October 18, 2024 • Puppies in All Seasons
Yep, Puppies! Thanks to Christy Reichle, who posted a puppy on my Facebook Show and Tell Page, that she had created with a leaf and one of last year's “Black Nosed Rudy”. That little spark took me to the drawing board to create puppy murrini. Thank you Christy for your creative inspiration!
I’ve had this idea rolling around in my brain for some time…a transparent glass box with a matching lid that together would create a fuller tree by seeing the branches and leaves on the outside of the lid and the sides of the box at the same time. It worked…but of course with a few bumps in the process. I’ll explain later in the blog. Since this week’s project has 4 sides, here’s a little video so you can see them all. It’s imperfectly perfect!
Jerry 
Jerry is Terra Cotta in color with a longer slender body and is all the same color except for a touch of light fur on his chest. He is named after my friend Geory’s rescue Greyhound that had a long slender body and the sweetest personality. You can put the tip of the body on the grinder to flatten the tip if you’d like the head to sit flatter or to make the body shorter.
Just a little touch on the grinder will make his head fit a bit snugger in a tack fuse.
Here’s a shot of how I snipped him. The wheels of the nipper are just past the center, slightly more toward the fatter part. For his head and ears, I placed the wheeled nippers right in the center of the murrini design.
Joe
Joe is named after my Lab as a kid. He wasn’t the smartest dog on the planet, but he wanted nothing more than to have his belly scratched. 🤣 You can also put this body to the grinder if you’d like his head to snuggle in closer to his body (in a tack fuse). He has a light Gray head with a darker Gray body and ears.
Reesy
This little fella reminds me of a peanut butter cup and I could just gobble him up! His ears match the little touch of fur on his belly. The top of his body is already flat. Some of Reesy’s bodies were on the larger side (sold as XLs) and you may need to switch to your Chipper Nipper. Here is a short video on how to snip with the Chipper Nipper.
I would try to keep all the pieces the same size, using the “dragonfly” method of snipping (see the Dragonfly Snipping Video in my Tutorial section). You should get 16 equal pieces this way. 
Here are all three designs tack fused without tails.
Here they are at a full fuse. Jerry has a tail that was pulled in a flame. Reesy has just a little pinched piece of stringer that wasn’t tapered in a flame and Joe has no tail.
Stringer for tails will be included in your order but is an optional design choice. They will require a little work to pull them thin and cute. Here’s how I did it.
This shows the tails with soot on them after pulling apart in a candle flame. Just wipe this off with a damp cloth. If using a hothead torch, you won’t have the soot on there.
Lisa pinched the Gray Tails into 3/4 inch sizes for you (16 pieces are in the bag but pull in the flame to create 32 tails), but the Brown Tails will have 4 longer pieces for you to pinch down into 4 smaller pieces, then pull those 16 pieces in a flame to create 32 tapered tails. I personally love the tail tapered.
Wintry Mix
This Wintry Mix consists of two White Leaves, a Blue Tipped Butterfly, a Transparent Reactive Topaz Daisy, two Slender Duo Tone Reactive Leaves, and a Transparent Blue Snowflake.
Blue Snowflakes
Like I mentioned the last time I made these blue snowflakes...I'm a traditional white snowflake kinda gal, but these Blue Snowflakes were quite special and I promised to make them again. Surrounded by clear, these transparent Snowflakes are perfect tack fused to fully fused. Since they are transparent, the background will make a difference on visibility. Each package will have Snowflakes ranging from large to small. I used Leponitt wheeled nippers to snip them.
Transparent Blue Tipped Butterflies
These beautiful Butterflies have a soft White and Gray inner wing that is outlined in speckles of transparent Blue. This is a tack fuse murrini. For snipping instructions, please see the Butterfly Wing Tutorial in the TIPS section of my website.
Transparent Topaz Daisy (will react slightly)
This beautiful Daisy has transparent Topaz petals surrounding a Vanilla Cream Center. This means there will be a slight reaction in a hotter fuse. It creates a dark line between the petal and center and is quite lovely! I used Leponitt wheeled nippers to snip them.
The reactive line perfectly separates the petals from the center, but doesn’t interfere with the design at all. Pretty cool.
Slender Duo Tone Reactive Petals
This simple two-toned Slender Leaf makes a bold statement. There will be a further dark reaction between the Vanilla Cream and the transparent Blue when fused again. These lovelies can be used as leaves or spiky flower petals. I used Leponitt wheeled nippers placed right in the center to snip them. A similar reaction happens on these leaves like the daisy shown above.
Spring Mix
The Spring Mix consists of a Lilac Butterfly, Gray and Pink Dotted Daisy, two Lilac and Chambray Ripple Petals, Olive and Lilac Heart, a Gorgeous Green Leaf, a Lilac, Chambray and Champagne Ombre leaf, and a Lilac and Vanilla Cream Dotted Daisy. The butterflies, hearts, leaves and ripple petals are best at a tack fuse, but the daisies are great at any temperature.
Gray and Pink Daisy
The Gray Petals surround the Oceanside Pink speckled center of this sweet daisy. Great tack fused, but really spectacular fully fused. I used Leponitt wheeled nippers to snip them.
Olive and Lilac Dotted Hearts
These unique looking hearts are great as little embellishments, but are really adorable when grouped (point inward) to create a gorgeous flower. I used Leponitt wheeled nippers to snip them placing the wheels on the fattest part of the design. Hearts are best at a tack fuse to keep the exterior design intact. These will be sold in a 1.5oz package with sizes ranging from large to tiny (tiny hearts not shown in the photo above).
Lilac, Chambray, and Champagne Ripple Petals
Lilac, Champagne, and Chambray Blue transition throughout the pull. Lisa put a nice selection of inner designs in each package. I used Leponitt wheeled nippers to snip them. These are best at a very light tack fuse to retain the outer frilly design.
Lilac Daisy with Vanilla Cream Dots
These Lilac and Vanilla Cream daisies are gorgeous. The subtle little dots add something special to the design. Great tack fused but really lovely fully fused, too. I used Leponitt wheeled nippers to snip them.
Summer Mix
The Summer mix consists of a Lilac Sea Shell, Brown Sea Shell, Red Heart, Beach Ball, Yellow Monarch Butterfly, a Fish with matching Tail, and a Dark Green Leaf. I used Leponitt wheeled nippers to snip all of these designs and don't forget to peek at the Butterfly Snipping Tutorial in the Tips section of the website if you are new to the butterflies.
Multi-Sized Red and White Hearts
Oh the versatility of these Red and White Hearts. The inner design changes as the pull progresses and you'll have a nice variety in each package. Have fun with ALL the sizes from Larger to Tiny and keep at a light tack fuse. I used Leponitt wheeled nippers to snip them.
Shiner the Lilac Fish
I remember fishing with my Grandpa Bert as a kid and we'd look down in the lake and see all these shimmering fish! He called them "Shiners". This is what this color combination reminds me of. Each order will have Fish (sizes will vary) with just the right size tail to go with it. Tack to full fuse, but in a full fuse the design really rounds out. See a sample of it below. I used Leponitt wheeled nippers to snip them.
Brown and Lilac Sea Shell Duo
Sea Shells have been so much fun to create and fuse with. They are a TACK FUSE murrini as the scalloped outer edge will round out quickly. These have a fun mix of Lilac and Browns and stand out beautifully on sand or blue water. I preferred snipping these with wheeled nippers with the blades placed at the top of the scalloped side and the other wheel on the flat bottom.
Yellow Monarchs
These Butterfly Wings are so colorful and have a buttery Yellow look. This is a TACK FUSE item. Anything beyond a light tack fuse and they will lose their detailed outer design. A fully fused version is below so you can see how the design rounds out. For snipping instructions, go to the “Tips” section of my website where I have a Butterfly Snipping Tutorial.
New! Beach Balls
What is a summer scene without Beach Balls! These fun circles are best at a tack fuse, but also look cute in a deeper fuse. I used my Leponitt wheeled nippers on these. Sizes will vary in your 1oz. package.
Fall Mix
Hello Fall...I have MISSED YOU! This great mix has a Butter Yellow Leaf, Olive Ombre Leaf, Brown Ombre Leaf, Golden Monarch, Red Dotted Daisy, Pumpkin and a Sunflower Field ( 1 each of a Tiny, Med and Large murrini cane). I'm partial to Fall weather and these particular colors. It brought me joy to fuse with them. The Daisies can be fully fused, but the rest of this mix is best at a Tack Fuse.
Red Centered Daisy
Perfect at a tack fuse to a full fuse, this daisy is really pretty for any season. I used my Leponitt wheeled nippers to snip them.
Tack Fuse Pumpkins
The Tack Fuse Pumpkins are also making one last appearance this year. They will round out quite a bit in any schedule hotter than a tack fuse. Sold in 1oz. packages, there are 5 or 6 canes in each package. Wheeled nippers or the Chipper Nipper work on these by placing the blades on the sides of the pumpkin (not bottom to fragile stem).
Multi-size Sunflower Daisy Field
The Sunflower Daisy Fields are packaged from large to tiny to make a great scene where you want smaller flowers in the back and larger ones toward the front to show depth. They are beautiful tack fused to fully fused and snip perfectly with the Chipper Nipper or wheeled nippers. These are sold in 1oz. packages and you get a good variety of sizes.
Golden Fall Monarchs
These Butterfly Wings are so colorful and perfect for any Fall scene. This is a TACK FUSE item. Anything beyond a light tack fuse and they will lose their detailed outer design. A fully fused version is below so you can see what happens. For snipping instructions, go to the “Tips” section of my website.
Here are all of this week’s murrini fully fused so you can see how much the murrini changes beyond a tack fuse. Any murrini with exterior shapes or details need to be lightly tack fused to keep that outer shape intact.
On to the project!
Let me start by saying this is the first time I’ve ever made a project exactly like this. I’ll explain how I did it, but there are probably other ways to do it better. 😅 However, this is how I went about my version.
It all started with my 4.75 X 4.75 Patty Gray Mold. My first thought was I wanted to make a base for the sides of the box to fit in.
I put thin fire all around the inside, carefully cut my bottom glass and side pieces to fit perfectly, then put Silkemat in the center to hold the shape. I had to take it hot enough to tack it all together so I ran it at a contour fuse (1330 top temp). It did create a little bottom with sides, but the sides collapsed ever-so-slightly and weren’t perfectly straight…so I opted to just assemble my sides on a flat piece of glass instead. It was a fun idea to try, but wasn’t what I wanted. I think I have an idea for it in another project. Stay tuned.
Next I knew I needed to start with the lid. I took a 6X6 piece of 3mm clear glass and sat it over the top of my mold (shown above) to get an idea of where the sides would begin to slump. I marked it off and cut out the corners so that there wouldn’t be any folding in the slumping process and the sides would go down evenly. I didn’t worry about there being a bit of a gap on each end.
In this photo you can see that I cut out the corners with my Taurus saw and drilled a hole in the center of the glass where my top knob will be placed. I then took some of Joni’s Brown Variegated Stringers and laid out my design. After I was happy with the design I did tack them down with the tiniest dots of super glue.
I then started putting my seasons of leaves on the branches.
This is AFTER the 1st tack fuse. I took the heat up really slow so nothing would move too much or too quick. However, when you have overlapping stringer, you can’t predict exactly how it’s going to relax down in the fuse. I did have some leaves that moved away from the stringer, enough so that I filled those areas in with more leaves and ran a second tack fuse to close any openings I had.
Here is my mold again, CPI Patty Gray Mold GM180. I’m getting ready to drape my lid, so I have it elevated on 1” posts. Note: I flipped the mold upside down to drape my project over. I sprayed it with ZYP and used kiln shelf paper.
I cut Thin Fire kiln shelf paper to fit my glass and sat them on the top of the mold. Looking down from the top, I made sure it was even. I could just see the corners of the mold when peeking straight down through the cut out corners of my glass. Then I prayed. 🙏🏼
150>300>15
300>1100>30
150>1240>30
9999>950>4 hours
150>800>10
300>room temp
SUCCESS!
Here is my hardware for the lid handle. I chose a fun branch that I found on Amazon that is for a cabinet drawer. See the two screws? The large one is the one it came with, but I had to go to the hardware store to get a shorter one because I had no way to shorten the one that came with it.
I did have to go back and slightly enlarge my hole, but I made sure I had plenty of water running over it and went slow. Once my hole was the right size, I started to assemble the handle.
I happened to have some thin rubber that had a sticky backing. I have NO idea what I had used it for, but those of us “Hobby Queens” (or Kings) as my husband calls me, usually have stuff like this lying around. 🤣. I put the sticky side toward the glass and with a knife I put an X cut in it to slide the screw through. I put a washer, then my screw.
Fearful of the screw coming undone (as it was almost too short) I put a coating of E6000 over the screw and washer. You can sort of see the reflection from the glue.
Next I started the sides. My panels ended up being 6” tall by 4” wide. I made sure my sides were very straight and clean as they would be “exposed” in the final project and they are only going to get a very light tack fuse (as I didn’t want the glass to pull in at all).
I got my design idea started and tacked down with a little super glue, then got out Joni’s stringers and pulled out the thinnest ones.
I held the finished lid over the side so I could see where I wanted my branches on the sides to enhance the branches on the lid.
I used the Slender Duo Tone Leaf as little hills of snowy ice. Jerry and Joe both have tails in this scene. They were tapered in the flame to give them a nice point at the top.
Pre-fired Spring. For the umbrella I took a flattened Twistie and scored around one of the curves and then put it on the grinder to finish the scalloped bottom. I also used medium clear frit as little raindrops. 
Here is the flattened Twistie section that I used for the umbrella.
Pre-fired Summer. Note my clouds are fun dollops of white and sky blue powder. Powder makes me frustrated sometimes because even in a tack fuse, it never looks the same and you can never have enough. I thought I had gone overboard, but alas…it could have used a bit more. I didn’t redo the final panel…but part of me wanted to touch up the clouds.
Pre-fired Fall Panel. How can you not fall in love with Joe and Jerry frolicking in a Sunflower Field! Small Sunflower Daisies in the back (up high) and the Largest ones in the front (down low) to give depth to the scene.
The panels were lightly tack fused with a top temp of 1310 with NO hold.
Next I started to assemble the sides. I took a class with Cheryl Chapman awhile back and we made a glass box. This is where I used that knowledge to put this one together with E6000. In the photo above, I used two very small dots of E6000 on the side.
On a flat surface I put all the sides together with just that little dot of glue making sure it was square. I was patient here and held them until it had tacked enough to move on to another panel. After I had all the sides on, I used painter’s tape to hold it together until it had firmed up enough to move it.
Next I sat it on a piece of glass I had pre-fused. **For the bottom, I cut two 5X5” pieces of 3mm clear and fully fused them together. Sorry I forgot to take a picture of me doing this step!**
After I had the sides positioned over the glass bottom, I put a dot of E6000 on a spatula.
I put that dot of glue in the corner to tack together the bottom and sides. I did the same in the other 3 corners. I let this set until it was dry enough that nothing was moving. I then used my spatula to “drag” dots of glue all along the entire inside bottom. I took my time and went slow.
After the bottom had dried, I did that same step along the sides. Note…the sides were a bit messier and because the project was clear you could see it. So what I did was go up one side with the glue, then ran my finger from the bottom to the top (like caulking a shower) which made it look WORSE because it became cloudy. So I gently rubbed my finger up and down basically peeling off all the excess. This is somewhat hard to explain, but it was like rubbing tacky glue off of a flat surface. In tougher areas I took an Xacto knife to scrape the glue off, leaving a tiny bit of glue just in the seam. Had it been an opaque project, the cleaning process would not have been necessary, but if it had been an opaque project, you wouldn’t have the glorious blending of leaves and branches from the lid and sides …which was the beauty of the project.
I have to say for my first attempt at a project like this, I’m pretty darn happy. The lid fits, but wanted to slide just a touch to one side. I think my panels were an itty bitty bit too wide, but it is one of those things that no one would see but you. I think a wooden base with a matching wooden knob on the lid would also be a fun idea. But for now, I’ll just watch this one spin around. 😉
Hints on the Horizon:
My next drop of new murrini will be Nov. 2 where I’ll have Footballs and Doves, for those who missed them before, as well as a NEW panel in my “Jar Series”…which is going to be fun. Then Saturday, Nov. 16 will be the last Saturday of new murrini for the year. :) Of course, don’t forget about the annual Black Friday Scrap Sale which will be happening on Friday, Nov. 29th at 10:00am Central Time. More details on the Scrap sale coming soon.
Helpful Links:
If you are looking for COE 96 stringer or pre-fused dots, 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 Bails, find his unique work at Mike’s Innovative Glass.
If you use COE 90, be sure to shop Lori’s beautiful murrini and mille options found at Wilderness Glass.
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.