One Tree Bead

Do you ever make something because you want to see if you can do it?  Well that was the basis for this Tree bead that ended up morphing into more,'

I wanted to see if I could form a horizontally oriented bead with a hole in the middle.  (yes I can!)  So the hole runs sideways with the tree's hole in the middle.  It was kind of like making a green donut!

This fun bead is available in my Etsy shop, just click here.

Picture Worth a Thousand Words

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then I bet you can tell where I was on Tuesday.

And here's a second chance, if there was some way you didn't catch the first.

I loved my day in New Orleans.  It started with beignets and cafe au lait and ended with a great late lunch with Deanna Chase.  I'll post more photos later of some of my finds in the French Quarter, but first, I wanted to say more about Deanna.  What a delightful and talented glass artist and writer.

Did you know that she has written a book, Haunted on Bourbon Street, which of course, is set right around the corner from where we had lunch.  And I found out her second book is getting close to being completed.  I'll let you know when it's out.  We chatted about the book business, which is fascinating to me.  I love learning about new topics and especially love hearing about specific industries.  This is cool.

And you can find Deanna's glass beads and her husband, Greg's marbles and fun murrini right here!

I'll write more about NOLA another time.  I have some more photos to download and then I'll show you what I found.

Modern Murrine

Have you ever checked out Frantz Art Glass's Rare Murrine section of their website? I did the other day. It's worth a few minutes to see what is listed.

For example, this is a slice of "Dalmation Pup" by Mario dei Rossi. It is 15 mm wide and 3 mm thick. It was made by what is described as the "fused rod" method, which makes me wonder how large it was, when it was pulled?

Oh, and this is one of the less expensive ones- this little chip is just $600.

And I thought I'd clarify something. In the US, we tend to call all of these chips "murrini". When I was in Italy, glass artists and vendors continuously corrected us. The singular word for one chip is "murrina" and the plural is "murrine".
Ah, good trivia. I just wish I were better at making them....

See you Sunday...tomorrow is my day off

LoriandKim's Murrini

Have you seen LoriandKim on Etsy?

It's the brainchild of Lori Peterson and good friend Kimberly Lynn who get together to make beads periodically. (really cool ones at that!)

Now, they're making murrini and have gone into business on Etsy. I found out about it last night and bought some. What a great idea.

They are all 104 COE and come in six different color paths. Lots include some sparkle in them . This one is Ocean Treasures, but the one I bought is Glamour Girl in pinks and peaches.

I can't wait to try them and will let you know. But I anticipate only a lot of fun with some of the different patterns and colors.

If you haven't used murrini before, this is how I do it.

I spot heat the place on the bead where the murrini is going to go. That means I change my flame to be pointed so it doesn't melt other parts of the bead.

I pick up my murrini chip with my tweezers and flash it in the flame a few times. Kind of like when you're introducing your rod to the heat.

I place the end of the warm (not melted) murrini onto the heated area of the glass and gently push it partially in. Then I heat it just a little and gently tap it in a little more. (I use my brass Stump Shaper, but a lot of tools would work just fine)

I keep going until it is where I want it. Careful not to heat up the murrini too much and to aim my heat on the edge of the receiving bead as well. Whether you case over it or not, that's your choice. Your murrini will probably spread a little too. As you're tapping it, remember to do it squarely on the top, so it doesn't distort the chip.

That's it! Hope you get a chance to stop by LoriandKim's etsy shop and check them out. I can't wait to see what else they offer and am so excited for some really nice fellow glass beadmakers.

What Big Eyes You Have

I enjoy making little owl beads in bright colors and even sometimes wearing clothes or accessories.

Meet Sven, the uber cool owl.

This time I wanted to change it up a little bit and instead of wearing a necklace, hat or peace symbol, this one has particularly large eyes. Which makes me think this owl has had too much coffee. He looks a little stressed out. I've felt that way plenty of times.

I used commercial murrini for these, because there they were, sitting in my murrini container just staring at me.
(Of course you can easily make them too.)

These give you a good view of how they are made. You can see the center core color which is a dark transparent green, like deep grass green and then opaque white, medium grass green
transparent, opaque white again and then light grass green transparent. The darker core going to a lighter outside color makes the center visually recede.

When I apply murrini, I spot heat the area where the murrini is going and I gently warm the murrini so it doesn't crack when placed on the warm glass. I use my tweezers to place it where I want it to go. At that point it is sticking out a lot. Gently heat the base bead around the edges and again carefully push it a little farther in. If you heat directly onto the murrini and make it too warm, the design will distort. And it seems like the opaque white spreads really easily if too warm. So slightly heat and press over and over until it's in place.

Because the rectangular murrini shape gives him a bit of a 60's mod feel, his eyes definitely have the starring role. I wanted to keep the rest of the bead simple, so it would not distract from them. The back side has his little tail that I make in the shape of a heart.

This bead is less than an inch tall. And if you enjoy a pun or two, I was on quite a roll, when I wrote the description. Click and enjoy. And then go use up some of your old murrini in a bead and send me a photo. And remember, stepping outside of the coloring lines in how you use them makes your beads interesting and unique. I'd love to see what you create.

My, What Big Eyes You Have

Meet Norah and her personal bluebird of happiness, Kenley.

Norah has some pretty big eyes. Not exactly "piercing", but they do stand out on her face.

I wanted to show you another use for commercial murrini. Sometimes we buy murrini and then wonder what we're going to do with it. I like finding non-traditional ways of using it. Eye balls suit my personal style of lampworking.

Instead of sinking the murrini all the way in so it is even with her face, I left it partially raised, to give her a wider eyed look.

The amethyst shading around the edges rocks. I didn't have to add eyebrows, which would have been too much for her face. This keeps it simple so the eyes really stand out.

Kenley was added for fun. For years I have made a series of beads of women with birds sitting on their hats or hair and called them "Bird Brains". I guess they're semi-autobiographical.

Norah and Kenley are currently residing in my etsy shop,
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=15569723