New Underwater Aquarium Style Encased Murrini Focal Beads

On December 13, 2012August 29, 2013 By ccglassartIn Photos, What's Happening NowLeave a comment

One man’s ‘rut’ is another man’s ‘obsession’ – I can’t tell which it is for me, but I am loving making these encased murrini beads!

When I started making these beads a few years ago they were just a way to test my murrini to see how they’d look under a clear encasement. Now they have developed into little colorful kaleidoscopes of varying shapes and designs which I just can’t get enough of.

Opening the kiln the next day after making these beads is truly like Christmas morning because only then do I see all the true colors and reactions from the glass come to life. It is quite addicting 😉

Here are this week’s encased murrini beads:

Coral Sand Reef - focal bead — Coral Sand Reef – focal bead

Deep Sea Reef - focal bead — Deep Sea Reef – focal bead

Encinitas Reef - focal bead — Encinitas Reef – focal bead

Pink Sand Reef - focal bead — Pink Sand Reef – focal bead

Waikaloa Reef - focal bead — Waikaloa Reef – focal bead

Waimea Bay Reef - focal bead — Waimea Bay Reef – focal bead

Encased Murrini Bead Pendants

On December 7, 2012August 29, 2013 By ccglassartIn Photos, What's Happening NowLeave a comment

I am loving these interchangeable bead pendants 😀 The are perfect for showcasing handmade lampwork by taking a bead from beautiful to wow! The best part is that you can mix and match your own beads on them to create a number of different looks just from one pendant.

This week I’ve added a couple new encasing murrini beads to Etsy, pairing two of them with an interchangeable bead pendant, along with one loose focal bead (which could be added to a bead pendant!) 😉

ARCTIC REEF - bead pendant — ARCTIC REEF – bead pendant

CANCUN REEF - bead pendant — CANCUN REEF – bead pendant

Encased Murrini Coral Reef Glass Beads – NEW!

On November 27, 2012August 29, 2013 By ccglassartIn Photos, What's Happening NowLeave a comment

Everyone knows how much I love murrini – I love making them, and I love using them a lot in my lampwork bead designs. I even wrote a tutorial on how to make beautiful murrini!

Something I have been working on perfecting for the past year has been encasing murrini beneath a layer of crystal clear glass so that it resembles an underwater ocean scene. It started with my pier beads and has evolved into my new coral reef series beads which are more complex with many different elements in the design.

New Silver Glass Beads

On September 2, 2011January 20, 2012 By ccglassartIn Photos, What's Happening NowLeave a comment

I recently bought a new silver glass that not only has fun and unique reactive properties, but also produces some of the most vivid and intense deep shades of cobalt, plum, teal and turquoise I have ever seen in glass.

I had so much fun using this glass in most of this week’s beads…

Sea Urchins & My New Pier Series Lampwork Beads

On August 17, 2011January 20, 2012 By ccglassartIn Photos, What's Happening NowLeave a comment

Summer may be winding down but the heat is cranking up where I live! While the rest of the country has seen some of the hottest weather we, here in SoCal, have been experiencing a fairly mild summer. Until now…. Typically, this time of year, we really get cooking all the way through October.

So even though Fall is just around the corner, I am still thinking of and inspired by the beach!

This week’s beads include my new ‘Pier’ series. These beads just reminded me of the pylons of a pier and all the little creatures that you can find attached to them:

Continuing with the sea life theme, I have two small round beads (perfect size for earrings!) featuring an organic design that reminded me of prickly sea urchins: