A small amount of the diluted gum arabic is added to the powdered glass and a
 spherical core is shaped by rolling a small amount of the paste mixture between the palms of her hands. A hole is then pierced through the core with a wooden 'cocktail stick'.

Step 2 - The Decoration
Using the plastic lids of small bottles containing powdered glass from previously ground coloured beads .. as containers, a few drops of diluted gum arabic are added from the kettle to a little of the coloured powder which is mixed into a paste. Saliva, said to have been used in older times, on its own or in conjunction with gum arabic .. is no longer used.

First using blue for the centre of the 'eye', the paste is applied with the tip of a wooden 'cocktail stick'. No time is seemingly needed for drying between forming the core and applying the various coloured decorations .. the colours neither smudge nor run.

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