Fire Divas Bead Challenge ~ Joy

This month's theme is Joy. We have beautiful entries! See them below, and then vote for your favorite on the right hand side of the Fire Divas blog. Easy peasy!

Entry 1:



Entry 2:


Entry 3:


Entry 4:


Entry 5:


Voting ends in two days!

Murrini Monday

Happy Murrini Monday!

Fancy dog spots murrini. Chalcedony murrini by rosebud101.

Penguin belly murrini. Murrini by lori and kim.

Turtle butt murrini. Murrini by lori and kim.

I have more murrini than I know what to do with, but I just ordered more! Can you blame me? It's from lori and kim and it's on SALE! I can't resist a good sale . . . or little jack-o-lanterns.

In other news, I just picked the winner of my owl pendant giveaway - and it's pam! I'll be in touch to collect your info, but if you see this first you can shoot me an email at maybeads@gmail.com - thanks everyone for entering!

Giveaway Time! Hoo Hoo Likes to Wear Critter Beads?

Do you like animal beads? Do you like to wear animal beads? Obviously, I love animal beads. But I've only just started wearing them. As much as I love making them, I hadn't really considered wearing them as jewelry. I've always preferred to blend in, rather than stand out, and I guess I figured that wearing a brightly colored glass hippo bead with googly eyes would not exactly help with the blending in part. But lately I've realized that by not wearing my own animal beads, I'm not utilizing one of my best marketing tools - me. So a while back I made a tiny owl bead and have been wearing that on a black rubber cord - nice and simple. Yesterday I picked out a slightly larger and brighter owl bead, with a startled expression on his little face (in the bottom picture the one one the right), and I put that on a cord to wear. Who knows? Maybe there's a penguin in a cowboy hat in my future.

But enough about me. I want to hear from you! Do you wear animal beads? Would you if you won one? Say, the bright yellow owl above with the perfect pink flower murrini belly (by lori and kim), turquoise beak and toes? Leave me a comment about what kind of animal beads you would wear and where you would wear them - on a bracelet, a simple chain, earrings, belly button, etc. If you prefer to keep your animal beads on a shelf or under your computer, that's ok - I'd like to know that, too. Also, be sure there's a way for me to contact you if you win. I'll use the random number generator to pick the winner Sunday night (Aug. 15).

For an extra entry:

Become a follower of my blog and leave a comment saying so. If you are already a follower, don't forget to let me know in a comment.

Join my Facebook page and leave a comment to let me know. If you're already a fan (or a liker), let me know in a comment please.

Thanks for playing, and Happy Friday!

By the way, I'm now offering Custom Hooters in my Etsy shop! That's right - you can custom design your very own hooter. Or go crazy and get a set of custom hooters! You pick the colors and belly design - frit feathers, murrini or polka dot feathers - and I'll make it. It's a win-win!

Murrini Monday

I was anxious to try the little rose murrini pieces that were in one of my blends from Lori and Kim, but at the same time I was nervous and didn't want to screw it up. I decided the perfect spot for it would be on a pink cow.

Cow, do you accept this rose? Yes, I do - I'm so mooooved.

A pink owl was the next to receive a rose. Owl, do you accept this rose? Of course, hoo wouldn't?

Finally, this rainbow murrini was in a blend of giant murrini from Lori and Kim. I love how the colors pop on the intense blue.

Happy Murrini Monday!

How'd You Put the Hole in There?

It's a question I'm asked fairly often - how did I put the hole in the bead? I assume other lampworkers get this one, too. So today I thought I'd let you in on the secret. Just between you and me . . . Lampworkers make their beads on mandrels, or metal rods. The hot glass is wound around the mandrel, and when it's cooled and pulled off . . . voila! There's your hole! The size of the hole depends on the thickness of the mandrel.

The thickest mandrel I use is for pandora-style beads - which is the one on the left. But mandrels can be much, much thicker. The size I've been using a lot for my critter beads lately is 3/32" - the middle one. The one on the right is 1/16", and I like to use that skinny one for beads I might turn into jewelry, simply because my findings match up with the holes pretty well.

I can change which way the hole runs (vertically or horizontally) by making the critter face a different way. Most of my beads have the hole running top to bottom, but for pandora-style beads, the hole has to run sideways through the bead. This was a challenge for me when I first started making this kind of bead, but now I'm getting the hang of it.

The gray chalky stuff on the mandrel and under the bead is called bead release. All mandrels are dipped in bead release before they are used so the glass doesn't stick to the mandrel. Sometimes the bead can be tricky to remove, and I've even had to put some mandrel's in a vice in order to twist the bead off. Those situations don't always end well. Sometimes it's just better to leave the bead stuck on the mandrel and stick it in a plant. And if I had any living plants, that would be a swell idea.

And here are the beads removed from their mandrels. I haven't cleaned them yet, so there's a nice layer of bead release in the holes. I'll use my nifty Dremel to clean out the holes and smooth out the edges, and these beads will be ready to go.

Any questions?

Wordless Wednesday

Murrini Monday ~ Share the Love

Judging solely by the fact that I have a day on my blog devoted to murrini, you might think I'm a little obsessed with these tiny glass masterpieces. You would be right. But from the looks of my lampworking friends' shops, I know they enjoy it as much as I do. It's a shared love of murrini. Camp song, anyone?

So this week let's see what my murrini users in crime are up to. I know, don't end a sentence with a preposition.

My glassy friend Ema finally caved and purchased her first pack of murrini from lori and kim. From the looks of the gorgeous focal bead below, wouldn't you say it's about time?

This Field of Murrini Poppies bead popped up at emakaye recently, and I can't wait to see what Ema comes up with next!

I can spot lori and kim murrini anywhere.

I found some on this sweet turtle in my friend Eileen's shop. Groovy the Far Out Turtle is sporting some funky murrini, especially on his rear. Head to Dorset Hill Beads to see a shot of his backside.

My glassy friend Lara does some amazing things with murrini.

Chrysanthemum is a small focal bead, and I think it's outta this world! The murrini is from lori and kim, and the fabulous design is by Lutrick.

Ema, Eileen and Lara are all members of the Fire Divas Team on Etsy. Check out our blog ~ Fire Divas ~ lots of glassy goodness there!