Millefiori, milleocchi

Millefiori is a glassworking technique – it means “thousand flowers” –  that creates flower motifs by building patterns in long thin rods, and then slicing them to get the pattern in the cross-section. A white flower with a red center would start with a central core of red, then white half circles would be built around it, and then the background color filled in around, being careful to preserve the shape of the petals. All while working in a 2,000 degree flame and trying not to have the whole thing crack or melt into a big mess. It’s a challenge, for sure!

Not just flowers, but the classic evil eye can be made way too. A black core, a blue layer, a white layer – then a background color.

Of course, if the evil eye bead (a good luck charm for warding off misfortune) is not being made that way, the traditional method is a base bead – often a dark blue – with a white dot, followed by a light blue dot, with a black dot in the center – all melted in smooth.

You can see that working glass involves a fair amount of planning and supplies – as the colors don’t mix like paints – they stay separate. So every color you need, you need to have that color already on hand.

We have a choice of these traditional handmade beads for you – to add a pop of color to your creations.

And these classic evil eye spacers are just the ticket for bracelets. How crazy awesome are these?

Ok – let’s blend some tradition with some modern innovations.

Hematite – dark color – silver color – rainbow color! And this is MAGNETIC hematite too – because some of you asked for it. I actually just like to play with the magnetic beads and stack them up in piles, roll them around, and have them stick to each other.

And to complement the hematite – we have two choices in the hematite donut shaped pendants. These are not magnetic, which is good, because you’d probably stick yourself to the car, or a steel door, or a filing cabinet if they were. (True story – I have done this!)

Other fun stuff this week – turquoise impression jasper in strands of tubes and disks, antique-ivory looking turtles,

And this seriously large crystal heart. I think this might be too big even for me! Not just large, but very deep front to back. Also – quite a small hole for hanging. Quite spectacular though. Looks amazing hanging in a sunny window. Some imperfections in the AB coating. But, hanging in a window  – you won’t notice.

And we wanted to try these out – as we look for more crystal choices. These are quite fun, and excellent pricing!

And speaking of crystal choices – the Crystal Lane crystal bicones are now available in 8mm. Choices all across the rainbow!

Also – special request, Miyuki 5/0 Triangles in Sparkle Purple Lined Crystal. 😉 You’re welcome.

Cheers – stay safe! As always – all the new stuff is here.