::CraftyChica™ - Kathy Cano-Murillo::

Your article, The glimmer of glitter, was very interesting, as well as your tips in working with it. I checked out some of the other links as well. What is the real history of glitter, do you know? Years ago, I began research on Christmas customs & traditions, but I never could find out about the beginnings of glitter. Try doing a Google search sometime!! LOLOL All I found was Gary Glitter's rock and roll band! I have even contacted the reference desk at the Kansas City State Library & they did not find a thing, either. Plus I have written to several major glitter companies to see if they knew --- nothing!
If you could help me, I sure would appreciate it.
From my files (& sense of humor; we really need to spread the word about glitter! hahahaha) -
...No glitter makes one bitter.
...It is better to have glittered & lost, than never to have glittered at all.
...Glitter, glitter, little star
...To boldly glitter where no one has glittered before
...To glitter and beyond!
...by the light of the glittery moon
...let there be glitter!
...every thing's better with glitter glued on it
...there's always room for glitter
...follow your glitter wherever it takes you
...it's glitter time
...all work & no glitter makes jill a dull girl
...miracles happen to those who use glitter!
...glitter changes things
...way to glitter!
...you glittered my day!
...a day without glitter is like a day without sunshine
...you glitter in my life
...no day is so bad that it can't be fixed with glitter
...glitter is good medicine.
...I glitter because I can
...Glitter is contagious. Be a carrier!
...let glitter be your umbrella on a rainy day.
...Glitter makes the world go round.
...Glitters are great investments; the more you collect the better you feel.
...Glitter costs so little but gives so much!
...Glitter - it's a nice reflection on you.
...If you don't have anything nice to say, just glitter!
...Glitter and bear it
...Keep glittering; it makes people wonder what you have been up to.
...Glitter can brighten the darkest day.
...Glitter is an inexpensive way to improve your looks.
...Of all the things you wear, glitter is the most important.
...Glitter is a language understood by all people.
...When life gives you lemons.....break out the glitter.
...great minds glitter alike
...many crafts come & go, but glitter is forever
...glitter is the spice of life

Glitteringly yours, Bonnie J.

Hi Bonnie!
I love all your glitter quips, I think I'll print them out and pass them out. We all could use a bit of sparkle - don't you think? I'm on the case for tracking down the history of glitter. In the meantime, here is an interesting article I found on the subject. Here's an excerpt:

"Glitter was created by the Chinese and became known as "the dancing light". It was produced in such abundance that the poet Shin'Qi wrote "the Yangtze drowns in the brilliance of flame". Chinese glitter was large and unwieldy, often measuring a metre square. Early celebrations were dangerous, with injuries incurred anywhere near the drop zone. Marco Polo brought it to Europe. Da Vinci was commissioned by the Papacy to refine it. Which leads to its first recorded use at the opening banquet for The Last Supper. Da Vinci's customary haste left his glorious fresco damp. Flecks are still visible in Jesus' sandals and near Judas' incriminating hand.*

The military applications were not lost on warmongers and at Waterloo, Wellington brilliantly distracted the French troops with an impromptu drop over the blood- soaked plains. "All that glitter is not gold," cried Napoleon, but it was too late, he knew he was routed.

Nothing seemed to stop the rise of glitter. In Holland it surpassed the tulip as a unit of trade, then suddenly without explanation during the early 1900s it fell into disrepute. The celebratory conclusions of two world wars were marred by its absence, replaced by such pedestrian "spatial decorations" as ticker tape and rice. For many years the fate of the "floating fire" was uncertain until it was swept up in the hedonism of that New York disco institution The Garage and found itself dropping to a different beat.

Where does it come from?

It's in the dank quagmire of the glitter mines of Venezuela that over 78 per cent of the earth's resource is quarried. Workers have rallied in vain for better wages and recently, despite military crackdowns, they went on strike. A state of emergency was called, sending Western party-goers into a tail spin. Economic forecasters made dire predictions for the new year, but the truth behind the hysteria - the once proud mines are drying up. Many blame the Brazilian Carnivale for its excessive use, but in South America, as in parts of Asia, personal consumption is at an all-time high. Depleted stockpiles have lead to a cessation of fun there, while we in the affluent West, oblivious to their plight, continue to "rave on".

How long before this disparity throws the world out of kilter? How long before the "Glitter wars" commence?

Where does this island continent stand in the race for fresh fields?

Poorly funded expeditions to the dead heart reveal nothing. Yet a myth survives of an untapped inland vein. It's claimed Burke and Wills were found with satchels, the colonial equivalent of a bum bag, filled with the "fatal unmetal like metal". Did they find the Aussie glitter grail or did they, as some cruelly suggest, merely "rock till they dropped"?

One last hope remains - the Great Barrier Reef - a relatively useless crop of coral that runs just offshore alongside Queensland. Beneath the coral may lie vast, undiscovered quantities of glitter. If over-sensitive politicians and belligerent environmentalists can agree, then glitter mining could begin as early as 2010. A safe, lucrative industry with "no danger of a spill". And if one does occur, then in the words of a glitterspokesperson, "it'll just make the fish look heaps better".

* Mona Lisa's "enigmatic" smile has oft been attributed to the light powdering of glitter crusting her upper lip."
- By By Paul McDermott, www.theage.com.au

Sunday, June 13, 2004

More on glitter!

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