Vintage Wednesday: Collecting shoes.

Did you get excited when you saw the title of this post? Shoes? Yeah, not those shoes. GLASS shoes. And you thought you knew about Cinderella's slippers....

Did you know there are entire books devoted to identifying and collecting glass shoes?  Companies like Fenton, Boyd and Mosser have entire lines of these glass slippers - each with their own shape and personality. I'm not going to pretend I know the details of collecting these little beauties because I only have a couple, but I can give you a couple tips.

Glass type:
There are several different types of glass used to make these beauties. Some of the terms apply to the actual glass - such as milk, jadeite, frosted or opal satin, which are all opaque types of glass. Some terms apply to the design pressed into the glass - such as hobnail (looks like raised dots), rose (looks like roses pressed into the design), honeycomb or daisy and button (looks like the slippers pictured above).

Style:
There are several different styles of slippers still in production. Popular styles include: buckle, princess, cat, and bow.

These are the more modern styles of glass slippers - probably made since 1970. There are many other types of designs that I've seen, but have not yet explored. If you're interested in exploring more, I hope this has given you an interesting start!

Working Tuesday: Czech Glass

I've been presented with the possibility of traveling to the Czech Republic this summer. Beyond a long-held dream of photographing old Prague, I'm also intrigued with the idea of finding a better supplier of Czech glass beads. What is now the Czech Republic was once Bohemia, and Bohemian glass making has a long history in the area - they've apparently been at this since the 13th Century!

Anyone who sews or knits has probably found that the glass buttons from this area are among the most decorative - especially the jet buttons or the buttons with an AB finish on them. I also love the pressed glass beads that come from the area. I've been especially inspired by the little pressed flowers and leaves as each gives me a plethora of design ideas. Interestingly, the bead maker pushes glass rods through a series of molds that make up to 20 beads at a time - allowing for as many as 1,000 beads made in one day by one person.

In my research I've found that there are markets in Prague that sell beads by the bag, which is really my idea of heaven. I've still got to figure out how I'd get them out of the country, but what a problem to solve!

For now, this is still in the dream stage, but I'm enjoying the dream!

Vintage Wednesday: What is it?

Here's another piece used by Victorians to set an elaborate table. Some say it was used as a symbol of hospitality, others say it was used as a status symbol. It can be confused with an open sugar, a sugar bottom, a celery vase or even a tumbler. It's called a spooner.

A spooner was used to hold silver spoons - which probably gave rise to the idea that it was a status symbol since some couldn't afford silver spoons. It seems that spooners were often sold as part of a breakfast set: creamer, sugar, butter dish and spooner. Spooners are generally 4 to 6 inches tall with a beaded or serrated top edge. Tumblers are usually shorter and narrower and celery vases are generally much taller.

Spooners can be made of glass, silver or other metals and even ceramics. The glass spooners can be found in Jadite, Flow Blue and even carnival glass.

I've also read that a spooner evolved from what's called a "spill holder." A spill, splint or taper was used to light stoves, candles or pipes in the 1700s and early 1800s. But as matches became more readily available, the spill holder evolved into the spooner for the Victorian table.

Whatever the history, I've enjoyed my little spooner as it now holds my most prized silver spoons. I especially like it because the swans make me want to Swoon....

Vintage Wednesday: Etched Ruby Bohemian Glass

I am by no means a glass expert. When looking at glass pieces, as with many other pieces, I look at the workmanship of the design more than the intrinsic value of the piece. Sometimes I'm lucky and design correlates with value, but I generally buy for decorative purposes. If it's pretty and goes with my home and the price is right, I'll pick it up!

That's how I found this piece. I've always been drawn to the etched glass with a ruby surface and clear etched design - not really knowing the history, but loving the look. We were searching out vases to use as table decorations for my wedding and we found this piece in an antique store on Main Street in Buckhannon, WV. I splurged for this piece - paid $35 when I was looking for things under $5 - but I have so enjoyed it in my home!

In doing a little research, it seems there was an artist in North Bohemia named Friedrich Egermann (1777-1864). He developed a glass staining and engraving technique that often incorporated shells, stags and chateaus. Today this glass is generally called Egermann glass and I believe this vase is an example of that style of work.

The glass is carefully stained with silver or copper at a high temperature to create the color layer. The glass is then cut or engraved - I've also seen this process called intaglio engraving, though again I'm no expert - and sometimes gilded with gold to create a sheen. I've seen variations in the examples of engraving, so look closely at a piece for the fineness of the design.

I'm still learning about this incredible process. I do know, however, that the end result is stunning and this vase full of red roses never fails to put a smile on my face. Thankfully, my husband appreciates this and feeds my whimsy.

DIY Monday: Cleaning out vases

Next week I'm going to show you how to do event decorations on a budget, but this week I'm going to share a little trick my Mama taught me to clean out old bottles or vases with flower residue in them.

Say you find a lovely old bottle or vase at a flea market or thrift store, but there's yucky reside inside. You don't have a bottle brush and you have no way of getting that junk out - or so you think. Fear not! There's a way to clean it without a brush! You only have to know this one little secret:

That's right dear DIY-ers, denture cleaner. That's the secret. And why not? It works on dentures to break down residue. Why not on the inside of a bottle or vase?

Simply break up a tablet and drop it down into the bottle or vase and fill it with water. The water will turn blue and start to fizz. When the water turns clear and stops fizzing, your bottle should be clean. If it's not, empty the bottle of the liquid, put in another tablet and soak it for another round!

And that's my Mama's secret for getting bottles clean without a brush and without much fuss!