Blog switch!

I'm really not on crack.

Several years ago Michael and I used to have the domain thehappyheathen.com. Stupidly, we let it expire and someone snatched it up. I took up the blog moniker 'dan y deri' a few weeks ago but honestly, I've been hankering for the old name. It seems to fit me better. So...I scored it here on Blogger and am exporting this blog over and I'll be at the new address.

The Happy Heathen

A few of you have graciously linked me on your sites. I'd really love it if you updated those. :)

For Family & Friends

On the left - copies that are going out to family members that couldn't make it to the wedding with a note from our parents.

On the right - copies that will go out to some of our friends as part of our 'Thank You' gifts. We're doing some other stuff for them as well.

Vaseline Bowl

Vaseline glass, also known as uranium/ouraline glass glows under black light and has a beautiful hue with natural light. We have a few pieces and always want more. Michael has a little black light just for the purpose of highlighting the glass.

Many old glasses have uranium in them and will have a slight glow under black light. Some of them begin to develop a purplish hue as they age due to this. If you have any old glasses, put them under black light and see if it glows. Another interesting detail is that some of our modern Pontarlier glasses actually have a glow. They were made using the old molds and some of the uranium imparted into the glass.

This bowl was a gift from our dear friend Stephanie and her husband Josh. Little do they know we'd had this style of bowl on watch before. I can honestly say it's a perfect match! We're so very lucky to have received so many wonderfully unique treasures from everyone.

Thank you!

Pin Cushion Cuff

When my friend Aad was getting ready to come over for the wedding, he asked his dear friend, the incredibly talented Natasja Martens of G+N / fashionfugitive to make something special for me. He kept joking that I'd never guess what was coming. One day he wanted to know if it was alright if he asked me a personal question. Sure. Then he asked what I thought was my waist size. So I gave it to him, in centimetres. He kept coming back to me saying that it couldn't possibly be right, that it was far too big. Um, ok. I knew I'd gained some weight in the last couple of years and that the Dutch are generally much more fit than we Americans. It took us about 10 minutes of trying to figure out if something was lost a bit in translation - Aad's english is actually better than mine - only to discover that my slightlty hazey eyes misread the question. They wanted to know what size was my WRIST.

The silk comes from the late Dutch designer Percy.

This is one of the many one-of-a-kind gifts we received. Apiece that I absolutely adore and I cannot wait to meet the lovely Ms. N.

I am hoping to do a more stylized photo op sometime soon.

One of several new projects.

Recent thrift store purchase. I love milk glass and I love hobnailing, but they're not mutually exclusive. We're trying to decide in which direction to go with restoration.

Do we...
- strip the wood and brass and then reseal both
- strip the wood and either stain or paint, and leave the brass (polished)
- paint both?

Frosted Spooky Candleholders.

I love our tumblers and will find ANY excuse to take photos of them in our decor. When not 'in use' we have them sitting on our bar with our absinthiana.

I recently stumbled upon a post where someone hacked their own version of silhouetted candles. Nicely done, I think, but I'd like to take it a step further and combine it with these instructions found on Country Living.

STEP 1: Measure the height and circumference of the glass candleholder you want to transform.
STEP 2: Scan or download a copyright-free black-and-white illustration onto your computer (we used antique drawings from The Clip Art Book, from $7.59; Gramercy). Using Adobe Photoshop or a similar photo-editing program, adjust the image's size and orientation to fit your vessel's measurements (it may help to print a sample first).
STEP 3: Once the image is the correct size, load white vellum into your printer and print. Gently set the image on a flat surface for a few minutes to allow the ink to dry.
STEP 4: Trim the vellum so it measures exactly as tall as your candleholder and half an inch wider than its circumference.
STEP 5: Wrap the paper around the candleholder and secure the overlapping ends with double-sided tape. Fit the glass with a candle and light.

I'll be back in the next week or two with our own versions. We need to purchase vellum this weekend for a couple of projects. But for now, I'll get this up for anyone to try.

Wheat, also at Gumps

Oh yes, wheat is another favorite.
Murano Glass Wheat Stems [set of 6]
'Delicate golden glass wheat stems are created by master craftsmen on the island of Murano in Italy. Arrange as shown, or in a vase with fresh flowers. Heads are glass, stems are silk-covered wire. 20"L.'

Delicately beautiful!