May 24, 2024 • Twisties, Subtle Pink, and Elegant B&Ws
I know I’ve told you before to grab a cup of coffee before you begin to read the blogs, but I’m not kidding this time. I'm excited, because it's full of great projects and murrini, not to mention the addition of the Twisties I wasn’t able to post last week (hence two weeks of information in this blog). So let’s get started with a few photos of the projects I created over the past few weeks. The listing information and project details will follow.
Vanilla Cream and Pink Soap Dish
The Transformation
Dainty B&W Necklace
Test with Twisites and a Decal
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Now on to this week’s murrini that we be available tomorrow at Noon Central:
NEW! Pink and Vanilla Cream Duo
These gorgeous Oceanside Vanilla Cream Petals have an Oceanside Pink dotted tip. The Long Slender Leaves (also can be used as flower petals) are Vanilla Cream with a center line of Youghiogheny Pink. Use them fully fused or tack fused for so many different looks. Since these are Vanilla Cream on the exterior, if you fully fuse onto certain blues and greens you will get a dark reaction. However, if tack fused, a reaction will not be seen unless viewed from the underneath. I used wheeled nippers on both of these shapes with the wheels placed in the center of the long slender leaf and more toward the fatter part of the petal. You will receive 4-5 Petals and 4-5 Leaves in a 1.5oz. package for $27.
Pink Tipped Petals
The Petals will also be sold individually in 1oz. packages (5-6 petals) for $18.
When I made these petals I had a Vanilla Cream on Vanilla Cream project in mind. To me there is just something beautifully elegant about this combination. With the petals placed together at the tip and fully fused, they become something very unique. Perfect for many different types of projects from jewelry to dishes.
Pink Lined Slender Leaf
The Pink Slender Leaves are Vanilla Cream with a center line of Youghiogheny Pink. Use them fully fused or tack fused for so many different looks. Also sold individually in 1oz. packages, which will have 5-8 leaves for $18. This unique shape can be used as a petal or a leaf. In this sample they are fully fused as a pointed flower petal.
I added a bit of Oceanside Pink Frit in the center where the grouping of leaves/petals met.
Vanilla Cream and Pink SECONDS Duo
I’m also offering the SECONDS as a Duo. You can see toward the end of the pull the Pink stayed the same but the Vanilla Cream became swirled. This is a unique look that certainly isn’t unpleasant, in fact it’s quite interesting with an organic feel. It just isn’t what I consider the “perfect” part of the pull. The design will translate the same when fused (either tacked or fully fused). They are only sold as a 1.5oz. duo for $20, which has 4-5 two-inch canes each of the two designs.
Here is a sample of the SECONDS fully fused.
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Next we have requested remakes:
Dandelions (with a little bonus)
These sweet Dandelions are back! Perfect tack to fully fused, they are also gorgeous grouped or used as a single flower. See below for the look of this beauty fully fused from the front and the back. Both the Chipper Nipper or wheeled nippers work great. This is an all around wonderful murrini. In my project this week the Dandelion transitions from a flower to a butterfly but they do so from a tiny. Therefore I added one tiny dandelion to each package as a bonus just in case you wanted to make a similar project. Either way, you’ll certainly find a use for the little guy. Sold in 1oz. packages for $17, which is 7-8 two-inch long canes. (The tiny is a bonus and is not part of the 1oz. weight). ;)
B&W Dotted Daisy 
Another highly requested daisy is this gorgeous B&W dotted daisy. Perfect tack to fully fused. This beauty is elegant, especially around this “wedding” time of year. Easy to snip with the Chipper Nipper or wheeled nippers. Sold for $17 in 1oz. packages as well, which is 7-9 two-inch long canes. Sizes vary just a little bit in each order.
B&W Tack Fuse Butterfly (with two tiny seconds as extras)
Also requested as a remake, these beautiful butterfly wings have a mix of Oceanside White/Ivory/Vanilla Cream and Black. This is a TACK FUSE murrini. Beyond a light tack fuse, this beautiful butterfly will lose its outer shape. Snip with wheeled nippers (a butterfly wing snipping tutorial is in the TIPS section of the website). Sold for $18 in 1oz. packages, which is 6-8 two-inch long canes. The “EXTRA” in this package will be two butterfly tinies, which are seconds, but if you wanted to create the “Transformation” project this week, I wanted you to have some tinies as well.
Butterfly/Daisy/White Rose Trio
I did put a few mixes together of these three as they just seemed perfect for each other. Sold in 1.5oz. packages for $27, which is three canes of the three designs (9 total canes).
White Roses 
This remake is one of my favorites, but it’s my favorite when it’s been “Flip and Fused”. This Vanilla Cream rose is lovely if tack fused, but if you want to fully fuse it, I highly recommend you “Flip and Fuse” it for best results. Instructions for this process can be found in the “Tips and Tutorials” section of the website. However, it really takes this process to make the rose absolutely bloom. This is a technique developed by Lori Moreno and is genius in my opinion. Sold in 1oz. packages, which is 6-8 two-inch long canes for $17. I have more white roses in the works for next week as well...part of the upcoming Wedding Mix.
Critter Antennae
We can’t have Twisty week without Critter Antennae. Fuse up some Twisties into small dots and adorn one with an antennae and you have a caterpillar! Snip them with either the Chipper Nipper or wheeled nippers and keep them relatively thin for best results. Can be tack fused to fully fused. For more information on the Willie Worm project from a few months ago, check out the January 20th blog. Sold in 1oz. packages for $17, which is 7-9 two-inch long canes.
Willie Worm sample from Jan. 20 blog.
Samples of this week’s murrini fully fused:
From the front.
From the back.
Twisties
I will have just over 50 groupings of Twisties this weekend. Some are just one unique grouping, but others will have several of the same grouping available. There will be one photo of them more in the natural light, then one of them laying flat by a ruler so you can get an idea of size. Watch the ends when you unpack as they can be sharp.
About Twisties:
• They are organic and unique. This means sizes and shapes vary. Some are thicker, some are thinner or have a textured outside. Some will have lots of color and others will have just a single band of color swirling around a lot of clear.
• They are just over 6 inches long and each grouping will have 12 canes in it. They weigh anywhere from 5 to 8 ounces per grouping.
•Some of these canes are twisted butterflies or other shapes that make the exterior unique, but more fragile. These can sometimes be harder to snip and they might snip more jagged or splinter. They make wonderful dots if they don’t want to snip cleanly for you. Hint: fully fuse them (or flatten) first and then they will snip beautifully.
• They have SO many uses! If you look at my Beth Alongi Glass Facebook page and search for past Twisty posts, you can find more fun things made with them. Too many to post here, but it can be anything from a dot, to a stir stick, to a unique design in a dish, a Willie Worm, flattened and then scored and broken for snowman scarves, etc. They have been annealed, so they will hold up in a torch if you want to use them as a bead or in a torch-worked project.
• Some may have a slight hole in the center. If the entire grouping has holes in them, they’ll be called “Holey Moley” and will be priced accordingly. However, a tiny hole in the center might be a possibility in a regular order.
• Sometimes the insides are also fun to work with, so take a peek inside as well.
• All priced at $30 per bundle which is a dozen 6" long canes.
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Now, on to this week’s projects to give you some ideas:
Vanilla Cream and Pink Soap Dish
On my mind for some time, this soap dish is everything I hoped it would be. We sometimes have a love/hate relationship with Vanilla Cream, but it's just knowing the possible outcomes before you begin. For me, VC is one of Oceanside's best products. How it interacts with other colors of glass is cool, but how it reacts on ITSELF is stunning.
I first started out with a white piece of 5X7 glass, which will be the underlying glass of my project, so it’s lightly dusted with clear powder and already in the kiln awaiting my project.
I cut an identical piece of glass to the one above, only in Vanilla Cream. Moving on to my assembly, I snipped down a few petals and leaves and I happened to have a solid Oceanside Vanilla Cream rod that I purchased and I’m going to use as little “dot” accents. If you want something similar for your project let me know and I can rustle you up a little piece.
Below is my go-to Vanilla Cream stringer made by Joni from Aggie Glass Designs.
I then began to assemble my pieces together. I didn’t want to get too close to the edges with the flowers because I didn’t want to put a dam around it. I put a little circular smear of Glasstac where I want my flowers to be. I used the petals AND slender leaves as flowers and of course the leaves as actual leaves, too. I snipped the plain VC rod just to use as little accents. Pink dots would have been pretty, too.
I placed my final design over my prepared white bottom already in the kiln and fully fused it with my slow bubble squeeze. Note: my firing schedules change per project and sometimes dependent on which kiln I'm using. This schedule may work for you, too, or you may need to do some test firing schedules to see what works well for you and your kiln.
50>1150>30
350>1450>15
9999>950>3 hours
150>800>10
150>700>30
300>room temp
After firing, I wasn’t really happy with how my “leaf” flowers met in the center. I think I rushed it a bit and didn’t wait for the glue to fully dry, which may have been the cause of some unexpected movement. However, it was an easy fix with a bit of Oceanside pink frit in the centers of those particular flowers and I fully fused it again.
After the second full fuse I put it over my soap dish mold and put it in for a nice slow slump.
150>150>10
*150>1100>30
300>1240>30
9999>950>3 hours
150>800>15
150>700>15
300>room temp
*would have gone even slower here if my project was bigger or in a more complex mold.
I like to have my project hang over the mold just about 1/4 inch all around because it makes fun draped corners.
Cool from the side.
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The Transformation
The base glass is just over 4X5 inches, which is an odd size, but I had it handy in my scrap bin. First I placed a little thin stringer for my stem and then a bit of Glasstac glue in the approximate shape of my dandelion before adding the dandelion murrini.
I snipped my tiny dandelion in half with wheeled nippers as it was going to snuggle up to my tiny butterfly to begin the “Transformation”.
I finished adding the rest of my murrini and then to the kiln for a very light tack fuse. I wanted it to remain “as-is” so my top temp was 1300 with no hold. I was thrilled with how it turned out and it’s more beautiful in person.
The Butterfly single packages and Dandelion murrini will have a tiny cane in them as a bonus this week just in case you want to play around with a similar idea. The sizes of the regular murrini will vary a little in each package as well.
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Rose/Daisy/Butterfly Necklace
Of course I had to use one of Mike’s fabulous “Open Bails” to make a little necklace, but where’s the butterfly you ask??
Not kidding..this is how it started out before fusing…
…but when I opened the kiln I had THIS!
Not only had the butterfly jumped off, it was fused to another project! I know we’ve all had this happen, but it just amazes me that glass can hop like that. So I liked it without the butterfly, too.
Note: the rose had already been "Flip and Fused" before placing it in the project.
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Some Twisty Ideas:
This is my first try using one of Jamaison’s decals and it turned out pretty good after making an initial mistake. I’m going to leave the technical part to his expert video (see link at the bottom of the blog) but I’ll show you my steps.
First I fused up some twisty 1/4 inch pieces into dots
I put my dots flat side up as I was going to flip the final project over and I loved the top swirl of the dots best. Jamaison’s decal is underneath the glass as a guide.
Before fusing.
After fusing.
I initially had this on 2mm glass as I was afraid my dots would be so big it would spread out too far. However, it ended up being too small. So I cut a 3mm piece of glass to fit exactly underneath and fully fused again and it spread out perfect. Lucky end result, but moving forward I won’t be afraid to have at least 3mm glass underneath and/or fill open areas with frit. I then applied the decal before its final firing. Quite fun I might say! My next one will be even better!
Little Stir Sticks/Plant Stakes
Twisites can be fully fused “as-is” to be a stir stick or fun plant stake. Here I fully fused the twisty first so I had a flat side to work with to control rolling in the kiln. With the murrini topper, I had already done the first step of “flip and fuse” with this flower. I put them together in the kiln with a 2mm thin piece of glass underneath the top of the stick and under the flower portion. Lastly I fully fused it all together which completed the “flip and fuse” while joining the bottom stick to it.
Here it is getting ready for the final fuse. Note the 2mm glass underneath is about 1 1/4” long and about 1/4” wide so it is hidden underneath if you were to look straight down on it. Note how the flower is flat on top because it is in the second phase of the flip and fuse (as are the other flip and fuse elements in the background).
Twisty dots to form a Willie Worm.
These are just a few ideas for Twisites. The possibilities are endless.
A shot of my initial full fuse, before and after. I used washers on the edges of the paper to hold it down flat. The little bits of snipped Twisties tend to roll around, so keeping the paper as flat as possible helped. You’ll see the far right twisty in a project coming up next week, too. :)
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Hints on the Horizon
Next week I’m going to have the most stunning Wedding Mix! Beautiful colors that can be mixed and matched together for all kinds of projects.
Also, a reminder my shop will be closed June 4-9.
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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 COE 96 handcrafted open bails, find his unique work at Mike’s Innovative Glass.
Check out Jamaison Schuler's Facebook page and Decal Video.
If you use COE 90, be sure to shop Lori’s beautiful murrini and mille options found at Wilderness Glass.