Sept. 19, 2025 • Under the Water Fun (but no Kitties just yet)
Hello! Thanks for dropping by the blog this week, I appreciate it. I do the blog for a couple of reasons. First I enjoy teaching, so it gives me an outlet to show how I made some kind of fun project. Also, I want to be sure you have the tools and tips you need to be successful when fusing with my murrini. This way I can tell you what worked for me and what didn't. Sometimes I like to push glass techniques a little bit in my projects to see what happens and it's just fun to talk about it with someone who can relate!
I know last blog I told you I'd have new Kitties this week. Catie the Cali Cat is done and bagged up, but I decided instead of having tails optional, like I did with Sophie the Cat, I just wanted to include them because most of you wanted tails, instead of making them yourself from stringer. That means I need to make around 3,000 tails. 😅 I thought I'd have time between sales, but per many requests, I turned around some Christmas remakes for you, (Artsy Trees and Wreaths) after they sold out so quickly last time. So what I'm going to do is have Catie the Cali available on Saturday, Nov. 1. I will be taking a few days off in October and I'll make the tails then. With that said, you'll get a sneak peek at her now, because she is in this week's project!
Remember when you have something kind of dangerous to do and you tell people "Don't try this at home!" Well, that thought crossed my mind when putting this project together, but since it turned out so adorable (going for the look of the home of the Crazy Cat Lady) I'll tell you how I did it and tell you what I thought was going to fail (but didn't...yet). More on this later in the blog.
Housekeeping notes:
All my murrini are COE 96. This week's murrini (all Oceanside fusible glass) will go on sale tomorrow, Saturday, September 20, at NOON Central Time.
Most of this week's murrini were put into mixes. Some of them will be sold as singles, but I may only have a few bags, which means they may get removed from your cart before you check out. But don't worry, you'll get a sample of everything in the mixes!
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This week's Murrini:
Artsy Christmas Tree (with an oops)
As I was creating Artsy trees last week, I was concentrating so hard on placement of the lights, I forgot to put the branches in! 😂 Dang it! Honestly, the little lights are the star of the show, however I'll discount these a bit this week since the design isn't what I had intended. These are a 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. If you want to snip them from the end, don't try to snip thinner than 3mm. If you have troubles, just switch to the half in half in half technique. See the Sophie the Cat snipping tips in the TIPS section of the website for more details cutting long triangular shapes.
The Artsy Tree is definitely best at a LIGHT tack fuse.
Holiday Wreath
I also wanted to end the Christmas murrini season with one more pull of my new favorite...the Wreath! The center is clear and they are adorable when used on a gingerbread house or anywhere a wreath is needed. They are going to be best at a tack fuse and they also snip thin with the Chipper Nipper. I did flip and fuse one and they looked pretty cool that way! These are on the larger side, so sometimes your wheeled nippers won't open up enough unless you take the pin out or switch to your Chipper Nipper. They will be sold in 1oz. packages with either 4 larger 2" canes in it, or 5 smaller 2" canes. Even the smaller canes are a nice "regular" sized murrini.
I did a quick sample fuse of this week's Artsy Tree and the Wreath so you can see what they look like tacked (since the Artsy tree was a bit different this time).
Aquarium Fun (12 Cane Mix)
It's been a little bit since I've created a sealife mix. There will be 12 canes in each package. This time we have a new fish! He's long, slender, and striped. This shape was a special request and his name is "Slim". The second fish in the mix is also another requested shape where the end tapers to a point like I used to make. His name is "Sparky" because he looks like a little red firecracker! Both Slim and Sparky will have the same heart-shaped spotted/striped tail. Also in the mix will be two Jellyfish (White and Lime), two Starfish (Turquoise and Sandy Brown), two Sea Shells (Orange/White Stripe and Grey/Lilac), a tiny Sea Weed, and a Sand Dollar.
These mixes are heavy and weighing in at over 2oz., but I wanted everyone to be able to get a sample of each design without having to buy a full package of each. ❤️
FISH TIPS:
I recommend three things when you are attempting to keep the fish's tail from separating away from the body in a light tack fuse (these tips have been helpful for me, anyway). 1. a slower ramp up in your first segment (maybe 150 degrees per hour instead of 300 until you reach 1150) and 2. don't use glue to hold them together. Sometimes we glue a tail to the body and it looks great, but the only thing holding the tail in place is the glue. Once the glue burns off, the tail will move back to where it would naturally have wanted to go. So place the tail at the end before you fire up the kiln and make sure it is touching the body as close as it possibly can. And finally, 3. if you set the tail next to the body and it already seems like it is leaning away from the fish, flip the tail over and I think you'll find it will snuggle right up to the body.
Sea Birds
These sweet little Grey birds are cute in any beach scene! In the past I would place my little Sea Bird in the scene and have him running in the sand with little long black legs painted on. He'll be cute in any scene. Tack fuse is recommended.
Here he is in a project where he's sitting in the tree! He's a sweetie.
Sand Dollars
The Sand Dollar is one of my favorite sealife murrini. I made extra of these so everyone could get all they needed. I will have them available in 3 sizes: larger, medium size and on the smaller side. The size pictured above with the dime is the medium size. A light tack fuse is recommended because sometimes the tip of the inner "star" is on or very close to the outer edge of the murrini.
In a full fuse, the inside pulls inward and the outside shape is elongated. This will show a streak in the murrini if the tip is on the edge and some might find that look undesirable as shown in the sample image below. They are both fully fused, but the upper right had the inner design fully surrounded by the exterior color. The lower left sample had the tips of the inner star on the edge of the murrini. 
Slender Two Toned Green Leaves (Multi-size)
I pulled more slender green leaves for this week because I wanted to use tiny ones as "Sea Weed". (See my sample for this look inside the aquarium, but also as a green plant in the vase). However, they will also be available in this multi-sized package for all your project needs. A tack fuse keeps this looking "as-is" with pointy ends. In a full fuse, it rounds out into a soft, yet pretty oval shaped leaf.
Sea Shell Duo
These cute sea shells are definitely best at a LIGHT tack fuse. The exterior ripples will round out quickly in too warm of a top temp. The Orange shell is striped with Vanilla Cream and the Grey/Lilac shell has a more subtle interior design as these two colors just blended together more than appearing to be separated. In the DUO listing, you'll also find variations of these two shells as singles.
Slim and Sparky Duo
Slim and Sparky with also be sold as a duo. Each fish body will come with a tail. The tails are the same design used for both fish. These guys are cutest tack fused for an "as-is" look, but they are still cute fully fused as they will have a rounded look. There will be a variation in the listing for just Sparky by himself as a single. Here are some tips in case you missed it above:
FISH TIPS:
I recommend three things when you are attempting to keep the fish's tail from separating away from the body in a light tack fuse (these tips have been helpful for me, anyway). 1. a slower ramp up in your first segment (maybe 150 degrees per hour instead of 300 until you reach 1150) and 2. don't use glue to hold them together. Sometimes we glue a tail to the body and it looks great, but the only thing holding the tail in place is the glue. Once the glue burns off, the tail will move back to where it would naturally have wanted to go. So place the tail at the end before you fire up the kiln and make sure it is touching the body as close as it possibly can. And finally, 3. if you set the tail next to the body and it already seems like it is leaning away from the fish, flip the tail over and I think you'll find it will snuggle right up to the body.
Turquoise Starfish
The colors in this turquoise starfish are so pretty. In a light tack fuse, these cuties will look "as-is". However, in a full fuse, the inside pulls in and the sides bloom out giving an amazing look. This design can also be used as a flower. See the fully fused version a bit later in the blog in my test samples, and see the tack fused version in this week's project.
Sandy Brown Starfish
Similar to the turquoise version, this brownish chestnut blend is one of my all-time favorite colors of starfish. It fuses great in all temperatures.
Black and Grey Dotted Multi-sized Hearts
When I make tails for fish, I end up with extra heart-shaped canes that vary in size and make a great multi-size mix! When you put the points inward and group five hearts together, they make a lovely flower! They are a dark murrini, so the inner designs are present, but will be subtle in appearance. With a little dot placed in the center of a grouping of hearts, it makes a very formal looking flower. Great for weddings! Sizes in each package will be from larger to tiny. Because the "V" of the design has some clear in it, when fully fused it will retain a bit of a heart/scalloped shape (look at the fish tails in the sample of fully fused tests a bit later in the blog).
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SECONDS Aquarium Mix (designs in packages may vary)
Let's chat about these seconds for a second. 😂 Lisa and I were having some issues with the blades of our chopper this week (they needed changed) and didn't realize it until we started sorting and found lots of ends that were a bit too jagged to be called "firsts". There were also several designs that were still VERY good, but just past the prime parts of the pull. So this seconds mix is really REALLY lovely, but enough going on with each cane for them to get the "seconds" ranking. (I run a tight ship around here 😉)
Each kit will have Slim and Sparky (with tails), a Sea Bird, Sand Dollar, one each of the Orange and Purple Sea Shell and the Brown Starfish. Not every kit will have the Turquoise Starfish, but a Jelly Fish will be substituted instead. You may find a duplicate in your mix, which means we needed to add a little bit of weight to get it over the 2oz. size.
SECONDS Transparent Old Fashioned Christmas Bulbs
Lisa packaged up the SECONDS version of the Old Fashioned Bulbs this week. They make gorgeous flowers when grouped together. They'll be at a great price and are fun to work with. The main reason these are seconds, is because they are past the best part of the pull and the upper stripes are now curved and wiggly, but that's what makes the cool part of the flower center!
Here they are tack fused and fully fused.
Remember, my "Seconds" are always found on the last page of listings next to the Gift Card. There will be a few more additions to the SECONDS section this week, so be sure to check those out.
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Here's this week's murrini fully fused/tested on clear
In a full fuse, the outer part of a murrini spreads out and the center pulls in. This causes the intended design to quite often become distorted, hence a tack fuse being recommended for those designs. As you can see, most of the shapes this week become too rounded/distorted in a full fuse, but the jellyfish and starfish are spectacular fully fused.
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This Week's Project: Catie's Aquarium
When I was trying to think of a way to make a "crazy cat lady house" (this will be me some day 🤪) I instantly thought of very busy wallpaper in a dimly lit room, with furniture made of dark wood and lots of cats! Catie the Cali is in this project, but a reminder she won't go on sale until Nov. 1! However, the aquarium scene is what we'll concentrate on today.
I started with an approximate 5.5X5.5 piece of Oceanside Chambray and a 6.5X6.5 piece of Dark Blue Transparent (I wanted about 3/8 inch of the underlying blue to extend around the top glass on all sides to make an even border. On the Chambray piece, I drew lines with a sharpie where my paint would go. Then with Easy Fire Enamel paints, I painted on my wallpaper and let that fully dry. I knew I wanted it to be muted, so I sifted on some white glass powder over the top. I also put clear powder on the transparent glass before placing the opal glass over it and fired it at a full fuse, with a slower 150 degree ramp up. After the initial full fuse, I couldn't tell that the white powder did too much. So I dusted it again with white powder, only this time putting on about twice as much and fully fused again. The next time I'll put just enough powder over the top that I can no longer see the underlying design.
When I fully fused the scene for the second time, I also had a piece of 5mm clear with a jellyfish on it. I wanted it to be fully fused to spread out, as they look so neat fully fused. In another kiln, I had my aquarium scene in for a light tack fuse. 
The above photo is the aquarium scene that I already tack fused and this is flipped over and is being viewed from the underneath/back side. I LOVE how everything is so crisp. Because it is LIGHTLY TACK FUSED you can still see the frilly edges of the shells and the shape of the fish and other pieces didn't change. That is the goal, an "as-is" look.
The frit blend used in this scene is a mix of Oceanside medium frit: Vanilla Cream, Persimmon, Chocolate, transparent Dark Amber, and transparent Bronze.
Here you see the beginnings of my layout. I started with my "wooden table" that was created with a little scrap of Oceanside Brown/white streaky glass. I then cut 3/8 strips of this same streaky glass to create the bottom and sides of my aquarium. They were cut nice and straight so they sit on their edge. I put down my roughly cut 5mm piece that has my pre-fused jellyfish on it. I wasn't too worried about the edges as it will be covered with another layer. I did put a teeny bit of super glue on the frame around the aquarium to hold it still. I made sure they were sitting firmly on their own before I tacked them down.
In this step, I sprinkled clear medium frit all over the 5mm piece and kept the jellyfish exposed. I place a little shelf on the wall with another piece of the brown streaky, but it was only about 1/4 thick. It is also on its side showing the inside of the glass which looks like cool lines. I made a little vase out of Sunflower Yellow and had some of my tiny slender leaves coming out of it like a little plant. Of course, Catie is looking adorable in the scene. 😸
Next I placed the pre-tack fused aquarium scene over the underlying jellyfish. Remember, this is FLIPPED OVER so the textured side is facing the frit. The outside is smooth, which is supposed to be outside of the tank. I knew in the next fuse the clear frit will become more clear, but will still have some kind of texture (or so I hoped!)
Here is the piece in the kiln before firing. Note that I added a Sand Dollar on the right of the aquarium and a Catie head on the left. These are snuggled up against the wall of the aquarium to just give it a little something to help hold it up. I didn't want to put any kind of fiber paper around it as I feared it would leave some kind of residue or unwanted texture when removed after firing.
Here's the "don't try this at home" part of the story! Ha ha! I put the final project in the kiln at my lightest tack fuse schedule and ramped slowly up and slowly down. In my small kiln I can get the glass to tack at around 1295 with a 1 minute hold. Everything stays tacked, but barely. Nothing in the design will change and frit is still sharp to the touch. I didn't want to leave it in a temperature hot enough to make the sides of the aquarium start to slump at all. This is a tricky temperature and you'll need to know your glass and kiln pretty well. I also wasn't sure how the flipped aquarium scene would hold up with the medium frit lightly tacked together like a sandwich.
I also held my anneal (and breath) for 7 hours. This was to accommodate for the fact that the underlying base had been fired twice already, then on top of that we had several layers of glass.
When I opened the kiln I let out a little WOO HOO and QUICKLY got a picture of it in case something went awry. 😂 But I'm happy to say that well over a week later, it is sitting perfectly in my window!
Here's a view from the side. The top part of the aquarium scene did have a little bit of a wave to it, but when viewed from straight on, you don't see it at all.
So if you dare, permission to try this at home! 😉
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Hints on the Horizon:
On Saturday, October 4, I'm having Critter Week. I'm SO EXCITED because I have a couple of new and very adorable designs! Don't forget you won't see Catie the Cali Cat until Nov. 1
NOTE:
I'll be taking a short break between sales and will have my online store closed for about 10 days starting on Monday, Oct. 6 through Thursday, Oct. 16. I'm going to take a little "Family Time". This will not interrupt my normal 1st and 3rd Saturday sales, tho!! So I'll open my online shop back up Friday, Oct. 17 with a new blog and then a sale the following day (10/18) per usual. 🤗 Fall is my favorite time of the year. Sometimes I just have to force myself to step out of the shop and enjoy it. So that's what I'll be doing (and making cat tails). 😁
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A note to new artists: Quality is my priority. I only sell the best section of each pull. The designs found in your murrini order will look like the samples shown in the blog (sizes of the canes may vary slightly, but never the inner or outer design). "Seconds" or "scrap" canes are those designs that are not yet fully formed or are starting to fade away, murrini with tiny air holes in the design, or with chips or dings. I sometimes sell the nicer Seconds at a discount, or you might find them in the free goodie bags, but more than likely I've saved them for the annual Scrap Sale (coming again this year on Black Friday).
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Helpful Links:
If you use COE 90, be sure to shop Lori’s beautiful murrini and mille options found at Wilderness Glass.
Oceanside's recommended Firing Schedules.
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.
For beautiful COE 96 Twisties, check out Sherry's lovely work at Love•Peace•Create•Shop.
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.
For Janice's pre-cut COE 96 ornament blanks, find her at LakeRabbitDesigns.