August 1, 2026 • Hot Shot Class and Fall/Christmas Vibes

Today is the last day of July. Looking for a friend here...but am I the only one saying "bring on FALL?" There were a few days this month where it was just too hot to pull in my shop. Oof. But! The great news is I got to go to Wisconsin to teach a Vitrigraph Basics Class at the Hot Shot Studio! If you haven't seen my Facebook page and the video that Brandon from Hot Shot created, please take a minute to check it out. It really says it all. 

I got the pleasure to meet and spend three amazing days with 6 beautiful ladies. Sue, Kandi, DeAnna, Julie, Valerie and Marlene...thank you for making the class so memorable. Your creativity was a delight to watch and your kind hearts and fun spirits left a lasting impression on my heart. Oh yeah, and thank you for introducing me to the Wisconsin cherry filled Kringle. 😜 Dang was it delicious.

I hope our paths cross again some day very soon. 

The hospitality shown me from the Hot Shot Studio's team was so much more than I could have ever expected! Brandon and I have been friends for many years as we worked together at Southern Illinois University. It was wonderful reconnecting with him and catching up - he is a gem. Chris (who you see doing all the fun Hot Shot "projects of the week") took me and Guy to lunch as he knows ALL the good spots. He is a hoot and has the most energetic vibe, which was quite contagious.

Last, but certainly not least, there was Carrie ... a Hot Shot teacher/volunteer who was my trusty assistant, holding my hand through a day of practice and 3 long days of class. Thanks for everything girlfriend...I couldn't have done it without you. If you get a chance to take a class with her at the Hot Shot Studio, you should! Also, Carrie showed me a nipper from SeaBell that she loves. I just got mine in the mail this week and have been trying it out. More on it later in the blog. 

What an amazing adventure. Thank you!

We pulled stringer, murrini, and twisties over our three days of classes!

We laughed, created, talked, played, ate, and learned!

We made stringer projects first, then made a second project with the murrini we pulled. Sorry I didn't get a shot of Kandi's fired project...they were all exceptional!

I can't go without talking about the amazing time I had playing with the Hot Shot 7G Vitrigraph Kiln and the AMAZING VITRILIFT. Y'all...wow. The easy front-loading kiln was such a treat to use! I went a day early to practice on the kilns, but both my stringer and murrini pots pulled perfectly on the first try. These are the real deal. 🙌🏼 Now...let's chat about the VITRILIFT...wowzers...it lifted the kiln up and down as smooth as butter. Someday soon my future holds one of these beauties. Just sayin' 😜.

I'm planning another class in 2027 and I can't wait!

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Since last month's project was so much fun, and I have more Fall and Christmas murrini to share with you, I decided to make a few more snow globes for this month's project as well. I have to admit, they were really fun to make and I wanted to make up a few gifts for friends. 😉 This time the globes were slightly smaller and I really put them to the test with some delicate inner designs (I had a potential snow globe fail which I'll tell you about).

Also, for the most part, this will be the last of Fall and Christmas murrini for the season. I'll have only a few more requested remakes ready in September, which I'll chat about a little later in the blog. 

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Housekeeping Notes:
All my murrini are COE 96 and made with Oceanside fusible glass. These will go on sale tomorrow, Saturday, August 1, at NOON Central time. When new items post on my website, sometimes they don't all appear at once and you'll need to refresh your screen more than once.

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This month's murrini:

Transparent Old Fashioned Christmas Bulb 5 Color Mix (and as singles)

Old Fashioned bulbs are back this month in transparent colors! These are created with Oceanside transparent Yellow, Light Cherry Red, Dark Blue, Teal, and Grape. These are best at a very light tack fuse so they keep their fun pointed top. Lisa again worked hard to ensure sizes were about the same in each package so there will be a couple of options to choose from:

10 Smaller Canes • 2 of each design (1.6+oz)
5 Medium Canes • 1 of each design (.95+oz)
5 Larger Canes • 1 of each design (1.2+oz)
There is only a slight difference in size difference between the medium and large bulbs.

Mixed bulb sizes are packaged as single color packages (1oz).

NEW! Multi-size Slender Snow Petals 

These multi-sized petals were a special request. They are all white with no center lines. Having no inner design, this murrini makes for a design element with endless possibilities! In this month's projects, I used it as white leaves on a wreath and used different sizes to create a big snowflake! They would make a wonderful winter spiky flower, billows of snow in a scene, and so much more!

Winter Blue Trio

This wintry mix is so beautiful. Enjoy creating with a blue Butterfly, a medium sized Slender Snow Petal and a transparent Blue Snowflake (the snowflakes are hard to see when photographed). I created a little scene using these for one of my snow globes. Lots of possibilities with this mix. (sneak peek: next month I'll have a few more murrini that will work together with these). The blue used is Oceanside's transparent Deep Aqua...such an amazing color.



Deep Aqua Butterflies

Some of these beauties are in the mix, but I tried to do half in a mix and half as singles. I'll have more of these pretties next month as well. This is a TACK fuse murrini so the exterior stays intact. Remember, you can always fuse your project again if your tack fuse is too light, however, you can't undo over-fused. 😉 For help in snipping this tricky design, see my Tips and Tutorials section for help in nipping these. I have found that when I try snipping off the end or trying to get them too thin, they don't behave well. So I moved to the "half in half" technique, which is also found in the Tips and Tutorials section. 

Transparent Blue Snowflakes

Hard to photograph, but easy to love, these transparent Deep Aqua Snowflakes are pretty spectacular from a light tack fuse to a full fuse! This month's pulls are divided between the mix and as singles, which are all about the same medium-ish size. For September's drop, I'll have them again in multi-sized packages. So more will be on the way.

 

Red Poinsettia Kits with Frit

By request, Red Poinsettia kits are back. This batch was a bit on the larger side and each package will have 4 petals and two leaves. Sizes are more on the medium to large side as shown in the photo above. Also included in the kit will be .25oz of a frit mix to put in the center of your flat-ends.

The above photos are from a sample I made in 2024, so the leaves and petal sizes are a bit different, but this shows how to layer them on your project, then filling the center with frit. They are also lovely in a single layer with the frit center, too!

White Poinsettia Kits with Frit

The White Poinsettias are similar to the Red Poinsettias as they are more on the medium to larger size.  Each kit will have 4 petals and 2 leaves with a .25oz frit blend package. To see a project using the White Poinsettias, see the June 5, 2026 blog where I used them to create a napkin ring. These are a light tack fuse murrini (so as to keep the design intact).

Poinsettia Leaves

I'll have a few packages of the Poinsettia Leaves available as singles. They are simple in design, but perfect in any fusing temperature. To keep them "as-is" a tack fuse is necessary, but in a full fuse they just round out slightly. Very pretty for all kinds of scenes.

 

Multi-size Snowflakes

Multi-size Snowflakes are back! I love these guys. I like to make them multi-size because I love the way different sizes look in a snow scene. I like them tack fused to fully fused. They are also the bomb flip and fused. They look best when fully fused on clear, so the outer clear of the snowflake blends in seamlessly with the background. They are also cool fully fused on a dark or black square (like flip and fuse only stopping after the first full fuse) which makes for beautiful earrings or buttons.

Dotted Transparent Sunflower Flat-end Petals

When you want a big bold beautiful flower, then the flat-end petals are for you! These transparent Dotted Sunflower Petals sit beautifully against a pre-fused Oceanside Sunflower dot. The petals are created with Oceanside yellow and antique bronze. This beauty is quite the looker and it makes a BIG flower! Sizes within each package will vary some.

Red Tootsies

This Christmasy Blossom is one that I haven't made in several years. My mom's nickname growing up was Tootsie, so we gave this pretty red flower its name when I first made them because they were a favorite of hers. They are so pretty anywhere from a light tack to a full fuse or even flip and fused!

Artsy Christmas Tree

The Artsy tree is back and per usual they are a slightly larger murrini and can be a bit trickier to snip. I used my wheeled nippers with the wheels on the fattest part of the tree but not quite all the way to the bottom. I had the best results by cutting each cane in half, then those halves in half and so on until you get 16 equal pieces. Also, the top point of the tree is facing me when snipping and the bottom is facing away. If you peek at my “TIPS” section you’ll see a section called “Snip Tips”. The Artsy Tree will snip exactly like Sophie the Cat’s body. Nipper placement is shown there. This is just a suggestion on how to snip this shape of murrini. Sometimes your own tool or technique will work best for you.


Little Trees

Back again this year are these sweet little trees. Much smaller than the Artsy Tree, these cuties are perfect for the front yard of a gingerbread house, used on jewelry, wreaths, and so many other Christmas projects. These are a tack fuse murrini so the tip stays pointy!

Gorgeous Green Multi-size Leaves

Back are the Gorgeous Green Leaves. They are packaged with multi-size canes like they normally are, so they will fit perfectly in any scene. Tack fuse these to keep the tips pointy. 


Green Ombre Multi-size Leaves

Back are the Green Ombre Leaves. They are packaged with multi-size canes like the Gorgeous Green Leaves are. You will have lots of options for your creativity when you have lots of options of sizes!

Brown Ombre Multi-size Leaves

Since we are still working with fall colors, Oceanside's browns were calling me. These ombre leaves are created with Chestnut, Terra Cotta, Persimmon and Almond. They are packaged with multi-size canes in them as well. Enjoy the warm inviting colors of this beauty!

Red Poppy Fields
Red Poppy Fields are back, too! The sizes range from large to tiny so you can have the larger flowers as the foreground flower and then the little ones will give the illusion of depth like they are further away. These are definitely a LIGHT tack fuse murrini if you want to keep the exterior frilly edges intact, however, when fully fused these murrini will round out into a circle and are also quite interesting, just very different than the tack fused look. I think the fully fused version looks like a “painted poppy”. You can see a fully fused test a little bit further down in the blog.

Ornament Duo

This year's version of the Ornament Duo was created with Oceanside's reds and greens that feather out from lighter to darker. The long slender ornament has a bit of an indented center which is the perfect place to put your wheeled nippers! :) They are really interesting at all temperatures. I tack fused them in my snow globe project, but a fully fused test can be seen a little bit later in the blog. They are quite fun in any temperature!
In the Tips and Tutorials section of my website, I have some tips on snipping the long slender murrini.

Wreaths

It was a pleasure to make these beautiful wreaths one more time this season. Something about these cuties make me smile. Best snipped thin and lightly tack fused. They are the perfect little holiday embellishment! 

Peppermints

I prefer these Peppermints tack fused. When fully fused the center pulls in and the outer lines become elongated, so I like to keep them “as-is”. These snip pretty easily with wheeled nippers, but I can get some really nice thin slices (2-3mm) with the Chipper Nipper/SeaBell Ceramic Scissors. 

Christmas Twisties

The Christmas Twisties are a favorite each year because they are so versatile and fun to work with. Use them from the side as a North Pole, flatten them on their side to make swirly Snowman scarves, snip them thin and tack fuse for a peppermint look, fully fuse into a dot for a sweet little holiday embellishment, flip and fuse for a larger magnified look, or my favorite way is to flatten them into a little swirly button. Nancy Sala has a great tutorial for flattening and her information is at the bottom of the blog in the “Helpful Links” section.

The batches this month are on the medium to larger side so they are nice and big for flattening if you wish. 

Dark Green Holly Leaves

For more variety, this month I made Holly Leaves with Dark Green. They are definitely best at a VERY light tack fuse because they do round out quickly. Be prepared for them to make quite the crunchy sound when snipping and I recommend wheeled nippers for these fellas. Also, don’t try to snip them too thin. I keep mine at about 3mm. 

Pumpkins

This sweet little pumpkin is just the cutest little murrini. Like all designs with an outer shape, the pumpkin is best at a light tack fuse so the stem remains intact. Always snip them from the fattest part of the murrini, never putting your nippers on the fragile stem.

Candy CornBy request I created more Candy Corn! These are a tack fuse murrini and are perfect for glass blowers as well! These are always a big hit each year and add a bit of fun to your projects!

Full Fuse Orange Poppy Blossom

Somewhat understated in cane form, this gorgeous poppy blossom absolutely BLOOMS when fully fused or "flip and fused". It can certainly be tack fused, but its bold personality comes out when its inner circle shrinks in and the petals elongate in a full fuse. Have fun with this one!

The above photo shows this murrini fused different ways. Far left is snipped just off the cane which is how it will look lightly tack fused. The second from left is a 5mm piece fully fused into a dot. Second from right is fully fused on a small piece of clear glass BEFORE it was flip and fused. The far right has been flip and fused. Pretty cool stuff!

Sunflower Daisy

Perfect in all temperatures, the Sunflower Daisy is indeed a cutie! It is subtle in color, but is full of fall fun! In a full fuse, the petals will really spread out. Check out the fully fused version in the test tiles a bit further down in the blog. Try this one Flip and Fused as well. 

Flat-End Fire Daisy Petals

I made these gorgeous petals a few years ago and just felt like we needed them again! They could be placed around any color or size of inside dot! Also, they would be spectacular placed around a little circle of frit! They'll remain "as-is" in a light tack fuse, but will spread out pretty in a full fuse as well...just more rounded.

Footballs

Football season is right around the corner, so that means football murrini are back. I know I love this time of year because all the games keep the hubby busy ( 😜 and I can play more in the glass shop). Packages will have only 4 canes in them and sizes will vary slightly in each package, but they are on the larger side this time. This is a tack fuse murrini.

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This month's fully fused test pieces:
I test a murrini from each pull by fully fusing on clear, then view them under polarizing filters to make sure there are no surprises as far as excess tension or compatibility issues after the pulling process. This also allows us an opportunity to peek at each murrini after a full fuse.

The above image shows this month's murrini fully fused. The top row of murrini are the champions at a full fuse! It's just SUPER how they spread out! The new Slender Winter Petal, the Ornament Duo, and the Poinsettia leaf are also lovely, just more rounded. The rest lose their intended exterior design and are best at a light tack fuse.

The above image shows all the murrini at a light tack fuse. As you can see, the murrini remain "as-is" as far as the outer design remaining intact. 

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NEW TOOL!
I regularly use the SeaBell Ceramic Scissors, which you've heard me refer to as a Chipper Nipper. It's my go-to tool most of the time. I snip my murrini with it and when I'm pulling cane, I use them to cut it off. So they are in my hands all day long.

However, while at Hot Shot Studios, Carrie introduced me to SeaBell's wheeled nippers. They have a rubber gasket that holds the snipped murrini so it doesn't go flying. Y'all! What?? So of course I grabbed some up from witsendmosaic.com (a link to their store is in the Helpful Links section at the bottom of each blog). Here's a little video I put together which shows you how they work:

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More Snow Globes!
Since I purchased two sizes of globes last month, I wanted to try the smaller ones.  I had some pretty delicate things happening in a few of them, so I'll give you the scoop. I made 6 altogether. 

First I measured all the areas of the globe, keeping in mind that last time I had things a bit too tall or too far off to the side and they became distorted. 

I made a little template on paper that I used to try to keep myself from going too big (that's a challenge...it's like just trying to make a SMALL batch of soup). 😅 Remember the water inside is going to MAGNIFY your inner artwork.

For my first snow globe I wanted to experiment and see if I could "hang" something from the top. First up is my Floating Wreath:

I went back to one of last year's blogs because there was a wreath candle cover I did as a project and I wanted to recreate that inside the globe using the Red Poinsettia, Christmas Ornaments, and White Snow Petals.

In the upper left photo I have my printed out page from last year's blog, with a selection of Joni's variegated brown stringer that I love so much, and my murrini are snipped and ready to go. I drew a circle on some kiln shelf paper as my sizing guide.

In the upper right corner is the piece put together. Stringers were overlapping each other a little bit for a twisted look and I have an Oceanside RED NOODLE sticking up from the top that will be my "string" hanging from the top of the globe.

In the lower left you can see the tip of the noodle was warmed in my torch and then gently pressed so it would be flat, giving some surface area to glue to the globe.

In the lower right a big dot of E6000 was added to the flattened part of the noodle and some painters tape it held in place overnight. I had it upside down in a flower pot lined with a tissue.

The next day it was holding in place nicely. I put a little bit more E6000 at the connection between the piece and the globe just for reinforcement and have it 24 hours before working with it again. For the white base, I just covered it in a thin layer of E6000 and sprinkled clear medium frit over it to give it some sparkle.


If making one again of this design, I'll make it just a touch smaller. It was magnified enough that it somewhat lost its "hanging wreath" look I was going for, but it's still very pretty. 

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Next up is a snow globe for my hubby, Guy. He's a Minnesota Vikings fan and since I had Football murrini this month, I thought I'd make him something. BUT... it is a possible FAIL!

In the upper left I have simply cut a piece of 2mm clear approximately 1.5 X 1.5 inches and glued Oceanside's yellow, lilac and black stringer around the edges. I slipped a yellow noodle underneath and put a lilac and black stringer down it. I placed my football murrini and lightly tack fused it together.

In the upper right you can see I warmed the end of the goal post in my torch and gently pressed it on a graphite paddle to make a little flat area for gluing.

Next I generously put some E6000 down and used painter's tape to hold it in place to glue overnight. 

I hopped on Amazon and found this rubber keychain that was about 2' long. I cut off the key ring and used some E6000 to glue it to the inside of the globe. I'm hoping that when you look through the globe you see the Viking through the goalposts. Next I put a smear of E6000 on the base and put a frit mix of yellow, lilac and transparent light purple on the base (which doesn't really show, but I like covering the plastic base with something just in case). 

So this is PERFECTION and my husband loves it!  However...the next day the rubber Viking keychain started coming off. I had not glued the base on, so I'm going to undo it and see if I can do a better job of gluing the rubber Viking back on and let it sit for a full 72 hours. E6000 directions said 48-72 before it is waterproof, so this unhappy accident was a learning lesson as I had only let it set for about 20 hours.

I'll give an update here once I re-do it. The little rubbery keychain might not want to hold well when forced to being glued to a curved area. I'll keep you posted. It's too cool not to figure it out as this was a pleasant surprise at how awesome it looks. My brother-in-law promptly took a photo with his phone and said I needed to sell these. 🤣

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Next I had some big beautiful flowers I wanted to make a fall scene with. 

For the Sunflower, I created it on kiln shelf paper to be able to transport it to the kiln. I placed the flat-end petals around a pre-fused sunflower dot. I glued them to the dot then sifted in a small amount of clear powder all around as that will keep the petals fused to the dot since it is just a tack fuse. I used more of Joni's brown variegated stringers as the stems with a leaf at the bottom. I ended up removing the two little pieces below the leaf as there was enough of a base to be able to glue it to the globe. It's gorgeous.

Secondly I took two pre-fused dots that I happened to have in my stash. The largest dot was about an inch. I glued the smaller dot onto the FLAT side of the bigger dot and placed all my Flat-end Fire Petals around the small dot. I used super glue here to hold them in place. Since they were elevated off the kiln floor, I had to cut some Silkemat to put around the petals to hold them up during the fuse.

This worked perfectly. I've never done this before, but the flower, since it will be freestanding and seen from the back, has a pretty rounded backside. 

I glued the flowers one at a time using painter's tape like I did on the football goalpost and let one set overnight before gluing the second one on. After both had set for 24 hours, I took a smear of E6000 all over the base and put a little mix of transparent yellow, orange and opal red medium frit on for some color. The inside has the same yellow and red glitter I used in last month's fall scene that I purchased from the Dollar Tree.

Lisa tooks dibs on this cutie. Who doesn't love FALL? I love how the transparent leaves show the dots off around the bottom of the Sunflower. Too cute!

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Next I created a little scene with the Winter Trio:

First I cut a 2mm piece of clear glass the shape of the template I made in the beginning of the tutorial. I then cut a smaller version of it out of deep aqua transparent glass. I created a big snowflake using the new Slender Snow Petals and a few white snowflakes on the deep aqua piece and placed two butterflies with random snowflakes all around the clear piece. I'm hoping the clear glass disappears when the water is added to the globe. Both pieces were tack fused then glued to the base.

After they had glued overnight, I smeared some E6000 all over the bottom and made a mix of white and deep aqua medium frit and sprinkled it in the glue to dry.

•••Change of plans•••
Once I put this one together, Lisa and I looked at each other and felt the blue background behind the big snowflake took away from the scene. So I fused the big snowflake again, just as I had done on the deep aqua piece, but added a butterfly along with the snowflakes.

This was a GOOD MOVE! It's so pretty even when not in the globe. This layering gives me an idea for future projects!

Ta Da! I LOVE this! The above photos show the final version from the front and the back. There is no wrong side to this piece! I have so many favorites I'm not sure I can choose...but this one is at the top of the list!

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Next is for sure my FAVORITE! I'm calling it Teresa the Hard Working Snow Gal (there is a story behind it...I have a friend at church named Teresa and at Christmas time their house is absolutely covered in lights. She does all the work while her husband just watches. 🤣)

Now this piece was insanely fragile and I'm not going to lie...Teresa had to go back in for a second fuse after I snapped her arms off. I also made up several strings of lights in anticipation of breaking a few...and I did.

First of all let me back up to show the upper left image. I tack fused all these pieces at once in my Hot Shot 24G. It does such a good job. My light tack fuse is right at 1330 with a 10 minute hold.

Back to Teresa. I wanted this to work so badly, so I didn't give up. First, Teresa the snow woman was a pre-made cutout from Janice's shop (Lake Rabbit Designs - her info is at the bottom of the blog in the Helpful Links section). Her cutout was intended to have a hat placed over the top, but since I wanted Teresa and not Terrance, I just smoothed her head in the grinder (that sounds terrible) and gave her a flower in her snowy hair. 

I made lots of strands of lights with this month's transparent bulbs. The stringer was some I had in my stash from past pulls (the benefit of having a vitrigraph). These were super fragile so I made several as I knew some might break (and indeed they did).

The reason Teresa's arms snapped off was because she was a bit TOO BIG for these smaller globes and I had to score and break off about 1/5 inch of the bottom of her snow body. When I went to break after the score, just that pressure snapped them off. I should have cut off the bottom on my Taurus saw, but since I didn't, back into the kiln she went with these new arms.

Now, do you remember playing the game "Operation" as a kid...where you got zapped if your tweezers touched the game? That is what I felt like when placing the string of lights. But it ended up not being too bad. Teresa is going to be right in the middle, so I needed the lights to be in front and behind her. Each globe comes with directions and that is what you see folded up in the globe. I taped the folded instructions down so it was like a little platform and slid them inside. I put a touch of E6000 on each end of the strand of lights and I took tweezers and GENTLY put them inside and rested them on the paper trying to not smear glue on the side of the globe as I sat it down. My brother said it sounded like building a ship inside a bottle. Exactly!

I let one strand of glued lights dry overnight, then glued the second string of lights the following night. Once they were dry, I went back in with E6000 on the end of a dental tool and put a dab all around where it was touching the globe as a reinforcement. I let that fully dry as well.

So far so good. 

I was SUPER careful when gluing Teresa to the base so as not to bump into her arms. I held her in place for quite awhile, then when she was tacky I used props and painter's tape to hold her in place. Once she was fully dried, I carefully removed the tape, smeared extra E6000 all around the base and sprinkled it with white medium frit. As a finishing touch (with a broken string of lights I still had) I glued them from her arm down to the base.


The above photos show her from the front, side, and back. You can get an idea from the side view on where the strands of lights were glued. 

She took some patience and several different steps, but she was SO worth it!

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Just when I thought I was done, I got a package in the mail from Janice with a sampler of more cutouts. She had the cutest tree inside, so I promptly decorated it for my last and final globe. 

I had murrini pieces already snipped from my other projects this month, so it literally took about 5 minutes to put the murrini on. After a light tack fuse, I realized it was a bit too tall for these smaller globes, so with wheeled nippers I just nipped off the tree trunk and smoothed it on the grinder to be flush with the bottom of the tree. I glued it to the base with E6000 and after it set up, I smeared the base with more E6000 and sprinkled on some white medium frit just for some permanent "snow" on the base. This frit doesn't really show, but just in case, I didn't want to ever be able to see just the plastic base.

Very sweet! This has both white glitter and bigger red glitter for fun, but looks perfect!

•••

*A note about the glitter and inside water: See last month's blog for more details and all the links to the products I used, as I used the same glitter from the Dollar Tree and the same glycerine from Amazon. The smaller bases took about 1.5 cups of distilled water to about 3/4 cups glycerine. I topped each one off with just a bit more water to fill it completely. I sat them, with the hole facing up, in 4" flower pots lined with a tissue to hold them while I poured the liquid in, but when it came down to the last drops, Lisa poured it in as I kept testing to see if it was enough (or too much liquid) after my glass piece was inserted. It helped to have a helper. 😅 It will look like the water and glycerine are not mixing, but give it a minute and it will be completely clear. Pretty cool.

Overall I liked these smaller globes better than the larger ones I did last month. They are easier to handle and shake up. The bigger ones take two hands. The good thing about the larger ones, though, is you can put larger scenes in them. 😜

I hope you all try it and let me know what you make! Remember to give the E6000 48 to 72 hours of dry time to become fully waterproof (per their website) before you add your water.

How to keep algae from growing in your Snow Globes.
I haven't had mine long enough to know about algae growth, but I had someone message me on tips to keep that from happening. This is what I found in a quick google search!

To keep algae from growing in a homemade snow globe, use distilled water, add a few drops of rubbing alcohol or white vinegar, and keep the globe out of direct sunlight. 

Water Quality and Additives
* Distilled water: Always use distilled or boiled water instead of tap water. Tap water contains minerals and microscopic organisms that feed algae. 
* Rubbing alcohol: Add a few drops of 70% isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol to the water mix. This acts as a preservative to stop microbial and bacterial growth.  
 
Storage and Placement
* No direct sun: Place your finished snow globe in a spot that does not get direct sunlight or bright, warm window light. Algae needs light to grow.
* Cool locations: Keep the globe away from hot radiators, stove areas, or warm appliance tops. 

If anyone has further tips, let me know and I'll add them here!

Have fun!

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Hints on the Horizon:
My next drop of new murrini with be the FIRST Saturday in September, which is 09/05/2026. I will have remakes of Yellow Roses, Pine Cones, Blue Multi-sized Snowflakes, Santa Bellies, and traditional multi-sized Snowflakes. I also have a really FUN project that will have Mountains and Columbines on it, so stay tuned for that. I'm also working on some crittery murrini, Bees, Fish, Jellyfish, Starfish and MORE!

•••

If there is a murrini you'd like me to have in stock again, please email me with a photo of it and I'll put it back on my list.

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On a fun note, I have a DISCOUNT code with Hot Shot Kilns! If you purchase a kiln from them and use ALONGI10 at checkout, you'll receive 10% off your order! I don't receive anything from Hot Shot Kilns when you use this code, but you'll get a discount and it lets them know you are a friend of mine! I'm a FAN y'all!!

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Helpful Links:
If you use COE 90, be sure to shop Lori’s beautiful murrini options found at Wilderness Glass.

Oceanside's recommended Firing Guides.

If you are looking for COE 96 stringer or pre-fused dots, Joni pulls matching stringer for the murrini I make. Find her beautiful work at Aggie Glass Designs. Joni is also my supplier for the Window Cards that we can use for our artwork.

For beautiful COE 96 Twisties, check out Sherry's lovely work at Love•Peace•Create•Shop.

Kiln shopping? Check out my friends at Hot Shot Oven & Kiln. They'll give you great customer service along with a great product made in Wisconsin! For a 10% discount, use Alongi10 at checkout! I don't receive anything from Hot Shot Kilns when you use this code, but it lets them know you are a friend of mine and lets you know I'm a FAN of their KILNS!

Looking for a good murrini nippers? I recommend purchasing these "must-haves" from witsendmosaic.com. I love the "Ceramic Scissors" (also what I refer to as a Chipper Nipper) made by SeaBell, who also makes an amazing wheeled nipper with a rubber gasket that holds the nipped murrini from flying away!! Another wheeled nipper I also like are the Leponitt G30C. I recommend these three tools for snipping murrini.

If you are looking for Mike LaChance’s fusible COE 96 handcrafted bails, find his unique work at Mike’s Innovative Glass.

For beautiful COE96 frit blends, check out Val Cox's website.

My favorite flattening technique is from a tutorial by Nancy Sala. It’s worth the $8 for the excellent tips she gives. Once purchased and she sees your order, she will email you the tutorial in a PDF.

I buy my Easy Fire Enamels from Cheryl Chapman's website.

Looking for a pneumatic chopper? Sue and Brad Darte make a great product backed by excellent customer service.

For Janice's pre-cut COE 96 ornament blanks, find her at LakeRabbitDesigns.

For information on Paul Tarlow's Powder Printer: Check out his Fusing Factory website and his Youtube Video for creating with the Filigree Stencils