The porcelain beads turned out to be very popular – with their wonderful high gloss and individual looks. This week we are bringing you more, but in some smaller sizes so they can be accents or main beads, instead of primarily as focals.
These 8x5mm rondelles – I did a double take that they were not lampwork beads at first – they have that distinctive fat donut shape. Aren’t they yummy?
7mm rounds – think of the fun ways to use these. Biggish holes too – 2-3mm.
I called this shape “dished rounds” – although I am starting to call them “squashies” in my head. Or “collapsed balloons” – but I didn’t think that was very flattering to them. These are a large bead – focal sized – 34mm – that look like a large hollow bead that got flattened with a big thumbprint. (They are smooth – no finger print.) The dishy hollow just invites you to touch them and hold them. And the colors are more of the fabulous raku finish. If you are not familiar with raku – it is a method of finishing glazed and fired pottery that brings out metallics and variable surfaces. The technical process involves “cooling them in a reduction environment.” What that actually means is: they get pulled out of the kiln hot, and dumped into a bucket of sawdust, that then catches fire. The fire uses up the oxygen, and the glazes cool without oxygen in the immediate vicinity, giving them a different, and often unpredictable look. When you think of something cooling in the fire – you have to realize they come out of the kiln so hot that the sawdust is bursting into flames on contact – so cooling is a relative state here. Tip: don’t try this indoors. Lotsa smoke.
Then, we have some more shells – because what is a more natural match than shiny and shells?
And some spotted pods – sort of a round, but with minor ridges.
And, somewhat random, because I thought they were cool, but couldn’t find more colors. I really wanted to get more shapes in this purple, but alas, none to be had. But the pods and the shells and the squashies do have matching colors, to some extent. We try – but, you know, hand-made.
So, lots of fun options in the Porcelain beads this week! Cheers!
As always – all the new stuff is together here.
Cheers – stay safe!
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