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 - on Tuesday (because President's Day has me confused on what day it is)

I haven't been blogging about my love for murrini (not since October of last year!), but that doesn't mean my love has faded. It's still very much alive. I've been making a lot of custom dog beads, which, sadly, don't require murrini. But I've also been asked to make some mini murrini owls (above), and I happily obliged. In fact, I made extras, so some of these will soon be for sale.

This elephant has extremely good taste in murrini. I adore this heart! It's from Lori and Kim (as are the murrini on the owl beads) and the detail and colors just blow me away.

Here is the latest in COE 104 murrini from Lori and Kim - this blend is called pansy garden, and it's filled with pansies (omg the detail!) and other purple and yellow flowers (I spy daffodils and roses!) AND bees! The colors of this blend are wonderful and I believe I'll be owning some soon because it gives me hope that spring is actually around the corner. Find Lori and Kim's awesome murrini blends here.

Happy Murrini Monday to one and all!

Murrini Monday - Big & Little Hooters

A few weeks ago I told you about the awesome little Hoot murrini I got from Lori and Kim. I'm finally posting pictures of the beads I made with it. All of these beads have flown the coop already, but I will make more! This murrini is super fun!

For the owl above and the owl below, I just placed a sweet murrini owl in a contrasting color on their chests. So now they have a mini version of themselves with them wherever they go. 

For the elephant above and below, I placed a murrini owl in their trunks and called them "Horton Hears a Hoot.

How much more fun can I have with this murrini??? I bet lots! But now I also have a new blend called Bikini Bottom and it is filled with bright and cheery flowers and SNAILS! Next murrini Monday I'll show what the snails are doing.

Thanks for visiting my blog and 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!

A few weeks ago I received some awesome new murrini from Julie at AutEvDesigns on Etsy. Julie makes her own murrini and uses it in her beautiful lampwork beads. She doesn't sell it (yet), but I got to try some out and it's wonderful! See how tiny it is? I love small murrini because my beads are fairly small. I used a lot of it on the owl below:

I LOVE the rainbow murrini on this owl's chest. I fit seven of these tiny slices on him, and I think he looks pretty darn good. :) This owl is still in my shop here.

For this owl I used some of Julie's blue, yellow and green murrini. I love it over transparent glass. 

This elephant was very smart - she swiped one of the slices of red heart murrini. Isn't it great?

And I found Julie's murrini in action on one of her beautiful lentil focal beads in her shop. And there's more where that came from.

Follow Julie on Facebook at Autochthonous Evolved - Lots of gorgeous beads and finished jewelry there! 

Happy Murrini Monday!!!

Murrini Monday ~ a healthy dose of vitamin C

Last week I received my first murrini purchase from FritNChips - tiny slices of grapefruit murrini that flew across the pond to be used in my creations. They are so cool and perfectly detailed! I went straight to my torch to play with them. But first, I had to decide which critters deserved this yummy murrini - let me tell you, it wasn't easy. But I think I made some critters very happy.

Of course I had to give a slice to the alligator - he's from Florida where all the juicy citrus fruits are grown. Also, he threatened to bite my finger off if I didn't give him one. So I did. 

Then I caught this kitty cat goofing around with a slice - something my kids do a lot with orange slices. I love how the murrini looks like an orange slice over the white glass.

Next I gave a slice to this little green mouse, who confused it for an aged cheddar. But that's ok - it looks good on her.

There's plenty more fruity murrini over at FritNChips, including lime slices (now my critters will want to do tequila shots!). You can find the grapefruit slices here.

Have your beads gotten their Vitamin C today?

Happy Murrini Monday!