Thread: murrini help
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Old 2009-03-24, 10:20am
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Thanks everyone who recommended my murrini tutorial for help!

Terryl, it sounds like you're getting some success from playing with some of the tips here. I too, don't usually apply a drop of clear on my murrini, just because that's usually not the look I'm after, but it certainly is a neat secondary effect you can get from these little guys. Keeping them raised is another! They generally will stay a bit crisper if they're raised, because you are keeping the heat away from them. Think of how dense black stringer 'creeps' when you apply a lot of heat to it. The same can happen to these elements. It's key to work cool, and to apply them as one of the last adornments you do for your beads. Smearing can also happen when the base glass gets to hot if the murrini is on it. I recently was playing around with a bead and applied some murrini, played too much and I ended up accidentally flattening the bead in one spot. As I tried to reshape the bead, the murrini ended up creeping to the heat, smearing it! So, too much heat either on, or in it's close vicinity will make it 'move'. This is why it's really best to have your final bead shape completed, then apply all the goodies so they don't shift on you.
As far as the 'contrast' in some murrini goes, a lot has to do with the way they were constructed, and what the maker intends the final murrini to look like. Sometimes I like to create super dramatic contrasty blends, while others are less strong. Each murrini maker brings their own artistic vision to the beadmakers who use them, they're all going to be unique in they're own way. The glass color characteristics themselves have a lot to do with it too. I can't speak for other murrini makers, but there are colors I personally avoid, and avoid certain color combinations because they may smear more readily than other colors, or just don't play nice with another color. I avoid using Ivory altogether in my blends as an example, for that reason. Perhaps you're even getting a color reaction between the base color and the murrini itself. This definitely is a possibility. If there is a reaction happening, you'll start to see a reaction line form between the base and the edge of the murrini. More heat will bring out that reaction, creating what I call the 'mud' effect . Don't rule this possibility out thinking that it's just 'you' making it turn muddy
There are some murrini out there that will benefit from poking, to get to your last question. If you are using murrini with lots of layers as mine do, these guys are best left un-poked. Poking makes the center colors disappear thus losing the dimension and interest of these particular chips. If you're using less ornately layered murrini and want to take advantage of that starburst look, first start by applying the murrini to the bead base. Once it's stuck on, gently heat the exposed end of the murrini till it glows a light orange, then poke with a sharply tipped tool in the very center of the chip, you don't have to poke to deeply either. This makes the outside lines implode in after it's heated a little more to make the divit disappear. This will form a nice starburst with a crisp center that radiates the lines.
Hope this all helps, and good luck!!
Renee Wiggins



Quote:
Originally Posted by terryl View Post
I am getting the best look out of leaving them slightly raised. Placing clear on top doesn't seem to work to well for me for some reason. I am getting crisper murrini by leaving the clear off. However, I am still having some smearing when I melt them completely flat. Also, some of the murrini I bought don't seem to have enough contrasts to the colors and some of them all to bleed into the same color of brown when I apply them. I hate to waste my little murrini I bought by repeatedly applying them in this manner but if I learn how to do this technique I will just buy some more. I think I would rather do this than spend alot of time making a base bead and decorating it and ruin it when I apply the murrini. If I want to poke the center to bring the lines all together, at what point should I do this.....how melted in should the murrini be when I do this step?


Terryl
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Renee Wiggins


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Last edited by JetAge Studio; 2009-03-24 at 10:25am.
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