A natural analgesic amber has been used in Europe for centuries. Wearing Baltic amber beads  close to the skin  has the effect of calming a baby without the use of drugs.

For those parents that are looking for a homeopathic solution for teething problems amber teething necklaces are a natural solution. Amber worn next to the skin is said to reduce pain and inflammation when teething.

Amber is a fossilised resin that is always warm to the touch and this is what helps with its healing properties. it is a powerful chakra cleanser and healer and in ancient times it was known as Northern Gold due to its colour and electrical properties. If you rub amber on a cloth it becomes charged with negative electricity.

If you should visit Poland you will see lots of Baltic amber bead jewellery in the shops and some of the pieces are rather expensive. These of course are bracelets, necklaces and jewellery for adults not just the amber teething necklaces.

These beads were created by lampworking using an oil lamp to melt the glass rods. More efficient methods were used later such as pressed glass.

People all over the world still make lampworked glass beads this way on their kitchen table but now can use a gas flame instaed of oil.

To make pressed glass beads, hot soft glass is pressed into moulds. Good quality beads are consistently made this way. Fire polished beads are faceted beads that are re-fired which gives a crystal like effect but at a fraction of the cost.

Czech glass artists used Venetian techniques for making glass beads, they also developed their own recipes which are still used today. They make highly polished beautiful glass beads in every colour you can think of including black.

Pearl, opalescent and matte glass beads are produced in any shape you can think of quickly and efficiently which reduces the cost for beaders but still maintains the quality of the glass beads.

These beads were being made near Venice in 1000 BC. By 1221 artists in Murano had learned this ancient craft and were making these beautiful glass beads and by 1500 they were incredibly popular. Marco Polo used them for a trading currency in the twelfth century and Christopher Columbus traded glass beads with the American Indians.

Venice was the world leader in glass beads for over 600 years and the beads were favoured for the jewellery of the wealthy and also used as rosary beads. Door knobs and paper weights were made from large beads in Victorian times and the Venetian glass bead craftsmen also had orders from British royalty.

These Venetian glass beads are made by different methods and some of these can be found in different articles on this website including videos. There are dozens of beads available, seed and mosaic are two of the popular ones. One of the most expensive glass beads is made up of multiple layers of coloured glass and is called the Chevron.

Gather all your old beads and stuff together, cut off the clasps and remove the beads from the string or wire. Save anything that can be used again and throw out the rubbish.

Fill a container with warm water and stir in some washing up liquid – drop in the beads, let them soak for half an hour or so and stir them around with a washing up brush. Drain the water and rinse them in clean warm water, if you have a colander this will be easier.

Place them in warm water again but this time add vinegar and swish the beads around for a few minutes as before. Use the colander again to rinse them. A sponge or a toothbrush can be used to remove and dirt that is still visible.

After giving a final rinse dry them with a soft cloth or towel. Once again you will have some beautiful glass beads with which to make your new jewelry designs.

Some Simple Instructions For Making A Glass Pandora Bead

You neen a clutter free workspace, well ventilated and a heat resistant surface. Secure your torch head into place on your table with the L bracket and a table clamp and move away anything flammable.

It is a good idea to have a fire extinguisher nearby, just in case. Then lay out your glas rods and anything else you will need in the way of tools.

A smooth consistency is what is required in your bead release clay. Dip the tips of the mandrels into the clay and then leave to dry.

Light your gas torch and adjust the amount of oxygen so that you have a stable flame. Take your glass rod an move it into the flame heating it slowy and then moving it closer to the tip of the inside cone of the flame – this is the hottest part of the flame.

Position the mandrel behind the glass spinning it and heatig it at the same time. You need to have the glass molten and the mandrel hot for the two to stick together.

Carefully touch the mandrel with the end of the molten rod spinning the mandrel and wrapping the molten glass around the mandrel. Keep on spinning the mandrel and melting the glass for a round bead and add different colours if you wish. Heat the parts of the beads up slowly and to smooth out any bumps heat for longer. Here is where your creative skills come into play designing your unique beads.

When you have your desired bead move it away from the hottest part of the flame gradually but keep on heating it evenly. By doing this slow process you will prevent the bead from cracking. You can then leave the bead to cool in a thermal blanket. When it has cooled you can remove the bead from the mandrel by twisting the bead. It may help by dipping the mandrel and bead in water. You now have your glass pandora bead.

First we have the Rocailles also known as the seed bead. These are popular in native American beadwork. Popular beads come from Japan and the Czech Republic.

Rondelles are washer type beads with crystals inset and are usually used as shiny spacer beads.

Pony beads can be made from wood, plastic or glass. Can have different shapes as the molten glass is pressed into shape.

We probably all know what pearls look like – freshwater or saltwater cultured pearls are usually pink or mauve in colour.

Liquid beads either gold or silver are fine tubes and look liquid when strung. Liquid silver tubes look like a silver rope when strung and come in corrugated, capsule or tube finishes.

Lampworked beads are made one by one by melting glass rods around a wire. These can be very colourful and are made with different layers of glass.

Gem beads can be natural shapes of gemstones or manmade types. Gemstone chips can be semi precious stones such as tiger eye or red goldstone etc.

So you can see that there are plenty of beads that you can use in your jewelry making.  Now is the time to start designing your one off pieces of jewelry.

In the next few articles I will take you through some of the beautiful beads available to make your colourful jewellery.

Bugle beads tubular in shape and they come in different lengths, eg 9mm, different finshes and colours.

Chatons are crystal beads that have been set in a metal base. They have loops on the bottom so that it is eay to sew them on.

Beads from the Czech Republic are numerous – one is Charlottes with one, two or three facets. Again in numerous colours.

Crow beads were called pony beads because they were delivered by the pony express. Native American women used various types of seed and crow beads to make necklaces. They can be used also for ankle and arm bracelets.

Crystal beads have a high shine and are made from leaded glass. Everybody will probably have heard of  Swarovski crystals but there are also Czech crystals that are cheaper. You will usually find them on wedding dresses.

Donuts can be made from precious stones and are flat circles with a large hole in the centre. Again there are lots of different finishes. Swarovski crystal elemants look pretty good. Use them for pendants or earings.

In part two I will describe more beads for your jewellery making.

A lot of Murano glass art is made by the lampworking process where the glass is liquid at high teperatures. The glass worker can shape the material while the glass is still soft but ust before it hardens.

Just as a side note Murano glass got a mention in the hit American tv series The Sopranos.

Murano beads have been made by Venitian glass artists since 1290 . They have developed special tecniques for making enamelled glass, crystalline glass, multicoloured glass and even imitation gemstones which hasn’t been matched anywhere else in the world.

Venetian foil beads and wedding cake beads are just two fo the beads made using the time consuming lampwork method. Blown beads are where the glassmaker melts the canes of glass and then the glassmaker blows them with a blow pipe.

Murano glass beads are beautiful in colour and that is why they are so popular with bead jewellery makers.