Murrini Monday - Down on the Farm

Are these not the cutest murrini pieces you have ever seen??? Cows, pigs, sheep, owls and CHICKENS! Lori and Kim have surpassed the cuteness limit with these little critters. They're wonderful for artists who don't make critter beads because you can attach them to your pretty beads for a whimsical flair. For those of us who do make critter beads (like me!), I could not resist.

 This pug insisted on receiving the first Barn Buddies murrini - he's wearing a pig on his t-shirt. A pug in a pig shirt. I can't wait to figure out how to use the chickens . . .

 In my last murrini order, I could not resist the Cupcakes (who can?), and neither could this little kitty with a sweet tooth. She swiped a cupcake and is not letting go.

The final murrini pack I purchased is called Superstar! And let me tell you, these tiny stars are super! I used my smallest ones on these mini owls.

These beads are not for sale just yet - but they'll be featured in my upcoming Trunk Show at Lampwork Bead Artist Jamboree on Facebook. My show will be Aug. 5-6 -- it's my first trunk show and I'm very excited about it! And nervous, too. To bid on my beads or on other artists' beads at their trunk shows, just request to join the group!

Happy Murrini Monday!!!

Murrini Monday - Thinking about Easter Beads

 This little pug bunny swiped my very last murrini Easter egg - can you blame him? But now I'm left eggless and sad. I'm really hoping Lori and Kim do another Easter egg murrini blend. In the meantime, I'll have some Easter chicks to play with!

When I saw this Peep blend over at Lori and Kim, I knew it had to be mine. My pack (along with a couple others) should be arriving any day now. Then I'll have to decide which lucky critters get a little chick.

Here's some more murrini in action. I received these wonderful rainbow murrini from Julie Bowen of Autochthonous Evolved and I was saving them for just the right critter. This buttercup owl was the perfect spot for these seven colorful murrini - I just love them! This owl has me thinking that Spring could be a possibility.

Happy Murrini Monday!!!!

Murrini Monday - Hooter Style

It has been FOREVER since I've celebrated Murrini Monday - what better time to bring it back than when I receive tiny hooters in my mailbox! That's right, Lori and Kim have done it again with their endless murrini talents. This murrini blend is all little owls! I held back and only bought one pack, and it arrived today and it is wonderful! As soon as I'm done with this post, I'm going to try it out. 

This may sound strange, but I usually don't go for the animal murrini. That's not to say I don't LOVE it because I do! But I make animal beads, and I don't always know what to do with animal murrini. Lately I've put a murrini turtle in an elephant's trunk, and that worked out really nice:

Despite my new pack being a blend of all owls, I could not resist. I envision owl beads with little owl boutonnieres. I can't wait to try it!

But first I want to show you my new turtle ring:

I made several of these turtles in the past few days because I was making a ring for my mom's birthday. I think I made seven turtles all together, and she picked one out and I turned it into a ring. So I turned another turtle into a ring for my daughter, and one for me! I got the rings from Karen Thomas Designs, and they are super easy to use. The turtle just slides onto a little post that screws into either side of the ring. And of course the turtle has an awesome slice of Lori and Kim murrini on its shell. 

Happy Murrini Monday!!!

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 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!

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!

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

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!