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NEW Video Tutorial! “Making Murrini From Repurposed Cane” (includes eBook PDF!)

On By ccglassartIn Tips & Tricks, What's Happening Now2 Comments
Making Murrini From Repurposed Cane Video Tutorial Course for Glass Artists

I am SO very proud to announce my Brand New Tutorial; “Making Murrini From REPURPOSED Cane!” for lampwork glass artists. 😀

Available now on ETSY!

This Video Tutorial Course Includes:

  • Private portal with unlimited, on-demand, anytime access to your course materials
  • Fully narrated (and captioned) video tutorial with a close up, over-the-shoulder view
  • Downloadable 49 page eBook PDF with step-by-step written instructions, tips and tricks
  • A Torch-Side Reference Guide
  • …and lots more!!

It’s been a while since I’ve written a new tutorial – but the idea for this Video Course has been in my head for ages.

If you’re anything like me you’ve made your fair share of murrine cane over the years. Especially if you have any of my other tutorials!

Well, we all know that not every cane turns out perfect, right?

Sometimes the colors weren’t distinct enough or maybe the design got a little wonky somewhere along the way.

But whenever you make a murrine cane you’re investing a lot of effort and time – not to mention the amount of glass used that you spent good money on!

Making great murrini with crisp designs that is suitable to use in your best beads for sale is something that takes practice. And along the way you end up accumulating quite a collection of cane that you probably won’t ever use for much else.

That’s EXACTLY why I created this tutorial!

I hate wasting glass, I really do – I’m always coming up with ways to get as much use out of it as I can. So, it’s no surprise that I came up with a way to REPURPOSE all those extra murrine cane you and I have lying around – by giving them new life inside another cane to make uniquely designed murrini chips!

When I first tried this technique I was pleasantly surprised by how much detail and interest these murrini had when created with repurposed canes. The designs are so much more intricate and whimsical looking than I could ever create using ordinary plain glass rods.

Once I perfected this technique, I realized that this information would be best shared through a video lesson.

There are just so many nuances and little things that happen along the way, (including mistakes and problems that inevitably come up), throughout this cane making process that are best taught through video with personal narration and a close-up view at the torch.

What I’ve created with this Video Tutorial Course is the next best thing to you being directly next to me, looking right over my shoulder, seeing exactly what I see in real time.

Best of all, I’ve organized this entire curriculum inside a private portal where you get unlimited access to all this information on-demand anytime you want!

Topics covered in this tutorial include:

  • Learn to create a 6 layer murrini design using previously made murrini cane with 16 outer stripes (that will look like 32!) without having to use an optic mold
  • Choosing the best colors (I use COE 104 but you can easily adapt these tips and techniques to other COE glass)
  • How to know which colors will work well together (and which colors to avoid)
  • The entire process of making murrini cane from start to finish, step-by-step
  • How to remove trapped air bubbles from encasing
  • Getting multiple stringer lines spaced evenly and straight all the way around
  • What to do when your stringer pops off unexpectedly
  • Pulling the cane to a uniform diameter
  • What to do with waste glass leftover from making murrini cane
  • How best to apply murrini chips to your beads
  • …and lots more…

Making murrini can be intimidating but it doesn’t have to be. When broken down into easy-to-follow instructions, (with color photos guiding you every step of the way), you will have all the information you need – and the confidence – to successfully create beautiful, miniature designs in murrini that will take your beads to the next level.

This tutorial is written with the intermediate to advanced glass artist in mind who is well familiar with all aspects of lampworking including working with an open flame, melting glass rods, all safety precautions, etc.

However, if you consider yourself a beginner and are thinking about purchasing this tutorial but are unsure if you will benefit from it, please contact me. I may be able to help you decide if this tutorial is right for you at your current level of experience. 🙂

Once your purchase is complete you may immediately download the Instructional PDF which will provide you with information so you can get instant access to your private portal and course materials. (A copy of this Instructional PDF will also be stored in your Etsy account under ‘Purchases’ and may be downloaded again at any time.)

There is no shipping cost since this is a digital eBook sent by email. Likewise a print-out or hard copy of this tutorial will not be mailed to you. You may print out the eBook for your own personal use only.

Because this tutorial is a digital download eBook, this item is not returnable and your purchase is non refundable.

Available now on Etsy!

Christina C.
CCGlassArt

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Springtime in SoCal + NEW Beads – 3/18/2021

On By ccglassartIn Photos, What's Happening NowLeave a comment

Who else is still waking up an hour late after the time change…? 😮

On the bright side, we now have nice long days because of daylight savings – AND it means Spring is right around the corner! Woo hoo! 😀

Here in SoCal everything is starting to bloom! We have several fruit trees in our yard; plum, apple, nectarine, lemon and orange.

Nectarine and apple tree blossoms

The lemon tree has been producing fruit already. And while the nectarine and apple trees are in bloom, (see pic), we probably won’t have any fruit until mid-summer or so.

The plum tree hasn’t quite blossomed yet so it will be a while for that tree to produce anything.

We’re crossing our fingers that we’ll be able to get to the fruit when it’s ripe before the birds do this year! Haha! 🙂

Thankfully the weather has been be perfect for making beads. So I’ve been able to spend some time on the torch – which has been so much fun.

Here are a few NEW beads that I’ve made recently (photographed outside in natural light with my iPhone) that you can now find in my Etsy shop…

Handmade glass art murrini bracelet beads

Cambria Reef – rustic shades of olive green, bronze and amber with touches of dark turquoise blue.

Del Mar Reef – misty colors of seafoam and soft blue with ivory and shimmering goldstone

Waikaloa Reef – tropical purple and lavender with aqua blue and spring green

Bora Bora Reef – contrasting shades of purple and orange with a bit of sparkly goldstone

Thanks so much for looking!

Christina C.
CCGlassArt

Featured

VIDEO – 8 Layer Glass Art Murrine Cane for Lampwork Beads Demo

On By ccglassartIn Tips & Tricks, Videos, What's Happening Now2 Comments

I know how much fun it is to get a peek behind the scenes and watch the process of art being created. So, I love to make these videos when I can that show more of the process of how I make my murrine cane.

One of the main components in all my handmade glass art lampwork beads is murrini! I love the intricate designs and interest small murrini chips can add to beads. I especially love how they look under a clear glass encasement.

In this video I demonstrate how I create a complex, 8 layer full-size cane which will be cut down into smaller murrini chips and added to my handmade beads one-by-one.

Enjoy! 😀

Christina
CCGlassArt

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A Few More NEW Beads – 2/16/2021

On By ccglassartIn Photos, What's Happening NowLeave a comment

I have a few more new beads from my last batch…

You can find these now in my Etsy shop. Thanks for looking! 😀

Christina
CCGlassArt

Easter Reef - set of 2 encased round murrini beads
Malibu Reef - large marble shaped encaesd murrini bead
Easter Reef - big hole encased murrini bead
Sandbar Reef - big hole encased murrini bead

Featured

Winter Skies and NEW Beads – 2/11/2021

On By ccglassartIn Photos, What's Happening NowLeave a comment

SoCal sunset

Hello! Winter is winding down here in my neck of the woods. But not before bringing us some of the most spectacular sunsets I’ve ever seen living in SoCal for the past 36 years.

Maybe I’m just older now so I’m appreciating them more. Lol! 😀  Either way I am soaking it all in…even the amazing constellations in these beautifully clear skies after dark have been fabulous!

I have been happily taking advantage of this time of year by spending some time in my happy place – at the torch. It has been the PERFECT weather for bead making! I don’t even have to run my noisy portable air conditioner!

Below are a few the new beads I’ve just listed in the Lampwork Bead Market group on Facebook. If they’re still available in a couple days they’ll be listed in my Etsy shop.

I hope all is well with you and thanks so much for your continued support and interest in my beads. 🙂

Christina
CCGlassArt

Reef Series encased murrini bead with brass bead caps
Reef Series Encaesd Murrini Bicone Bead
Encased murrini round bead with starfish
Reef Series big hole charm bracelet bead with encased murrini
Reef Series encased murrini big hole bead

Featured

Video: Making a Reactive Silver Glass Raised Dot Bead

On By ccglassartIn Tips & Tricks, VideosLeave a comment

In this video I demonstrate how I create an encased silver glass bead with tiny raised dots on the surface.

With the right type of flame, the silver in the silver glass is brought to the surface of the bead causing it to develop a slightly metallic sheen. Once I see that sheen I quickly and carefully capture that luster beneath a layer of crystal clear glass.

After encasing, and shaping and smoothing the bead, I apply three rows of alternating dots with a silver glass stringer pulled thin.

It takes a steady hand to get the dots just right! 😀

Once applied, the raised glass dots are spun through the heat of the flame just enough to allow them to melt about half way down. If they were not melted in far enough the dots would be at risk of being popped off when worn. But melting them too far down can cause them to lose their dimension and disappear into the bead altogether. It’s a tricky balance between too much and too little heat.

I hope you enjoy watching me work at the torch! 🙂

Christina
CCGlassArt

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Follow CCGlassArt on Instagram

On By ccglassartIn What's Happening NowLeave a comment

Well, I might be a little ‘late to the party’, but better late than never, right? Lol! 😀

handmade lampwork glass art murrini beadsYou can now find CCGlassArt on the ‘IG’ and I would absolutely love it if you would join me there.

Little by little I’m uploading lots of my bead photos, and will upload some videos there too…if I can figure out how to do that. 🙂

Now that the weather has cooled down I am gearing up to get back to the torch. I have so many new ideas for designs, I can’t wait! I need to make a few adjustments to my current torch set-up first, but once that’s done I’ll be good-to-go.

As always, I will keep you updated with any news and soon, some new beads to show.

Thank you for your continued support (and patience) while I found my inspiration to make beautiful beads again.

Christina
CCGlassArt

Click here to follow me on Instagram!

 

 

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Making Beautiful ENCASED Murrini B E A D S Tutorial

On By ccglassartIn What's Happening Now2 Comments

Making Beautiful Encaesd Murrini Beads Tutorial

Available now on Etsy

“MAKING BEAUTIFUL ENCASED MURRINI BEADS”

A step by step tutorial for making gorgeous clear encased beads using your favorite murrini 🙂

Lampwork EBook Tutorial
by Christina Catherine of CCGlassArt

Includes:

**Over 200 color photographs**
**90 pages (with more than 80 pages of instruction!)**
**Detailed encased murrini bead instructions PLUS 6 design variations**
**Coral strands/stamen cane murrini recipe**
**A Torch-Side Reference Guide**
**Full color gallery of my encased murrini beads for inspiration**
…and SO much more!!

I’m back with another tutorial to teach you all the tips, tricks, techniques and secrets to creating GORGEOUS encased murrini beads! 😀

My first tutorial Making Beautiful Murrini was the prequel to this tutorial. It seemed natural to me that after teaching you how to make amazing murrini you would want to know the best ways to use them in your beads.

While I adore flattening murrini onto the surface of my beads, my absolute favorite way to use them is encased. There’s something so magical about peering into one of these beads to see all the little dimensional design elements suspended inside a thick layer of crystal clear glass.

My customers who buy these beads tell me how much they enjoy just staring at them. They seem to notice new things in the design each time they look at them.

This style bead is probably one of my all time best selling designs which I can hardly keep stocked. If I vary too much from this particular encased design the beads don’t sell nearly as quickly as these do. That has taught me a lot about what works and what doesn’t, and what customers really want in this style bead.

After making dozens and dozens (if not hundreds) of these beads, I have come up with a fool-proof formula that produces an amazing bead each and every time.

Before I developed this method of making encased murrini beads, I would approach this style bead rather haphazardly. The beads were good, but not always great in my opinion – at least not as great as I really wanted them to be, and my results were often hit and miss.

What I set out to do was create a reliable system, a series of steps that I could reproduce time and again (swapping out colors and different murrini designs on each bead), knowing that every time I would create a truly beautiful bead that my customers would love.

If you have tried making encased murrini beads before and struggled with getting consistent results, maybe even feeling like you were wasting too many expensive materials trying over and over to get it right like I used to do – this tutorial is for you!

I have put the most detailed instructions I could into this tutorial – which is why there are SO many photographs (over 200!) and 90 pages (over 80 of them instructional).

I wanted you to feel like I was standing right beside you, guiding you every step of the way. I didn’t want to leave out any bit of information that I thought would help you.

After learning my techniques you will be searching for every spare murrini chip you can find on your workbench to create these amazing encased murrini beads. I warn you, they are incredibly addicting!

If you have my first tutorial, Making Beautiful Murrini, I know you already have a ton of your own murrini to use. In fact, if you have my first tutorial you can make an identical bead to the Basic Encased Murrini Bead taught in this tutorial, (and pictured above in the 2nd photo), since every murrini recipe taught in my first, murrini-making tutorial is used in this particular bead.

Of course, you can use any murrini you have on hand to make this bead. It is not necessary to use the exact ones I use – that’s the beauty of these encased murrini beads. There are infinite design possibilities! Any murrini you have available will work wonderfully in this style bead (keeping in mind that all glass used in your bead must be the same COE 😉

If you don’t have my first tutorial, and you want to give murrini making a try so you can create your own unique beads, I invite you to pick it up – it’s also available in my Etsy shop. I have gotten tons of positive feedback from people who have purchased my first tutorial and are finally experiencing great success making beautiful murrini.

Here’s a link to my first murrini-making tutorial: https://www.etsy.com/shop/CCGlassArt?section_id=10934686

—————————————————————————————————————————–

This tutorial is written with the intermediate to advanced glass artist in mind who is well familiar with all aspects of lampworking including working with an open flame, melting glass rods, all safety precautions, etc.

However, if you consider yourself a beginner and are thinking about purchasing this tutorial but are unsure if you will benefit from it, please contact me. I may be able to help you decide if this tutorial is right for you at your current level of experience. 🙂

Available now on Etsy!

Featured

Tutorial! “Making Beautiful Murrini”

On By ccglassartIn Tips & Tricks, What's Happening Now7 Comments

Now available on Etsy - click to purchase

MAKING BEAUTIFUL MURRINI” Step-by-Step Tutorial
by Christina Catherine of CCGlassArt

Includes:

**Over 100 color photographs**
**More than 50 pages of instruction**
**Four murrini recipes including my super popular Starlight Murrini recipe**
**A Torch-Side Reference Guide**
…and SO much more!!

This tutorial is for every lampworker who has wanted to make murrini but didn’t because they were intimidated by the process, or perhaps has tried making murrini – spending many hours at the torch and using up lots of glass – only to be disappointed with the end result.

I was one of those lampworkers myself. I spent more hours and wasted more glass than I care to admit making hundreds of murrini canes with nothing worth using to show for it. Until, after much trial and error, I finally developed a fool-proof method and a series of reliable techniques, tips and tricks that helped me produce consistent results every time.

Once you learn to successfully make your own murrini cane the sky’s the limit! You can make custom designs anytime you want, in any colors you want. You can make murrini specifically for the style of beads you create.

You will be able to set your beads apart from the crowd making them more unique and individualized with murrini in color combinations and patterns you develop that are unavailable anywhere else.

You can even sell or share your extra murrini with other lampworkers (or fusers)!

Topics covered this tutorial include:

*Learn to create a 5 layer murrini design with up to 24 outer stripes (that will look like 48!)
*Choosing the best colors (I use COE 104 but you can easily adapt these tips and techniques to other COE glass)
*How to know which colors will work well together (and which colors to avoid)
*The entire process of making murrini cane from start to finish, step-by-step
*How to remove trapped air bubbles from encasing
*Getting multiple stringer lines spaced evenly and straight all the way around
*What to do when your stringer pops off unexpectedly
*Pulling the cane to a uniform diameter
*What to do with waste glass leftover from making murrini cane
*How best to apply murrini chips to your beads
…and tons more…

Making murrini can be intimidating but it doesn’t have to be. When broken down into easy-to-follow instructions, (with color photos guiding you every step of the way), you will have all the information you need – and the confidence – to successfully create beautiful, miniature designs in murrini that will take your beads to the next level.

This tutorial is written with the intermediate to advanced glass artist in mind who is well familiar with all aspects of lampworking including working with an open flame, melting glass rods, all safety precautions, etc.

However, if you consider yourself a beginner and are thinking about purchasing this tutorial but are unsure if you will benefit from it, please contact me. I may be able to help you decide if this tutorial is right for you at your current level of experience. 🙂