of the reactive properties yet, but I can imagine that it’s very similar to Turquoise in that regard. It does create reactive brown lines when layered over Ivory, as most opaque blues do.

I love this color with browns - as seen in a set of beads below.  I will definitely be adding this one to my regular stash for as long as they decide to make it!

Tried & True: Lauscha Cocoa

Nothing warms me on chilly, icy evenings like a cup of cocoa!  This glass color from the german Lauscha line is just like that - warm, dense and deep. It has less of a yellow/brown tone in the later batches, making it a cross between deep brown and deep grey - perfect for winter! Pairing Lauscha Cocoa with pale pinks and blues is just blissful!

The rods come in a variety of diameters - I personally like the smaller rods, as they are easier to work with.  The color of the rods is often darker than when the glass has been melted - almost black in the latest batch.

Like most other Lauscha colors, Cocoa is a bit stiff to work with. It takes a bit longer to melt than other opaques, and cools pretty quickly.  I haven’t experienced any shockiness, though.  The later batches encase well with the clears and pale transparents I have used. The stiffness of this glass makes it particularly nice to use in stringer work and raised dots.

One thing you should know about this enigmatic color is the way it reacts with other colors.  First, it tends to envelop any other color that is layered over it.  This can create some stunning effects with pale opaque shades. Conversely, Cocoa will spread like wildfire on top of most other opaques and transparents, and leave ghostly reaction lines.

Cocoa is a striking color, and will actually get paler as you strike it.  It starts out a deep, glossy color.  Striking can be a bit tricky and it takes some time to learn the feel of it.

One last thing - remember - Cocoa isn’t edible, so don’t let anyone catch you licking it, as tempting as that may be.  And I speak from experience.