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!

Murrini Monday!!!

That's right, Murrini Mondays are back! And for that matter, I'm back, too. I can't believe the last time I blogged was in July. So now that the school year is underway and I'm kid-free much of the time, I plan to be more regular - about blogging! So let's dive right in and I'll show you some of the awesome murrini I've been using.

This turtle features four slices of Lori and Kim murrini, all encased in clear. I'm not much into symmetry or making everything match, so I used four different slices of murrini, a twistie and some frit to decorate the shell before encasing it. I love the random color surprises.

Here's a newer style of owl bead I like to call patchwork. Before adding the eyes and other features, I cover the owl's chest will all sorts of random murrini - my collection of rosebud101 murrini works great!  Doesn't it have a patchwork look to it?

I've been making miniature dinosaur beads to benefit the JDRF (Dinobeadies for Diabetes), and they are perfect for showing off one slice of murrini (on each side!). These two brightly colored dinos are wearing murrini from FlamingEck - love them!

Thanks for coming back to visit on Murrini Mondays! I'll have new murrini to show off next week, and new posts in between. Have a great week!

Gifts from Across the Pond

This post has been a very long time coming. I've been wanting to share what two very special lampwork artists and one amazing bag designer did for my daughter. When Sue from FlamingEck and Laney of Izzybeads learned that my daughter, Annie, had been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, they hatched a plan to bring some cheer to her - all the way from the UK! Both Laney and Sue have been my online glassy friends for a while now, and they both live in the UK. Little did I know that they knew each other (small lampwork world), but I eventually figured that out and it made perfect sense that these two smart and funny ladies would be friends. They commissioned Lesley, a bag designer from Scotland (Hand Maiden Scotland - clever name!), to make Annie a special bag for her diabetes supplies. The three of them put together the most wonderful package for Annie, and when she came home from school one day it was waiting for her.

The purse/bag is done in a gorgeous red-white-and-blue paisley pattern, and the lining has little British flags on it - the perfect touch.

Ernie had to check out the packaging, while Annie found more treasures inside the bag.

Here she discovers one of Laney's famous Chook (chicken) beads that's turned into a purse charm. Laney also sent one of her gorgeous flower beads (I don't have a picture because Annie socked it away where I can't find it and she's not home to tell me where it is - but believe me, it's so pretty!).

And here she's admiring Sue's patriotic flower purse charm (she doesn't see pretty flower beads like that around here!). Sue even sent some of her awesome murrini for me!

This is the inside of the bag with Annie's supplies inside. In addition to a zippered pocket on the outside of the purse, Lesley designed it to have a pocket on the inside, which is perfect for her pen. There's even a little matching wallet that holds her pen needles. 

I can't even begin to express how wonderful it was to know that these women, who we have never met, thought of Annie and made these special, thoughtful gifts for her. It means so much. 

Thank you Laney, Sue and Lesley!!!

Murrini Monday - Results

Last week I didn't have much to show for my murrini usage. So I picked out murrini I've been wanting to use and even asked for suggestions on what the heck to do with it. So without further ado, here is the big reveal . . .

The rainbow scribbles murrini from Flaming 'Eck made awesome owl feathers, don't you think?

Super Dog is a big fan of murrini ~ he insisted I use rosebud101's powerful-looking slice on his red cape, and then he rolled over to show it off.

Nikki from NLC Beads suggested I place a flower murrini on a hippo big hole bead, and I had just made the coral hippo when I read her post. He's not a big hole hippo bead, but a hippo nonetheless, and he sure is happy with hist matching flower murrini from Lori and Kim.

HAPPY MURRINI MONDAY

to one and all!