Murrini Monday

Last week I organized my murrini collection. I had a lot of it in the little baggies it came in, a lot scattered on my work table and some was actually organized in little plastic containers. So I cleaned up a bit and sorted through my murrini. I tried to organize them by sorting them into different colors or themes. The container above has peace signs, happy faces, rainbows and stars - now that's fun group.

When I was finished I had all my little containers filled (minus a couple large bags I have from Mallory at Rosebud101 that I keep separate because there are just too many to sort). As you can see, there is some room on my containers for some more murrini. There are even EMPTY containers! Now that's just wrong.

It just so happened that very soon after I discovered I was running low (in my opinion) on murrini,  Lori and Kim posted a coupon code for 15% OFF all purchases. How could I resist? I put FEBFUN15 in at checkout and two days later I received my little baggies of goodness in the mail. I got Koi Pond: little turtles, fish and frog face murrini; Candy Hearts: you can never have too many heart-shaped murrini; ROYGBIV: rainbow colors! and my new favorite, Happy Hour: which critter would like to be served first? I'll tell you - it was a pug. She's sipping on her martini as we speak.

What other critters deserve a cocktail? Please leave your ideas in the comments - I'd love to hear them! There's a full bar of murrini drinks, with beer, margaritas, bloody marys, blue hawaiins and martinis. I think I just heard a bunny say "beer me." 

The coupon code for Lori and Kim is good until the end of February (remember, it's a short month!), so go get your murrini. But please, torch responsibly.

Happy Murrini Monday!!! 

Murrini Monday ~ 3-Peats

In today's edition of Murrini Monday, we're celebrating 3-Peats. What are 3-Peats, you ask? They are murrini blends of three different, but coordinating, murrini from Lori and Kim. And get this - when a blend of 3-Peats is sold out in their shop, Lori and Kim will make more! That's good thing for lampworkers who make a bead set using certain murrini, and then are asked to make that set or a similar one again. It's nice to know these blends will always be replenished.

I love the colors in this Airstream murrini blend. I had to have them. :)

Here is the Airstream murrini on a turtle. Turtles love murrini. 

This blend is called Electric Jellyfish. I had to buy it - for the awesome colors and for the cool name!

This turtle loves her Electric Jellyfish murrini. So stylish.

Happy Murrini Monday!!!

Murrini Monday

It's Murrini Monday! Let's look at some murrini!

I've been having a lot of fun making "patchwork" owls. I make them when I just feel like using lots and lots of murrini. I use murrini from my friend Mallory at rosebud101. I have such a fun variety of Mallory's murrini, and I like to pick out about 12 pieces of different sizes and colors for each owl. I usually can't use every piece, but I sure try! I love the effect of them melting into each other to form the owl's colorful patchwork chest.

A while back I bought a pack of snowflake murrini from Lori and Kim. At the time, we weren't getting any snow, so I guess I wasn't inspired to start using it (why jinx our Chicago record for most winter days without snow?). But we did finally get our snowfall, so my elephants were out catching snowflakes with their trunks.

Speaking of Lori and Kim, they are having a President's Day murrini sale! Through February 20, all their COE 104 murrini is 15% OFF! I'm eyeing the 3-Peat Airstream murrini in the above picture - I see lots of owl eyes. 

I think I'll join the President's Day celebration and also offer 15% OFF in my Etsy shop. My sale will end tonight, so act fast! Use coupon code PRESIDENT at checkout to get 15% OFF your entire order.

HAPPY MURRINI MONDAY!

Murrini Monday

It's Murrini Monday! So it's only fitting that I'd find murrini in my mailbox. :) I got two packs of Wild Hearts and one pack of Blizzard murrini. Look at all those colors! My critters will be so happy! Thank you Lori and Kim! I'm off to torch!

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!

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!!!

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!

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!!!

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!

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!

Murrini Monday

It's Monday, and you know what that means - time to celebrate murrini! I didn't use a whole lot of murrini last week (shame on me!), so today I picked out some pieces I've been wanting to try. 

On the top left are some red, blue and tan (raku?) murrini made by my friend Mallory of rosebud101. I love the contrast of the colors and the stripes on the outside. I'm thinking they'd make some cool looking owl eyes. Any other ideas?

On the upper right side are three slices of flower murrini from Lori and Kim. They've been sitting near my torch for some time, waiting for me to play with them. Which little critters would like to be adorned with flowers today?

The tiny murrini slices on the bottom are from my friend Sue in the UK. These little rainbow scribbles are packed with color, and I've actually already tried them out on a couple of turtles (awesome!). But today I'm thinking I'll use a few on one bead - maybe as owl feathers? Or rainbow cow spots? Sue makes amazing murrini and she sells out quickly, so keep checking back at Flaming 'Eck so you can grab some!

What will become of these murrini slices? Will they linger at my work station, waiting in murrini limbo? Or will I have an a flawless and productive torch session and bestow them upon eager little critters? Find out next week on As the Murrini Melts.

I welcome any suggestions for these wonderful murrini pieces. Happy Murrini Monday to one and all!

Murrini Monday ~ From Across the Pond

If you've read my Murrini Monday posts before, you know I'm a huge fan of the murrini from Lori and Kim and rosebud101. Now I've got another murrini artist to show off - Sue from Flaming 'Eck in the UK. I've actually been a huge fan of her murrini for quite some time, but she only recently started selling it in her Etsy shop. So now I can happily pass on her tiny treasures to you. You won't be disappointed!

This set is called Rainbow Scribbles, and this colorful murrini has been flying out of Sue's shop! It's no wonder - look at it! It's so pretty on the bead. I believe there's one listing left of this murrini, so hurry over to get yours! If you miss it, keep checking her shop because she will have more blends coming.

Here is one of my beads showing off one of Sue's murrini creations - a ladybug!

Sue is not just a murrini maker, she makes gorgeous bead sets and focals, too! I especially love her floral beads, like this set called On The Pond. So when you stop by her shop to check out her murrini, be sure to have a look at her beads, too!

Happy Murrini Monday!

Murrini Monday

No real theme today, just murrini being displayed on little critters.

This owl is happy. I know you can't tell that by his expression, which is why he's sporting a yellow smiley face murrini with a colorful striped border.

Dragons are actually very sensitive creatures. This one loves the flora murrini and is constantly trying to win over the other critters by presenting them with pretty flowers.

Forget peanuts - the elephants around here just want pretty flower murrini. Can you blame them?

This edition of Murrini Monday is brought to you by Lori and Kim.

Happy Murrini Monday!

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 - Early Evening Edition

So the time change messes with me every year, but I can't use that as an excuse to post Murrini Monday so late. Maybe I'm late because it's Monday. Oh wait, Murrini Monday is always on Monday! I think this one just snuck up on me. Let's get to the murrini . . .

I have so much murrini that I'm always brainstorming different ways to use lots of it at once (giving me the much-needed reason to buy more murrini). But with critters, as I've said before, less is usually more. So I gave this pretty yellow owl one very nice slice of blue flower murrini (you know, to match her beak).

Owls are fast becoming one of my favorite critters to adorn with my prized murrini. But the hooters can't have all the fun.

Panda, do you accept this rose? Of course, giggle giggle.

Mini hooters are very fun to decorate with murrini. For the mini beads, I have to search for the smallest murrini slices in a blend. There usually are a few that work well on mini beads. This set was called Peace, Love and Happiness Hooters. They are perky, too.

This edition of Murrini Monday was brought to you by Lori and Kim!!!

Happy Murrini Monday to one and all!

Murrini Monday

I have been having a TON of fun with some surprise murrini I received last week. This murrini is made by my friend Mallory of rosebud101, and the detail in it is really cool. Let's take a look, shall we?

This cat head bead features some of Mallory's green and black murrini, with tiny dots of red (or is it pink?) in the centers. I had planned on making an owl with this murrini as the eyes, but I melted it in too quickly and I wound up turning it into a cat head. I love how the black lines look like tiger stripes!

Here is that same murrini on a turtle. The turtle has a maroon shell, to match the tiny dot in the center (so maybe it is red?).

Next I used a bunch of Mallory's special Chalcedony murrini on the chest of this owl. This murrini has special color-changing powers, and sometimes I can get them to work. You can see some pretty cool results in the crackling blue on the owl.

And here is some of that same murrini on a dachshund (a murrini weenie!). You can see that I got the colors to come out on his backside and under his eye. That blue is so cool! And that doxie is definitely not blue, but very happy with his unique markings. :)

Thank you, Mallory! And Happy Murrini Monday to all!

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!!!!!!!