Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Turtle Tuesday ~ Turtle to the Rescue!

If you love turtles, you will love them even more after watching this video showing one turtle helping  another. We could learn a lot from turtles. :)


And here's my example of a helpful turtle. This one is transporting an octopus around ~ and he's even smiling while doing it. :)

In celebration of Turtle Tuesday, I've marked down the Turtle Taxi bead. It will be on sale for the rest of the day. There are still two other turtle beads in my shop that are on sale. You can find them in my Turtle section.

HAPPY TURTLE TUESDAY!

Monday, October 29, 2012

Murrini Monday - I can see it in your eyes

It's no secret that I love murrini. I especially love using perfect little slices of murrini for owl eyes. Certain pieces just jump out at me and beg to be turned into owl eyes. 

As soon as I saw the murrini slices I used in teh above bead (from Lori and Kim's Fun Dip blend), I knew they would make perfect owl eyes. But I think I could have shown them off much better than I did. I wish I hadn't used turquoise for the owl's chest feathers - see how it blends in to the blue on the bottom of the murrini? Not good, in my opinion. I should have used green as the chest feathers, or maybe pink. Then the murrini would stand out much better.

This owl has successful murrini eyes. Even thought there's a good deal of blue on the inner part of the murrini, it's bordered by silvered ivory, so the blue of the bead doesn't blend in with the blue on the murrini. The contrast works much better. 

I still have two more slices of that awesome murrini from the Fun Dip blend, so I will give it another go. This time I'll make it work. :)

Happy Murrini Monday!

Saturday, October 27, 2012

Happy Catterday!

This is our living room. You're probably wondering why there is a teepee in our living room. It used to be in our basement for the kids to play in when they were little. It folds up nicely and doesn't take up a whole lot of room unless it's set up. Well, the kids don't use it a whole lot anymore, but Ernie and Bert love it! One of the kids set it up in the living room and the cats play in it all the time.

Ernie (the ginger cat) is obsessed with the teepee. He hides in it and springs out at anyone (dog, cat, person) walking by. I think he meditates in there, too.

If we can't find Ernie, he's usually in the teepee.

This is a classic teepee situation. Ernie "hiding" on the inside while Bert innocently walks by. But I think Bert is catching on. 

Happy Catterday!

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Therapy Thursday ~ Dance Off!

This video puts a smile on my face every time I watch it. It was shot at a Chicago school where a student was doing a sort of mock dance battle - challenging teachers to an impromptu dance-off in the halls. Little did he know that the Dean of Students had some mad skills. 


Happy Thursday!

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Turtle Tuesday

Why is this turtle smiling?
Because he's the Turtle Deal of the Day! I've marked him down to $12.

Happy Turtle Tuesday!


Monday, October 22, 2012

Murrini Monday ~ Spooky Edition

Halloween is on the horizon, but there's still time to enjoy some spooky murrini. Don't be scared.

This Boo murrini from GlowPondGlass will add a bit of fright to your beads.

FritNChips has gone batty with some spooky bat murrini slices.

And here is some murrini in action on a beautiful bead called I'm Not Scared by FlamingEck. I'm not scared. Really, I'm not. But that one-toothed jack-o-lantern is looking right at me.

Happy Murrini Monday!

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Turtle Tuesday ~ Fall Edition

Today I have actual living (not glass!) turtles to show you. We saw these leaf turtles during a trip to the zoo over the summer. Isn't it cool how their shells look like leaves? And the turtles are flat like leaves, too. I'm not sure why they look like this - maybe to hide from turtle hunters? I hope the disguise works.


          This is my version of a leaf turtle. He's not flat, but he's covered in leaf murrini. I don't think he's fooling anyone.


And this is the Turtle Tuesday Deal of the Day. I just marked this sweetheart of a turtle down to $13 - but just for today.


HAPPY TURTLE TUESDAY!


Monday, October 15, 2012

Murrini Monday

I had A LOT of fun playing with murrini last week. I was dying to try out Fun Dip by Lori and Kim, so I used six (6!) pieces of this awesome candy-colored murrini on my new favorite owl. I love how the colors pop.

Then I made a Greenpeace Dragon ~ this sweet green dragon clutching a colorful peace sign from Lori and Kim's Groovy Girl blend.

Like the dragons, koalas love murrini. This chubby koala opted for a nice slice of grapefruit (he's watching his figure) from Frit N Chips. Jo, the maker of these delicious murrini slices, has over thirty (30!) varieties of murrini in her shop.

Happy Murrini Monday!!!

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Sneak Peek Sunday

Here's a preview of some of my freshest beads. Some will be listed in my Etsy shop later this week. Some are part of a special order.


Happy Sunday!

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Turtle Tuesday/Murrini Monday

With yesterday being Columbus Day and my kiddos all being home from school, I completely forgot it also was Monday. So I guess I blew off Murrini Monday. To make it up, I've combined Murrini Monday with Turtle Tuesday. 

So first up, here is a new turtle with an encased spotted shell. To the outside I added my new fall leaves murrini (from the Cornucopia blend from Lori and Kim). The leaves are so pretty!

I know, this is not a turtle. But I had to show off the cupcake murrini (again from Lori and Kim) in action. When it came in the mail, my daughter looked at it and said I should make an elephant holding a cupcake, and I very much liked that idea. :)

And now for the Turtle Deal of the Day! These two rainbow turtles have been hanging around my shop for a while now. They'd like nothing more than to be turned into something fun ~ like earrings or charms. So to help them find a new home, I've marked their price down to $18.

A belated happy Murrini Monday to all, and have a terrific Turtle Tuesday!


Saturday, October 6, 2012

Saturday is Catterday

My son runs high school cross country. Before a meet or a long run, he makes sure to get his carbs. One of his favorite ways to carb up is with a nice big bowl of cat - delicious and full of those important vitamins and long-acting carbohydrates.
       

See how fast he runs? Like a panther.

 Now he's sweatin' like a dog.
         

Happy Catterday!

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Therapy Thursday ~ do something for you!

Yes, you! It's much easier said than done, I know. My day today was scheduled with appointments - physical therapy for me and a trip to the orthodontist for my daughter, whose brace bracket came off yesterday. But in between these appointments I managed to carve out time for a quick walk with the dog and enough torch time to make a dent in a custom order and also have a little fun.
Later when I got home, my murrini order from Lori and Kim  was waiting in my mailbox. I ordered in on Monday afternoon! And now it's here, in my hands. So that was an upper for me - can't wait to use it.

Did you do anything for you today? The day is not over - take a few minutes and indulge in something you like. You'll thank yourself later.

Happy Thursday!

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Turtle Tuesday

What's better than a turtle? Two turtles! 
I've been busy making mini turtles and turning them into earrings. 
 I love making earrings that don't match. At first glance, these turtle earrings do match, but I slightly altered their shells. One is green with periwinkle spots outlined by blue. The other shell is periwinkle, with green spots outlined by blue. Everything else matches.

At a recent trip to a local bead store, I bought a strand of these tiny antique bronze hearts. I love them! And because I also love turtles, I wire-wrapped this pair with the little hearts. 

And now for the Turtle Deal of the Day - this patchwork turtle is sporting a whole bunch of rosebud101 murrini on her shell. Melted in together, the murrini reminds me of a patchwork quilt. I've marked this turtle down from $14 to $10!

Happy Turtle Tuesday!


Monday, October 1, 2012

Murrini Monday ~ a Cornucopia of Murrini!

This is me:


Oh look, what's that? Brightly colored murrini chips in retro candy colors???


This is me again, under the spell of FunDip murrini by Lori and Kim


I'm am in your power. I will resist all attempts to keep these perfect murrini chips out of my shopping cart. Pretty pretty chips.


And oh no, a Cornucopia of murrini! Leaves changing colors, feathers in varying shades of autumn. I am powerless. I don't even know what I'd do with them, but I must own them.

Happy Murrini Monday!
Try to resist ~ I dare you!