Color Comparisons: Transparent Pinks

Those who know me, know that I am absolutely ga-ga for pink glass.  Pink anything, really.  I’m addicted to pinks more than I am addicted to any color, and that’s saying something!!  So when a few new pink shades came out recently, I took some time out to test them and get some first impressions, and to compare them to some of the old standbys.  (Standbyes? Standby’s? Standbies?) I haven’t had much time to do any in depth testing, but I have melted the new colors enough to Fall In Love. 

The colors I will be looking at in this post are all transparent pink shades in the medium to very light variations.  They are: CIM C0915 Pink Champagne, Effetre 067 Rose Quartz, Effetre 082 Lavender Blue (aka Rosatto), Effetre 068 Pink and Effetre 082-A Amber Rose Odd.

You can see the color differences in this Pink Wheel.  While I tried really hard to get the colors right in the image, please note that colors may not appear exact on every monitor.  And the palest color, Rose Quartz, appears really washed out here.

So first, I want to talk about the new Effetre Rose Quartz.  This came out a couple of months ago, when Mike Frantz was going to send it back until someone talked him out of it.  (Rumor of course!) I think he just thought it was a lighter version of Effetre’s regular transparent pink - also shown in the wheel. 

Not true!  Rose Quartz and Pink are very different in my view.  Effetre 068 Pink is much peachier in comparison.  Rose Quartz is a very cool, pale baby pink.  I would classify it as a tint - it’s so light.  The rods look almost clear unless you look at the ends - that’s where you see the most color.  Rose Quartz has replaced 082 Rosatto for me as a layering pale pink - for one very big reason.  More on that later.  RQ makes wonderful layering over Rubino and the various shades of opaque pink.  I’ve been using it a lot these past few weeks.  It’s clarity is nice, it’s got a medium amount of stiffness, and it encases well.  Plus - it’s baby freakin’ pink!!

 

068 Effetre Pink is the classic oldie of this bunch - it’s been around forever.  However, I rarely use it these days, because it just isn’t pink to me.  It’s peach - granted, a pale, cool peach.  Vetrofond came out with its version of Pink a few years ago, and I liked it because it was slightly less peach.  I didn’t have any to compare for this post though, because I had been using 082 Rosatto for so long. 

082 Rosatto was my favorite for a long time, when it came to transparent pinks.  It’s official name, Lavender Blue, is really weird, since it’s not blue at all.  It does, however, shine a tiny bit lavender-y when under fluorescent lights.  This is why I was so happy when Rose Quartz came out.  But Rosatto is a really pretty color - slightly darker and more lavender than RQ, and great for layering as well.  It’s perfect for really berry-shaded purples and pinks in layering.  But for true pink, I love the RQ. 
 

I threw Amber Rose into this party just so you could see another medium shade - this one much peachier and warmer than pink.  In fact, I wouldn’t really call this pink at all - but a dirty pinkish amber color.  This color is highly sought after, because of its rarity.  It’s not made anymore, but if you can find it, it’s well worth the money.  The color is strikingly strange, and makes really gorgeous organic bead bases. I’m on my last rod, and I have no clue what I am going to do with it.  Maybe hoard it forever!

Last but not least is the brand new CIM color Pink Champagne.  Oh, my freaking YUM.  This color is the darkest of the bunch, and delightfully weird.  I would classify it as a medium orchid pink with lavender undertones.  By itself, it makes absolutely stunning spacers.  As a layering color, it’s perfect!  It also makes the most gorgeous floral petals when combined with opaque Dark Raspberry Pink (also a rare odd that I am quickly running out of!). 
 

Pink Champagne reminds me a lot of Rosatto, except darker and more “sparkly”.  Seriously, CIM’s quality is really impressing me.  This color of theirs has gorgeous clarity, a nice stiff consistency (but not Lauscha-stiff) and doesn’t bubble or scum like most transparents.  It is a tiny bit more sensitive to temperature change, and likes a hot flame emvironment, as far as I can see.  And the color?  Off the charts gorgeous.  The 104 coe color line has a distinct lack of medium transparent pinks - and this color goes a long way towards filling that gap. 
 

In this bead I started with Opaque Dark Raspberry Pink, encased it in Pink Champagne, then decorated it with clear scrolls. 

So the new pinks - Pink Champagne and Rose Quartz - are right on the money as far as I am concerned.  I sure hope both glass manufacturers keep them in the palette!

 

Tried & True: Effetre 232 Light Turquoise

  Turquoise seems to be a staple color for many glass beadmakers. It’s definitely one for me too, but perhaps not in the same way as many of my contemporaries.

I have a confession - and it may not come as much of a surprise to those who’ve seen lots of my beads.  I know very little about working with metals in beadmaking.  I’ve seen it done everywhere - and I know the simple basics - but I personally have never used any metals in making my beads, other than what’s contained in the glass I use.  **hangs head in shame**.

Where am I going with this?  Well, as many veteran beadmakers know, metal foils and leaves work really well with the several glass colors in the green/turquoise/blue range. There’s lots of info on that in places all over the web, but you’re not going to see it here.  Neener neener!

Seriously, I love Turquoise (specifically the light version) for an entirely different spectrum of reasons.

Light Turquoise opaque glass is probably one of the first colors I picked up when learning how to make beads.  It’s pretty and quirky at the same time. It’s versatile and has some really interesting reactive qualities, even before you add any metals to it.

The first thing you might notice when melting a rod of Light Tuquoise is that it tends to be a bit shocky.  Not overly so, but enough to where you want to introduce it to the flame slower than usual, to avoid flying shards of glass breaking away from the tip. Maybe even heat the end of your rod in the kiln or on a hot plate just to make sure.

The glass is nice and soft without being soupy, and cools neither slowly or quickly.  Just your basic opaque in that manner.  After you heat it up, it goes a bit greener than the rod until it cools.  You may also notice a bit of color striation and even a bit of silvering or greying at the holes when it’s allowed to cool.  The more fuel in your flame, the more this glass will grey - this is normal for this glass because of the metals it contains.  Once the glass cools, it will return to the same color as the rod, with a little bit of discoloration in places.  You can easily remove the discoloration with some acid etch or even toilet bowl cleaner.  (use either with caution, please!) 

 As a base, this color is true and lovely.  Shown here with layers of red flowers - you can see the color doesn’t bleed or suck up most colors it’s used with.

 

 

Here you can see some of the color striation on these cubes, where Lt Turquoise was used as a plain base and decorated with bright green and purple raised stringers. Sometimes these striations can be mistaken for cracks in photos, so you might want to make sure to tell your customers if you’re selling the beads you make.

The true bliss of this color for me is its layering capability.  It layers wonderfully with many, many shades of blue, green, teal and aqua - so much so that I use it almost exclusively as a base layer for most of the transparents in the same color wheel section.

 

 

Turquoise looks delicious with brown, and is seen here as a base layer for Pale Aqua transparent glass, giving off a nice robin’s egg blue effect.  This color combo is really popular for me, and I adore doing it. 

When you melt encased brown stringer on to the Turquoise, you are awarded with a nice organic look when the Turquoise darkens a bit.

 

 

 

 

Of course, there’s nothing better than bright aquas and vivid greens - and you can pair them by using turquoise as the base.  Layering some of the more yellow based greens over Turquoise really brightens them up almost to a neon look. 

 

 

 

 

 

Of course, different colors will give totally different looks - you can’t see the turquoise here because it’s layered under the Teal - Both Light and Dark Teal transparent glasses look great over Turquoise.

Not to mention the newer and even more beautiful CIM Leaky Pen, shown below over Light Turquoise.

I’m so glad this is one of Effetre’s basic production colors, because it’s one that will remain in my arsenal forever.

 

 

 

Rising Star: CiM 618 Simply Berry & 618-1 Simply Berry Unique

When it comes to introducing new colors into the soft glass palette, CiM has really been impressing me lately.  Simply Berry, and it’s little sister Simply Berry Unique, was CiM’s answer to a request by beadmakers for a transparent magenta shade.  Now, when you look at this color in rod form and melted into swatches and spacers, you probably don’t see much of a resemblance to the color magenta.  Neither do I.  But that doesn’t mean I don’t like it very, very much! 

At first glance, the one rod of the original Simply Berry that I had acquired to test appeared to be so much like Effetre’s 042 Medium Amethyst that I had a hard time telling the difference between the two. 

A preliminery melt however told me that the CiM version was stiffer and had slightly less of a tendency to go a dull shade of burgundy brown-ish when melted into spacers.  I still wasn’t all that thrilled though, and set the color aside, after telling Kathy of CiM my impression of it. 

 

 

 

Later on, I discovered that CiM was releasing another version of this color - Simply Berry Unique (a lighter version and later a darker version, numbered 1 and 2 respectively).  I was intrigued enough to check out the color again - and to ask what the deal was with the new Uniques coming out for some of the CiM colors, including Simply Berry.  Kathy had this to say about Uniques in general, and Simply Berry in specific, in some email exchanges we had.

“…I don’t keep stock on Uniques as they are usually just mismelts (Simply Berry that melted too light or too dark).”

“…What you said about Simply Berry Unique is fascinating because it is the same formula as Simply Berry.  The melt just happened to come out that way”

That’s pretty interesting insight into how glass is made at CiM - and how certain colors can really come out differently in each batch.  It’s worth noting that if you find a color you really love, and it’s not a production color that will be available forever, buy as much of it as you can.

Simply Berry in its original form worked out really nicely as a layering color - a pretty, slightly less brown/pink than the Effetre Amethyst.  You can see how I have used it and the Unique version together in this bead set, and how layering the two adds depth and clarity to the overall purple shade.

Simply Berry Unique (the light version, number 618-1) is an entirely different animal.  Even though CiM calls it just a batch mistake, I have to say that it is my favorite glass mistake EVER.  Yes, I even like it better than the Streaky Pink debacle.  Oh, yes.  People might not believe me - because of the huge deal I made over pink a few years ago.  But I am totally over that.  LOL  Love is fickle - and I am now in love with Simply Berry Unique.

This sweet color is quite a bit lighter and less pinkish than the original.  And the clarity of this light color is just absolutely amazing.  It’s saturated enough to work on its own as a base, but not too saturated.  It makes amazing spacers that are a color I just can’t really describe with accuracy, but I will try.  It works into a deep transparent orchid lavender shade.  If this glass were a liquid, I would want to drink it.  It’s a luscious blend of raspberry and grape.

Aaaaanyway.  Simply Berry Unique is relatively stiff like the original, and very, very nice to work with.  Both shades have a wonderful clarity when melting - no bubbles or scum have appeared for me.  The glass holds its color for both shades, and neither shade bleeds, reacts or sucks up other colors.  They are just straightforward and pure - perfect for layering with the various opaque pinks and purples - and even white.  I can’t wait to try this paired with my traditional fall favorites of coral orange, black and more greens this year.

I bought a bunch of this color, and will lament when it finally runs out, as colors like this tend to do.  Hopefully the formula CiM uses will mess up like this again.  LOL.  CiM in general is fast becoming my favorite glass manufacturer - first becasue they are willing to really listen to us beadmakers on color, and second because the colors they are coming out with lately are just really nice additions to the 104 coe palette.  Yey, CiM!!

First Impression & Testing: CiM Cranberry Pink 926-2

This is the second installment of testing for this brilliant new color - see the post below this one for the first test.

Now we’re talking!  The second batch of CiM Cranberry Pink is a lot darker than the first, and in my opinion is virtually a home run as far as transparent fuschia pink goes.  It’s not quite as vibrant as the darker batches of Rubino, but it’s really close.  In fact, I would say this is almost Rubino’s twin, with a couple of exceptions.

First off, this rod is slightly darker than the last, and in the picture of the rods, it’s the second from the bottom. The color does not stay the same as you melt it - unfortunately, but it’s still pretty.  As you can see from the swatch, there’s darkening and a little bit of the butterscotch reduction effect, too.  But that effect is not nearly as pronounced as it was in the first batch, especially if you’re not using it as the base.

The spacers turned out darker as well.  The encased spacer isjust a bit cloudy, while the plain spacer is a deep fuschia with a hint of the cloudiness as well.  This version of Cranberry was even easier to strike than the first batch - but also slightly easier to burn out as well.  Just remember to keep the fuel on the low side and your flame fairly small and you should be okay.

When I compare it to Rubino, this glass is a bit stiffer to work with, easier to strike, is not quite as vibrant, and doesn’t spread or “bloom” nearly as much as Rubino does.  In fact, it was really stable laying on top of the Lauscha Cocoa and Effetre Dark Pink in the beads below.

Here are some pics of the beads I made with this version.  The only bead made with the lighter version is the encased floral that is in the middle of the set - that’s the one I made for the first post. You can really tell the difference between the versions in that one bead versus all the others in the set.

Also, that set is being sold in my Etsy shop. More tests coming soon!

First Impression & Testing: CiM Cranberry Pink 926-1

What a lucky duck I am!  I get to test the new Cranberry Pink from Creation is Messy.  The next few posts will be about the ongoing test  - posted in several parts because there are five different batches of this pink so far.

 I’ll start with the rods - there are five in the picture , starting on the bottom-left they are numbered 926-1 - 926-5 as seperate batches.   The rods themselves are really pretty - ranging from an almost opaque deep burgundy to a lovely saturated medium pink. I’m pretty sure that the vendors are only carrying a couple of these batches - I know number 3 (the really dark one) isn’t being sold yet for sure.  The color in general is still in testing phase and only available from a couple of different sellers.

So far, I have only tested number 926-1 - the lightest of the bunch (lower left). I was so incredibly excited to test this particlar batch - the rod is so pretty and I was really hoping it stayed that color.  Alas, when I pulled the swatch, it was not the case.  This version of Cranberry Pink pulled out a very streaky, somewhat cloudy color that ranged from a pale pinky lavender to an orangy-cloudy pink with streaks of fuschia. 

The consistency of this rod is actually really nice - and at first it really acted a lot like the lighter versions of Rubino.  However, with further melting, three things became clear.  First, this version of Cranberry strikes a lot faster and easier than most versions of Rubino I have used.  Second, you have to be a lot more careful that you don’t burn this delicate color out.  Third - it reduces like mad.  Even a slightly higher amount of fuel in your flame creates that cloudy reduction effect that a lot of Rubino has.  Is this coming from a high concentration of gold, maybe?  I’m not sure. So keep your flames oxidized if you don’t want the reduction to start coming through.

After making a couple of spacers, I could really see the “butterscotch” effect that a lot of people have been talking about - which I suspect is just the color reducing very, very easily. While Rubino does this to come degree, Cranberry does this a lot more readily, and that can really be heartbreaking.  Faded orange clouds immediately coated the strong, saturated pink shade, and it was a lot of hard work to keep the pink without the orange, with only minimal success.

The nice thing is that this first version of Cranberry encased pretty well (I used Vetrofond Super Clear here).  No cracks appeared.  However, encasing does wash this color out quite a bit.  At least this is only the lightest version - I am hoping the dark versions encase with brighter results.

I tried several different techniques on my test beads - I’ll list them below.

This bead was made with plain clear and scrolled in a plain stringer of the 926-1, and then reduced.  Talk about easy.  This is one of the nicer things about this shade - it reduces quickly to a golden sheen.  You can just barely see the pink underneath, and this is decidedly more golden than Rubino’s more gunmetal reduction effect. 

This bead was made with a base of Lauscha Cocoa and decorated with Effetre Dark Pink and the light Cranberry shade. It’s then encased in clear.  You can see that the darker pink flowers are the ones with the Cranberry, but they are very, very light.  The nice thing is that there’s no butterscotch orange in this bead.  The pink struck nice and light. 

This is my favorite test bead, and the one I worked the hardest on striking the pink and keeping it bright.  The base is Effetre Silver Pink (a very nice cream color) and the raked dots are Effetre Dark Pink and the Cranberry.  The bumps are Cranberry as well.  There’s only a little butterscoth on these - but mostly a nice, muted pink shade.  I really like this one. It’s not as bright as Rubino, but the dots did “bloom” like Rubino - spreading out nice and even on the base. I honestly thought the pink would streak and sink into the base, but it didn’t - a pleasant surprise.

The last bead is a cube made with a base of Effetre Dark Pink, layered with Cranberry and encased in clear.  A stringer of Lauscha Cocoa encased in clear is scrolled onto the surface, and then the bead is finished off with raised florals in Dark Pink and Cranberry.    The Cranberry does butterscoth and fade just a bit in both the base and on the flowers.  This is actually not bad - it’s not like Rubino, but is pretty in its own right.  The color did strike under the casing pretty easily, so that’s really a nice trait.

Sooo - my preliminary opinion is that even though a lot of people are looking at this color as a clone of Rubino, just made by a different company, I don’t think it is at all.  It’s in the same general class, I think - transparent pink with lots of interesting effects - but it’s really its own color.  I’m really anxious to try the rest of the batches - I’ll post here when I have more test results!

First Impression: Reichenbach 104 Opal Raspberry

Those who know me know I am on the constant lookout for new pink glass colors.  Boy, have I ever found one.  Now, Reichenbach’s new line of 104 COE glass is not extensive, but with a color like this - who cares?  According to posts on the forums, this glass is compatible and quite saturated, so adding it to my current palette won’t be a problem. And there sure is room in my palette for this lovely color.

Olympic Color Rod came out with this glass pretty recently, I think.  You can get it from Flame Kissed Glass as well. Other vendors have it sporadically. 

This is one of the rare pinks out there that stays similarly saturated after melting as it is in rod form. It’s a warm dark pink - reminiscent of Pepto Bismol, lol!  It’s darker and more luminescent than Effetre’s darkest version. 

This shade can striate slightly - and sometimes you might see the faintest hint of a warmer shade of orangish, but it’s reaaaaallly faint.

The glass itself has a bit of a pearlish glow to it, and melts to a medium stiffness.

All I have done are spacers and the swatch - I haven’t paired this with anything yet.  But rest assured - I definitely will be doing so soon. 

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!

Coming Soon: CiM Cranberry Pink

Oh. My. God.  CiM is coming out with a new color, and it looks so pretty!  I haven’t gotten any yet - it’s still in the testing phase. I can’t tell by the picture whether this will be a transparent, translucent or opaque color.  I have heard on the forums by one vendor that this color might have a high learning curve - meaning it might take some doing to get this color to perform how you want it to. That’s totally fine with me - as long as it’s pink!

Check out the CiM page on this color, and what they are saying about it over at Lampwork, etc.

On a totally different subject - I haven’t posted much lately because I have been super busy getting ready to move!  Yep, we bought a new house, so I will be moving later this month.  Hopefully after the holidays I will get back to much more frequent posting.  Until then - have a colorful holiday!

Vetrofond must love orange….

So Vetrofond, our favorite Odd Lot glass maker, has come out with yet another huge assortment of weird colors for us to try out.  This is what…the fifth batch?  I do applaud them for listening to their customers and for really trying to put out new and inventive glass for us. 

But enough with the orange filigrana, please!!  I mean, have you SEEN the latest batch of odds?  Almost all oranges and greens.  And ALL filigrana - a dark color covered in a contrasting lighter color, for a marbled look.

I say that with love and hope that Vetrofond will soon hear me and come out with some great new opaque purples and pinks.  Actual pinks.  Not faded out pale translucent pinks. Stellar purples. Not greyed out, reactive purples.

It’s true that Vetrofond is likely catering to those beadmakers who really love reactive glass - who adore making organic beads and messing with different metallic reactions.  I guess I am just one of those rare glass-lovers that love plain, pure, stable colors that I can combine and layer without reactions.

Don’t get me wrong - I do love reactions, sometimes.  But not with every color. 

We have enough of those now, I think.  Double Helix, Vetrofond, ASK, Lauscha and other makers are really pumping out the silver based, filigrana, reactive, organic and weird. It’s fun to experiment with them - to a point.

One other thing - if you’ve been buying all this new glass, you’ve probably realized by now that the paddle pics shown on the vendors web sites do not often relate to the real thing when you personally melt the glass.  I’ve still not been able to get that sweet marbly pink and cream from Sweet Strawberry. Just a rusty, tomato red. Pink #3 Pastel was nothing but almost white for me. Orange Punch never looked like the paddle pic - it stayed a translucent red, no matter what I did.  And the gorgeous Poppy?  Hard to turn pink, like the paddle - mostly a luscious…..yep, you guessed it……orange.  I am afraid to buy the brand new Jupiter - it looks so yummy in the paddle, but who knows if I will actually get that color for reals.

So…. Vetrofond?  Please?  A deep, vivid opaque purple. A bright opaque pink. A sweet opaque apricot or peach.  Pretty please.  And no more orange. For the love of GOD no more orange.

Tried & True: Effetre 081 Dark Lavender

Ahhh the first color I fell in love with way back when. I was messing around with 081 and its sister 221 Pale Lavender Opaque even before I was messing with pink glass.

Dark Lavender 081 is a desperately cool color - and it does magic, too! The color came out around the same time I started making beads - and at first glance didn’t look that much different than the regular 080 Pale Lavender Transparent or the totally mis-named 082 Lavender Blue (it’s pink. I swear.).

In general, 081 is significantly more saturated than the other two colors - a deep, rich lavender that will enhance any color you layer it over.

The first thing you should know about 081 is that it turns pale blue under fluorescent lighting. Just like any other lavender in any of the glass lines that I know if. There’s something weird about lavender glass that causes that reaction - I notice it happens with lavender beads of any kind - seeds, Czech, you name it. If it’s lavender, and it’s glass, it will do this weird washed out blue thing under fluorescents. But under incandescent lighting, the lavender color really pops.

The second thing you want to keep in mind about this glass is that batch matters. With this color you really want clarity - and there are some batches of this color out there that are so scratched up and scummy, that you’ll want to pull your hair out. Do yourself a huge favor and try to find a way to hand-pick the rods, or buy from a vendor you really trust. Because if you get a crappy batch of this color, the rods will scum up and bubble like the worst of the aquas - and we all know how bad those can be. Same goes with the pale 080 version of this color.

Once you get the right rod of Dark Lavender, you can create the most gorgeous, varied purples with it. It’s a gorgeous color on its own, but really can make any shade of purple in the palette pop right out. Encase Dark Amethyst in this color and watch the brown overtones just disappear. Ahhhh purple. Encase Pale Lavender in Dark Lavender for a springy pale treat. Do the same with Pastel Ink Blue and you have a subtle lilac shade.

081 is the perfect stiffness for sculpturing and for encasing - and it works well with most every other color without reactions or striking woes. Encase stripes with this and they will have an ethereal quality to them.

081 isn’t a rare color anymore - most every vendor who carries Effetre has it at a decent price point - and some even give it away as a gift when you order a certain amount of glass. Just make sure you’re getting the rods that aren’t scratched and scummy. There’s nothing worse than gorgeous but unusable glass. And now, on to the eye-candy!