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!

Murrini Monday in Springtime!

Spring has made a very early appearance here in the Midwest, so all my little critters have been picking out pretty spring flower murrini. Can you blame them?

Each of these mini owls is sporting a daffodil-style murrini (from Lori and Kim's nursery). Daffodils are my favorite spring flower, and I love the assortment in my murrini blends.

Easter is coming, so this bunny hopped over to my Easter egg murrini stash and grabbed a decorated egg. Check out the detail on that murrini! I think the Peep chicks are going to take down the bunny and steal that egg if he isn't careful.

Here's a gray tabby cat I caught rolling around in my murrini flower bed. Looks like he's stuck with that pretty blue one with an orange and yellow center.

This pink elephant was slurping up these pretty red flowers, so I made her pose for a picture with one. Anyone have any peanuts?

Happy Spring and Happy Murrini Monday!

Murrini Monday ~ Suggestion Box

Last week I received my most recent murrini purchase from Lori and Kim. I ordered three packs of murrini, and the Debi's Delight blend (pictured below) was one of them. This one was a no-brainer for me - rainbow borders around smiley faces, peace signs, hearts, checkerboards, skulls . . . SKULLS? That's right, skulls! Aren't they the cutest skulls you've ever seen? Now I need your help - what should I do with the skulls? In other words, what kind of critter would or should wear a skull?

In other very important murrini news, I also received an awesome package of murrini from my friend Mallory of rosebud101. Mallory makes some amazing murrini, and she says she makes it when she's feeling stressed - so making murrini is her way of relieving that stress. By the looks of all the gorgeous murrini she sent me, I'd say she was pretty stressed out (there is a lot!), but now I'm hoping she's doing better. Guess what I'm going to play with today?

There are red roses (love those!) in this mix, plus some really cool pinwheels and starbursts (all technical murrini terms I just made up). I especially love that blue flower towards the top-center of the picture. I'm making special plans for that one. :)

Of course it wouldn't be Murrini Monday without a shot of murrini in action. So here we have three pooches wearing bunny ears, and each one is coveting his own slice of decorated egg-shaped murrini (by Lori and Kim). Hope they can hold onto those until Easter!

Please leave comments about the skull murrini - where should I use that? Also, I'm up for ideas for any of the murrini I post here. Thank! And Happy Murrini Monday!!!!!!!

Hippity Hoppity

Bunnies, to me, have always fallen into the same category as monkeys. I'm talking glass monkeys. There is just an unspoken truth that monkeys are not a critter I can make. I even proved it to myself once by trying. Ug. I leave the monkeys up to my friend Louise, who gives them personality, style and the best expressions over at Fireseed Glass - they are amazing! If you haven't seen her glass monkeys, you are missing out (so go look!). But I digress . . . bunnies are a close second to monkeys when it comes to making them out of glass. I've tried them at different times in the past, and they just turn out ok. They wind up looking too much like cats with long ears. So I went with something simpler, like this pink Peep-inspired bunny:

It's simple and cute, and reminds me of delicious marshmallow treats, but it's lacking personality. I guess it would be hard to eat a marshmallow bunny if it was filled with personality, so that's likely why Peeps have such simple features. So now with Easter on the horizon, I've been wanting to try bunnies again. Real (ok, my version of real) bunnies. So the other night I made this guy:

I showed it to my husband and he looked at it for longer than I thought it would take to figure out it's a bunny. He turned it over and looked at it from different angles, then said something like, "Bunny? Or cat with long ears?" Really? I got a much better reaction from my girls, who are suckers for large puppy-dog eyes. So I was a little encouraged, and decided to make a bunny sitting up:

I was pretty pleased with how Marshmallow turned out, so I decided to add more detail with my next bunny. I had some murrini (now that's an understatement!) that had always reminded me of Easter eggs, so I found it and gave it to this blue bunny:

He's got a pretty tight grip on it, so I had to find more for my other bunnies:

Wait a second, you're not a bunny! Too late, the Pug bunny is not letting go of that murrini egg.

Now that's just great, first the Pug bunny, and now ninja bunny has crept into my murrini stash and grabbed one of my last egg-shapped murrini.

I figured that would be the end of my "bunnies holding Easter eggs" series, but how wrong I was! I popped on over to Lori and Kim yesterday and lo and behold . . . an entire blend of decorated egg murrini!

Egg Hunt was just what I was hunting for. Now all my bunnies, and bunny impostors, will get an egg.

Murrini Monday - watch it walk away

Kiss My Pug Butt - Lips murrini by loriandkim. Mwah!

I'm having way too much fun with murrini lately! I realized this week that most of the murrini I used on the backside of my beads. So let's just sit back and watch it walk away.

This pug Valentine is sweet from the front.

And sweet from the back. xoxo.

This black pandora kitty cat needed a pop of color. So I added a pink and red heart murrini. Meow.

Two pandora turtles covered in pink and purple murrini.

And last but definitely not least, my very first glow murrini turtle! Murrini for this bead is by JanelDudleyBeads - so be sure to check out her shop for her amazing glow beads!

Ooooh, it really glows!

Murrini Monday

I'm having way too much fun with murrini.

This is Howard the elephant, a distant relative of Horton's. He isn't used to all this fanfare, but when he's got a murrini bloom in his trunk, he's sure to be featured on Murrini Monday.

Dilbert the turtle is showing off some really cool murrini that spreads out nicely on the bead and changes color a bit.

Snail shells are the perfect place to showcase murrini.

Dirty Guido the pirate pug didn't want to wear his dog collar, but I insisted. So he picked out a tough looking black and white murrini star. Now I won't have to worry if he runs away, as most pirate dogs eventually do.

Murrini for these beads is from Lori and Kim

Murrini Monday ~ it's Magically Delicious!

Last week my daughter was looking through my murrini, and she commented on how much I had collected. I know, I said, I won't be buying any for a while. I wanted to show her that I do know how to exercise restraint. But the very next day was Sept. 1, and something clicked and I remembered that new murrini would be up at Lori and Kim. I'll just check it out, I thought. I can look at it and admire it without having to own it. Right? Wrong. When I arrived at Lori and Kim's site I was greeted by Lucky Charms! I have never been known to turn down Lucky Charms! They're magically delicious! And so are the Lori and Kim murrini version. They were so magical that I went into a trance and when I came out of it, the Lucky Charms and Citrus Bloom were safely in my cart. I did show some restraint, however. I only bought one of each. :)

Lucky Charms ~ impossible to resist!

Here's the nifty little storage system for my murrini I picked up at JoAnne's. I didn't realize when I bought it that the containers are attached to each other, so you can't just take out one at a time. The top of one is the bottom of the one below it. It's not my favorite, but it's working for now. This is not all of my murrini. There is a bunch on my work table and more still in their little bags. I'm not the most organized person (that's an understatement), so this is pretty good for me.

Happy Murrini Monday to one and all!

Murrini Monday ~ Afternoon Edition

Sorry it's a little late today, but I was waiting by my mailbox . . . . and I was not disappointed! I ordered new murrini last week from loriandkim, and I just knew it would arrive today - after all, it's Murrini Monday!

Looky what I got!

This blend is called Beach Umbrellas, and when it's melted onto a bead it looks like a mini rainbow beach umbrella. I can't wait to use this! I had actually tried out a few pieces like this because they were part of the Spectrum blend I won. So when I saw that Lori and Kim were selling it in one pack, all different colors, I had to have it.

I don't think I have to explain why I bought not one, but two of the Sweethearts blend - duh! It's adorable and beautiful and colorful and heart-shaped! Plus, in the description Lori and Kim wrote, they said, and I quote "we know people make critters who might need hearts . . ." and I believe they were talking to me directly. Yes, they were. =)

I know at least a couple other lampworkers who purchased the Sweethearts blend, and I can't wait to see what they do with it. So far, I've just looked at it and admired it. But look out, my critters are going to start wearing their pastel-colored hearts on their sleeves, or their shells.

Happy Murrini Monday to one and all!

Murrini Monday ~ Turtle Style

It's Turtlepalooza in my Etsy shop today. What does that mean? I'm cranking out the turtle beads! And lots of them are adorned with murrini to boot! Here's a little sample of what's to come . . .

This turtle's turquoise shell is decorated with murrini made by my friend Mallory, of rosebud101. Murrini is a fairly recent addition to Mallory's shop, and I give it two thumbs up! I had so much fun playing with this chalcedony blend, and I love how it spread out on the bead. Yes, that's a slice of murrini from the blend - so there you see it before and after.

A cheery turtle, this one with murrini from loriandkim.

Two turtles. Two different murrini blends. One love.

Murrini Monday

A Happy Murrini Monday to One and All!

A new rainbow turtle, using my latest blend (that I won!) called Spectrum, from loriandkim. This bead isn't listed yet - it still needs to be annealed.

Murrini turtle for your big-hole bracelet. He'll be listed later today.

Selma the spring pug is showing off some murrini on her side ~ she's in my shop, waiting patiently to be adopted.

Oddly enough, Salvador's favorite song is "You Don't Bring Me Flowers." You can find him in my shop, trying to impress the ladies with his pretty blooming murrini.

Muriel is super happy with her burst of sunny flower murrini ~ the other side is different. She's in my shop, too.

Murrini Monday

Oh Happy Day! I received my latest package of murrini from loriandkim last week, and I've been busy playing with it ever since. I got two packs of their new Valentine murrini called SWAK, and one pack of Spellbound. They are all wonderful! The butterfly above, however, is made with Glee murrini I bought a while back.

I had to use the pink and red flowery shaped murrini for owl eyes - it was inevitable. And check out the owl's backside.

Did you know that the way to a penguin's heart is through his stomach? At least it appears that way. This red and pink penguin is sporting my favorite heart from the SWAK murrini blend.

And here is that same pattern I used for the owl's eyes on the backside of this girlie turtle.

Here's some more Glee murrini in action - on a funky, bumpy heart.

Ever wonder what a fish would look like with human-like blue eyes? Now you don't have to.

And finally, what I thought would be a shoe-in for Etsy's front page - an owl in a chunky cowl, adorned with a lovely pieces of murrini as a button. It's still in my shop, so you never know, it could make the elusive front page yet.

Murrini Monday

This week's edition of Murrini Monday features other artists' use of murrini. As you can see, they are much more subtle with their murrini usage than I am, giving their beads a more artistic quality (as opposed to the cartoonish quality of mine).

This show-stopper of a bead is called Nightmare Insomnia Mystical Garden Trellis, and you can find it at GlassAddictions, where there just so happens to be a sale going on.

One lonely murrini graces this lovely green tube bead, but it's the star of the show. One Murrini is from DorsetHillBeads.

Southwest Pathway features the artist's own handmade starburst murrini ~ this one is by flamecrazy.

Rainbow Twist by Lutrick incorporates murrini on both sides of the bead, which is made from gorgeous Chalcedony glass.

Appropriately named Murrini Fields, this luscious tube-shaped bead by teasebeads is highlighted by a pretty orange and yellow burst of murrini.

The beads above are by the Fire Divas. Many of them (including me!) use murrini from loriandkim.

And here is a color explosion called Allegro, by Lori, of loriandkim fame, using her very own handmade murrini. Her fabulous beads can be found at Loribeads.