May 10, 2024 • Birds, Butterflies and a Field of Flowers

Hello again and thanks for stopping by! Happy Mother’s Day to all my Glass Moms out there. Hope you have a blessed weekend with your families!

As you know, I’m in the process of remakes per requests made via the email survey taken several weeks ago. I’m having a good time doing it as well. This week we’ve got a bird mix again with a “tiny” extra something inside (more below) and two spectacular butterflies. As far as flowers, I’ve got my Red Poppy Fields back again along with a new petal, both sold in Multi-size packages. Speaking of Mulit-size, we’ll round out the week with some Gorgeous Green Leaves that are packaged with all sizes per usual.

My project was simple this time and I used all this week’s elements in one scene. I’ve got three really fun upcoming projects, so I kept this week simple as I’ve already begun working on future ones, too. Stay tuned…you’ll be in love!

I’m also doing a little contest this week. The survey is what to name this week’s project… “Be Yourself” to highlight the lone yellow flower emerging from the field of Poppies or “Love in the Nest” now that Papa Cardinal has a GIRL FRIEND! Two random winners will be chosen from the group whose title gets the most votes. Click here to take the Contest Survey (through Thursday, May 16).

Now on to this week’s murrini!

Bird Mix with Tinies!

This week I’ll have the birds in a mix that will have two of each bird (Red, Mama and Yellow Cardinal and WOODIE the Woodpecker) as well as a TINY version of the three Cardinals. What a fun mix! Wheeled nippers work best on these and definitely a Light Tack Fuse to keep their outer shape “as-is”.  A fully fused version is below just so you can see they indeed become a little bird blob. ;) This is a 1.5+oz. package for $28. These same nipper and temperature recommendations apply to the single birds below, too. 

NEW! Mama Cardinal!

Someone asked if I could made a “drab” female Cardinal. I had to laugh because I’ve never been asked to make a drab colored murrini before, but I think she’s actually quite lovely. :) I do have to say that is one of my questions for God some day when I meet Him. Why are male birds more beautiful than females? Hmmmm….
Mama Cardinal is sold separately in 1oz. packages for $18. 

Red Cardinal

Beautiful Daddy Cardinal is also sold separately in 1oz. packages for $18.

Yellow Cardinal

Just in case you were curious, there really is such a thing as a Yellow Cardinal. Mostly found in South America, but he DOES exist. Someone thought I had made him up last time, but indeed he is a cousin to our North American variety. Some have been spotted in the US but it’s a rare event (except for in our projects!). This fella is also sold in 1oz. packages for $18.

Woodie is back!

This sweet little Red Headed Woodpecker is back and ready to be fused onto your scenes! My first sample I had him tapping on the side of a tree. But in this week’s sample he’s just enjoying himself on top of a Red Poppy. Also sold in 1oz. packages for $18.

The Monarch

Every time I create a butterfly they are just slightly different. Although all are beautiful, this one is absolutely stunning. Tack fuse for best results and wheeled nippers only. I have a butterfly snipping tutorial in the TIPS section of my website. Please check that out if you are new the butterflies. 1oz. for $18.

The Yellow Monarch

Equally as stunning, this Yellow Monarch is buttery and simply gorgeous. Same as all my butterflies, a light tack fuse is best and use wheeled nippers for snipping. Also note you can put two halves together at the black line to create a full butterfly OR you can just use one half as a butterfly from the side. 1oz. for $18.

Monarch DUO

I have them packaged as a DUO this week as well. 1.5oz. for $27.

Multi-size Red Poppy Fields

This is a remake of one of my favorite flowers. They are simple but elegant and when snipped thin and placed with all the sizes, it gives fabulous depth to the flower field. Note in the scene I made this week that some of the big Poppies are only partial flowers. I tried snipping them with my wheeled nippers and my Chipper Nipper. These are on the stiff side and with the larger ones I had a few mis-snips. I used them so you can see they still fit into scenes well when looking like they are behind another flower or leaves. I ended up liking the Chipper Nipper better, but you may need to see which is working best for you. You might not be able to snip the biggest ones real thin, but save every sliver as they can certainly be used! The rest of the sizes snip great with either tool. LIGHT TACK FUSE as well because the outer frilly edges will certainly round out in a hurry if your top temps are too high. Multi-size packages are 1.5oz. for $26.

NEW! Multi-size Dark Dotted Sunflower Petal

I have to say I LOVE this flower even though it didn’t turn out quite like I had envisioned. I was wanting to make a full sunflower when all the petals were together, but I think for that look I’ll need to make more of the dark area and less of the yellow. But after I fully fused this speckly centered petal I quickly took a liking to it! Tack fused it is also very lovely (see it in the sample) but a little dot may need to be added to fill the center of the flower. In a full fuse it beautifully comes together. This will be in a 1.5oz. Multi-size package for $26. 

Multi-size Gorgeous Green Leaves

I’m pretty sure this is the first leaf I ever created and it’s still my go-to when I’m creating. Amazon green makes up this beauty and it will have sizes from large to tiny in the package. 1.5oz. for $26.

Poppy Variation

At checkout on Saturday, there will be this variation as well. Still the same Poppies as in the Poppy Field, but no real large ones…mostly on the smaller side, but I wanted you to see what that looks like. 1.5oz. for $26.

Fully fused versions:

From the front. We’ve got just one winner fully fused (ha ha!)

From the back. A little better, but honestly these are best at a light tack except for the new Dark Dotted Sunflower Petal. :)

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This week’s project (Name TBD by the contest/survey) is simple as I wanted to highlight just the sweet murrini from the week. This is what I call my LIGHTEST Tack fuse. My top temperature was 1300 with no hold. When I tack like this, my project looks pretty much exactly as it did when I put it in the kiln except all the pieces are ever so slightly smoother and tacked into place. 

I laid out my canes and grabbed my “go-to” brown variegated stringer made by Joni from Aggie Glass Designs. 

I knew I wanted a nest, so I used the same stringer for the branches and the nest. I did tack the little pieces down with a tiny drop of super glue as I layered them on top of each other. I made sure they were resting on their own without moving before I added the glue. This helps to insure they won’t move in the fuse (if glue is the only thing holding them in place, when the glue burns off they’ll tend to slip back into that pre-glue state). A curved portion of the stringer was perfect as the final overlapping piece of the nest.

I snipped about a half cane of each size of poppy for the “field”. Note my mis-snips that still worked perfectly in my scene.

A little smear of GlassTac glue is below the mix of transparent and opal dark green frit. I placed the poppies with most of the larger ones toward the “front” (lower on project) and the little tiny ones at the top of the frit which is the “back”.

It’s difficult to see in this photo, but in the center of the Yellow Sunflower there was a tiny area where the ends didn’t all meet and a TINY Red Poppy slipped right in there. :)

In the kiln it goes for a light tack fuse:

300>1150>30
350>1300>0
9999>950>3 hours
150>700>10
300>room temperature

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Hints on the Horizon
Next week I’m going to put together some beautiful Twisty groupings that I’ve been accumulating. Lisa has put together a really lovely Seconds Mix that will be at a great price! Also, some critter antennae so you can make Willie Worms with the Twisties. Stay tuned for a really cool twisty project, too!

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Helpful Links:

If you are looking for COE 96 stringer, Joni pulls matching stringer for the items I have each week. Find her beautiful work at Aggie Glass Designs!

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

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