Murrini Monday!

Today's edition of Murrini Monday features a couple mini turtles:

And an owl pendant with murrini eyes:

Murrini for the above beads is from loriandkim

My friend Mallory is also a murrini maker, and I own a bunch of her Chalcedony and Smudges murrini blends. One of my favorites in her shop, rosebud101, is her Silvered Ivory Murrini:

Now check out how amazing it looks on one of Nikki's hippo beads:

I love the crackly organic look to this murrini! And guess what? It ships free! So does the hippo!

Dog Park

Our town has a new dog park. Unfortunately for us, our dog is not a "dog" dog. He loves people and is great with kids, but he was picked on by his pack when he was a pup (before we got him), so he's not too fond of other doggies. This pretty much rules out the new dog park for us. But not for my dog beads!

I'm sure there's lots of frisbee playing at the dog park.

Some dog parks have doggie beaches ~ this fella is ready to make some waves!

Hmmm, the dalmatian might be wishing to be rescued just about now.

The Boston Terrier seems pretty happy at the dog beach.

Is your dog a dog park dog? Tell me what we're missing!

Inspiration . . . at the post office? Seriously?

It used to be I'd head to the post office to mail out beads and wait in the long line for a good 20 minutes, all the while wishing that the lady in front of me would quit cracking her gum and that the guy behind me would stand just a little farther back (I like my space). There was never much to look forward to there. But lately, I've found inspiration at the post office. That's right, I'm inspired by stamps! More specifically, the Animal Rescue Stamps. They've been available for a while now, and I'd see information about them when I was waiting in line. Today I finally acted on my urge to turn some of those cute shelter pets into beads. I came home from the post office and made a couple dogs and a cat, in the likeness of a the pets featured on the stamps.

Do you ever find inspiration in an unexpected place?

Maybeads for the Kiddos

It's true! Your kids can be this happy! Simply head on over to Rovis & the Bean, click on "kids gifts" and find my fun little choker necklaces, featuring my very own handmade glass animal beads. There are butterflies, ladybugs, turtles, hearts, penguins, dogs, cats . . . you get the idea. These chokers make great gifts, and they really do make kids happy. =)

Rovis & the Bean is my friend Lauren's business, and she works so hard to find unique, hip and personalized items to fill her shop. You'll find gorgeous hand-stamped jewelry, super cute clothes and fabulous accessories. I'm honored that my chokers are featured on this site! As Lauren says, "Spoil your munchkin. Spoil yourself."

Art Imitates . . . Great America Stuffed Animals?

You read that right: art imitates stuffed animals won at Great America over the weekend. I'm often asked in blog interviews what inspires me, and this is it. It's as simple as a pink stuffed bird. Or a blue one. My daughters each won one, and I couldn't wait to get to my torch to make my own glassy versions.

Murrini Monday is Baaaaack!

I do believe I've missed two (2!) Murrini Mondays in a row! The shame! So less talking, more murrini!

These two pandora beads were a custom order for a rainbow-loving customer. I love how the rainbow murrini (from Lori and Kim) pop on the white beads. This combo was purely my customer's idea, and I love it!

Bad kitty. I finally tried out a fish from my winning blend from Lori and Kim and the kitty ate it. Figures.

Murrini is fancying up my pandora beads.

This lovable pooch is showing off a heart from Lori and Kim's Poker Face blend.

The silvered ivory murrini for this bead is from Mallory at rosebud101. I love how it spread out on the dog and gave her eyelashes.

Let us end on a sweet flower turtle butt.

Until next week, Happy Murrini Monday!

Fire Divas Quarterly Jewelry Challenge

The deadline for the Fire Divas Summer Jewelry Challenge is right around the corner on July 15th! We thought we would show you a little inspiration to get you going on those entries!

Below are some examples the Divas made up to inspire you. These pieces are just lovely but are ineligible to win those fabulous prizes because this contest is all about you and what you can make with Fire Divas Beads!

This first piece is by Lori of Ashlyn Design. It's called "Ode to Chihuly." I see all kinds of summer flowers in this.

And don't you just think of beaches looking at this Silver Glass Choker by Janel Dudley Beads?

Here, a paler blue was used with copper and glass for a beach feel. This piece is by Sonja of Silver River Glasswork.

And what is it about pink and green? It reminds me of eating watermelon by the river. I love the knotting Lea of LA Jewelry Designs used in this piece.

Here's that color scheme again in a necklace by Susanne of Bab's Beads. In this case, the flowers yield a romantic feel.

We'll have some more inspiration for you this week so stay tuned!

Rules and Contest Info are HERE.