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WHAT A GIRL CAN
MAKE AND DO

New Ideas

for

Work

and

Play

What

A Girl Can Make And Do

BY

Lina Beard

and

Adelia B. Beard

New York

Charles Scribner’s

Sons

1902

Copyright, 1902, by

CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS

Published, October, 1902

TROW DIRECTORY

PRINTING AND BOOKBINDING COMPANY

NEW YORK

PREFACE

This new century, bringing with it the strong, healthy, independent, athletic American girl, makes a demand for new opportunities for the exercise of both mind and body. Resourcefulness and a wish to do things for one’s self are American traits strongly developed in the girls as well as in the boys; and, keeping step with their brothers, our girls are walking steadily onward, with new hopes and new ambitions in work and play, and are reaping new rewards.

This book is the result of the authors’ earnest desire to be of some assistance to their young friends by encouraging them in their wish to do things for themselves, and by pointing out some directions in which they may gratify this ambition. Within its covers are suggestions for a wide variety of things, useful, instructive, and entertaining, which a girl may make and do, with wholesome and genuine pleasure. The ideas that are worked out are essentially those of the authors, and are not, as is often the case, derived from other books. The drawings, too, are all original, as in “The American Girl’s Handy Book,” to which this is a companion volume.

In conclusion the authors wish to express their sincere thanks to the Delineator and the Woman’s Home Companion, whose prompt and generous courtesy, in returning such original drawings and material as were used in their respective magazines, has greatly facilitated the preparation of this work and added to its interest.

Flushing, June 16, 1902.

CONTENTS

WHAT A GIRL CAN MAKE

PART I
WHAT A GIRL CAN MAKE

Fig. 9.—The Girl at the Bench.

CHAPTER I
WHAT A GIRL CAN MAKE WITH HAMMER
AND SAW

This is an age when girls go to college and engage in athletic sports; when they have their manual training, as boys do and are learning to use their hands, as never before, in all sorts of skilful work. The deftness of their fingers is utilized not alone in embroidery, or what was once considered girl’s work, but in the manufacture of many useful, artistic, and beautiful objects once thought beyond their reach. Our girls no longer resort to the scissors to sharpen a lead-pencil or to their brother’s chisel to pull out tacks; they are beginning to know and appreciate the value of tools and are becoming proficient in their use.

If you are one of these modern girls, girls of the twentieth century, who like to use both brains and hands, a little workshop stocked with a few good tools and material for carpentry work will give you many hours of pure enjoyment. The tool-chest, denied to girls of the past generation, is yours for the asking; the manual training in the public schools has given to many of you the advantage of learning the use of saw, plane, and hammer, and your physical culture has produced the strength and energy for this active work.

The Workshop

Just a room, any room, that will afford sufficient light for your work, that is all you need for a beginning. Having the room you have a place for your first tool, if it is necessary to collect them one at a time, and it is much better to do that than to buy a cheap tool-chest. When you have one tool make a place for it and keep it in its place. A hammer, a saw, a hatchet, a sharp knife, a screw-driver, a gimlet, and a rule are the first tools you will need. The writer once made a very good mantel-board, cleated at the ends with rounded corners, which has stood the heating and drying process of many winters over an open fire, without warping, and her tools were simply a hatchet, a meat-saw, and a pocket knife. Of course, the work would have been much easier and more enjoyable had she possessed the proper tools, but this example serves to show how few tools are absolutely necessary. A plane, a chisel, and an auger-bit and brace will be needed later; after that a gouge, a try-square, and a file. These you may collect by degrees as your work grows more ambitious and you feel the need of them. Hooks, nails, tacks, and screws can be bought as required.

Have a hook for your saw and hang it up, lay your plane on its side, make a rack for your small tools something like Fig. 1, and have a box for your shavings. A shelf on which to keep your boxes of tacks and other small articles is indispensable; each of these boxes should be labelled and kept in its place; in fact, to get the full enjoyment from your workshop you must keep it in order and the tools just where you may always expect to find them.

What the Tools are for and How to Use Them

The Hammer.—A carpenter’s hammer is what you want, not a tack hammer, and it should be of medium weight. You are to use it in driving nails, in hammering things into place and in various ways not injurious to the hammer. The manner in which you hold this tool will make all the difference in the way you drive a nail. The hammer should be taken by the end of the handle and the head brought down squarely on the nail-head, otherwise the nail will slant to one side or perhaps bend.

Fig. 1.

The Saw.—The panel-saw is best suited to ordinary work, one having about ten teeth to the inch. Finer saws make a smoother cut, and you will probably find use for several, but one is enough to begin with. The saw is used for cutting large pieces of wood and for cutting across grain, and special saws serve for special purposes, such as sawing of curves and cutting out keyholes. With pencil and rule draw the line you wish your saw to follow. Stand above your work so that you may see the pencil line; hold the saw firmly in the right hand and with the left grasp the board, allowing your thumb to rest on the saw, above the teeth. This is to help guide the saw and to prevent cutting your hand. Take light, short strokes at first, then longer ones, using a little more force, and keep your saw at right angles with the board. If your material is large and heavy place it across two wooden horses, if light or small it is best to use a mitre-box.

The Hatchet.—You will find a good medium-sized hatchet with a sharp edge very useful, for cutting away or trimming, but it must be used with care, for to chop too vigorously will frequently split the wood. See that your hatchet does not follow the grain of the wood unless the grain runs in the direction you wish your cut to take.

The Knife.—Not a dainty pearl-handled pocket-knife but a strong, well-made, sharp-bladed jack-knife, large enough for all kinds of whittling. The knife is for fine cutting that cannot be done with the hatchet, and when one learns to whittle out various small articles much has been accomplished.

The Screw-driver.—It has been said that the feminine mind cannot grasp the difference between a screw-driver, a cork-screw, and a gimlet, and it remains with you to prove the contrary. A poor screw-driver is one of the most exasperating of poor tools, and a trial to one’s patience and temper; besides, it is of little use attempting to “make it do,” for it seldom will do. The edge is usually shaped like Fig. 2, and it slides and slips out of the groove of the screw until it has turned and worn down its edges and made the screw useless. Fig. 3 shows the proper shape for a screw-driver. The use of the tool is, of course, to put in and take out screws, and it is well to have two sizes, one for large, the other for small screws. Remember that in putting in a screw you turn it to the right, and to the left in taking it out.

Fig. 2 Fig. 3.

The Gimlet.—A medium-sized gimlet will answer your purpose. Use it for boring small holes and for starting holes for screws and large nails.

The Rule.—A rule is indispensable for measuring and laying out your work. A two-foot steel rule is the most useful, as it can be used both for measuring and ruling straight lines. A light folding rule is easier to handle in taking measurements, but you can make the other answer both purposes.

In taking measurements be as accurate as possible, and go over them several times to make sure they are correct. In ruling a line use the bevelled edge of the rule, hold it firmly in place with your left hand, and with a soft pencil in your right draw a line close to the edge of the rule. The wide, rather flat carpenter’s pencils are the best to use, but any soft lead-pencil will answer.

The Plane.—There are several kinds of planes, but the smoothing-plane will probably be all you will need, as you will not be likely to attempt to handle unplaned wood and will need the smoothing-plane only for finishing and smoothing off.

In using the plane hold it back of the iron (or blade) with your right hand, place your left on the stock (or wood) at the other end to help guide it, and push it forward as far as you can conveniently reach, bring it back, tipping it away from you in so doing, and take another stroke.

The farther the edge of the iron projects through the stock the deeper will be the cut and the thicker the shaving. To regulate this, tap on the stock at the forward end and loosen the iron, then adjust it to suit your work and fix it in place by driving down the wedge, which holds it, with a few light taps.

The Chisel.—This tool has a bevelled edge and is used for paring off the wood.

Unless you are quite careful there is danger of cutting your left hand in using the chisel, and it is best not to try to hold the work, but to fasten it in the vice; your left hand placed on the tool will steady and control it.

Fig. 4 Fig. 5.

Auger-bit and Brace.—For drilling large holes the auger-bit and brace are necessary. The bit resembles a gimlet in its spiral edge, but is not wedge-shaped, and the hole it makes is of unvarying size. You may have several bits for large or smaller holes. The brace is a handle which fits on the top of the bit, and makes it quite easy to manage.

The Gouge.—There are several kinds of gouges, the difference being in the shape of the blade; their curves vary from the shallow curve, Fig. 4, to the deeper one, Fig. 5. One with a moderate curve will prove the most useful. As the name suggests, the gouge is for gouging out the wood where it is necessary to make a groove, but be careful not to press too hard on the tool at first, as one is apt to make too deep a cut, and do not put your left hand in front of the blade.

Fig. 6.

The Try-square.—The square is a metal strip which forms an exact right angle and is used to test one’s work and keep it “square”; it is also used for ruling square corners. Fig. 6 shows its use in squaring off the end of a board. Figs. 7 and 8 show how the try-square will fit on an edge that is perfectly square and will not fit an imperfect one.

Fig. 7.

Fig. 8.

The File.—This tool is not indispensable, but is useful for smoothing off rounding edges and rough corners. Files for metal and those for wood differ, and should not be used indiscriminately. Rub the file back and forth over the surface to be smoothed, but do not press on it too heavily. If you are to use metal in your work a metal file is necessary. For wood a slightly curved surface is best.

The Carpenter’s Bench

When you can attain to a regular carpenter’s bench you will indeed be happy, but until then use a strong kitchen table that sits firmly on the floor or, better still, is fastened so that it cannot move. Have a carpenter add sides (a, Fig. 9), and a vice (b, Fig. 9). See page 2. You can hardly get along without a vice, for it is impossible to hold some of the work firmly enough without it.

The Horses

Fig. 10.

These wooden horses are convenient for holding boards when they are to be sawed, and for lifting work from the floor. You should have two of them, like Fig. 10, made by the carpenter.

The Mitre-box

This very useful contrivance is simply three pieces of narrow boards put together in the form of a box, having two sides and a bottom, but no ends or top. Eighteen inches is a suitable length, and its height should be no greater than the width of your saw. The mitre-box is used for holding the wood and guiding the saw at any angle. In the sides of the box are slits running from top to bottom, some passing diagonally, some at right angles through the boards. Any carpenter can make you a mitre-box; do not attempt one yourself, for to be of use it must be accurately made in every particular.

Choosing the Wood

It is well to know a little about what kind of wood to select when you are buying your material, for if you wish to make a durable article, one that will last long enough to pay for the making, you should not use wood that will warp and in a little while spoil your piece of work.

The heart-wood is always the best: this consists of boards cut from the heart, or centre, of the tree; they are harder, dryer than others, and less likely to warp or twist. The sap-wood, which is the part nearer the surface, contains so much sap it is difficult to season and will generally warp.

Select the boards yourself if possible, and see that they are planed equally on both sides and have square edges. Do not take a cracked board, a board with knot-holes or loose knots, or one that seems damp or musty, and be sure, if you can, that all your wood is well-seasoned.

Soft woods are best for your purpose at first, and while pine is very good, white-wood is better, and is easily worked.

What to Make

The Dressing-Table.

And now that all is ready and the workshop well stocked, what shall we make? What shall we not make, rather? Suppose we begin with a few simple pieces of furniture suitable for a summer cottage, a log-camp, or a play-house. We will use boxes, clothes-horses, or anything of the kind that will make a good foundation for the article and save extra work. When you feel that you can construct a piece of furniture without such helps, do so by all means, but at first do not scorn the humble box and barrel, they are excellent things to practise on.

We will start with

A Dressing-Table

Since the writer made one herself for her room in a log-house in the mountains of Pennsylvania, she is quite sure it can be done with very little practice in carpentry or cabinet-making.

Fig. 11.

Fig. 12.

The dressing-table is made of two pine shelves, two cigar-boxes, two small brackets, and an ordinary mirror. For the large shelf choose a board about twelve inches wide or wider, if you have one, measure the space your dressing-table is to occupy, mark the size on the board with a pencil, using your try-square to make your line at right angles with the edge of your board, and saw off the board at the ruled line. If the room is neither plastered nor ceiled and the uprights are left uncovered, let the large shelf reach across from one upright to the next, and make the smaller shelf just long and wide enough to fit in between. Saw out your supporting braces after the pattern given in Fig. 11, with the grain of the wood running up and down, making six in all; two for the large shelf, two for the small shelf, and two for the little side-brackets. Draw a line at each end of your shelf where the brace is to be fastened, and on this line bore two holes entirely through the board. With screws long enough to reach through the shelf and into the braces fasten the shelf and braces together, Fig. 12. Bore a hole near the bottom edge of each brace, as in Fig. 13, and directly over each brace screw into the top of the shelf, as near the edge as possible, a screw-eye, Fig. 14. Cover both shelves with pretty cretonne, putting a ruffle on the large shelf and drawing the material neatly over the edges of the smaller one.

Fig. 13.

On each end of the large shelf tack a cigar-box, which you have previously painted white. These boxes are for holding brushes and combs. Screw strong hooks into the uprights at the proper distance from the floor, then hook your large shelf on by the screw-eyes at the top, and screw the braces to the uprights through the holes at their lower corners. The upper shelf, not being so heavy, needs only the hooks and screw-eyes to support it, and screws at the bottom of the braces are unnecessary. Hang this only a little way above the other shelf. Make the small brackets of thinner wood and let them be square, of a size to fit the uprights. One brace for each bracket is all that is necessary, and the braces must, of course, be smaller than

Fig. 14. those used for the shelves. Paint the brackets white like the side boxes; enamel paint is the best to use, as it gives a hard, smooth surface. Only the hooks and screw-eyes are required to hold the brackets. Hang the mirror with its bottom edge resting on the top shelf, as shown in the illustration.

The Washstand.

A Wash-stand

to go with the toilet table is constructed on the same principle; the shelf used for this, however, must be wider in order to hold the wash-basin. If cutting a round hole in the shelf, like Fig. 15, is too difficult, do not attempt it, but leave the surface plain and place your bowl on top.

Make your braces quite strong and screw them to the wall. Make side-brackets, as for the dressing-table, and cover them and the shelf with white enamel cloth. Cut the edge of this in points, turn it over and tack to the edge of the shelf with white-headed tacks. The illustration will give you an idea of the appearance of this wash-stand. For

The Towel-rack

use two broom-sticks, cut one shorter than the other, and paint them white. Fasten them together with strong cord, leaving a six-inch space between, and hang them over the

Fig. 15. wash-stand as shown in the illustration. Though the top stick is shorter than the other, both must be long enough to reach across and rest against the two uprights of the wall. This allows space at the back and gives plenty of room for the towels.

Portable Corner Clothes-Press

A Portable Corner Clothes-press

Use two folds of an ordinary, large-sized clothes-horse for the frame of your clothes-press. Make two three-cornered shelves with back edges at perfect right angles and measuring half the length of the cross-pieces of the frame. These shelves are to rest on the cross-pieces, therefore you must saw off the corners at the back in order to make it fit, Fig. 16. Across the outer edge of the top shelf nail securely a strip of wood three inches wide, having its top edge on a level with the top of the shelf, Fig. 17. Into this strip, as well as into the top cross-pieces, screw clothes-hooks, placing them about eight inches apart. With short wire-nails, or screws if you wish your press to be very strong, fasten the top shelf on the upper cross-pieces and the other shelf on the middle cross-pieces of the frame. Paint the shelves and the inside of the frame white, and over the outside tack flowered cretonne or chintz, remembering to have the right side of the material turned inward. Fasten a brass or galvanized iron rod to the top of the two front uprights and from this hang a curtain of the same material. To fit the holders, or fastenings, for the curtain rod it will be necessary to cut notches in the inner corners of the uprights, Fig. 18, otherwise they will not be at the proper angle to hold the rod. To prevent dust from settling upon the clothing, tack a three-cornered piece of cretonne over the top of the frame. The shoe-box shown in the illustration is not a part of the clothes press, but is a convenient addition.

Fig. 16.

Fig. 17

Fig. 18.

A Five O’clock Tea-Table

A Five O’clock Tea-Table.

Make this of an oblong box with square ends and of a convenient height when set on end.

Cover the box neatly with matting or burlap, then make four shelves long enough to reach across the sides of the box and about nine inches wide. Round off the corners of the shelves as in Fig. 19 and make one brace for each shelf. To each side of the box at varying heights fasten with screws two narrow strips of wood or cleats, two inches apart, Fig. 20. Screw the braces to the shelves and paint all to match the color of the covering used on the box; then rest the back edge of the shelf on the cleats prepared for it and screw the brace to the box and the shelf to the cleats, Fig. 21. Thus securely fastened the shelf becomes immovable and there is not the slightest danger of its slipping or tipping. The illustration shows how the shelves are placed. This little tea-table is especially suited to the piazza, which, from your workshop, you may fit up for a place to entertain your friends most delightfully.

Fig. 19.

Fig. 21.

Fig. 20.

A Piazza Flower-stand

will make a charming feature of your summer parlor, for flowers are always needed to give the finishing touch in beautifying the inside or the outside of a home.

Piazza Flower-Stand.

For the frame of the flower-stand use one fold of the ever-useful clothes-horse. Make twelve three-cornered braces, cutting them out like Fig. 22, four measuring seven inches on their edges, four nine inches, and four twelve inches or as long as the width of the board will allow. Saw out four shelves which will reach exactly across the frame, two of them nine inches and two eleven inches wide. Screw the smaller braces to the narrow shelves, the larger ones to the widest, making sure the back edges of shelf and brace are on an exact line; fitting them in your try-square will assure you of that. To give additional strength to the frame, measure the distance from the bottom edge of the lower cross-piece, where it joins the upright, diagonally across to the other upright within one inch of the floor (Fig. 23), then take two narrow boards, say three inches wide and one inch thick, and saw them the required length. Lay your frame down flat, place first one diagonal in position, then the other, and make a pencil line across the upper and lower corners showing where they must be taken off in order to fit inside the frame. A mitre-box is very useful here, for by its aid you can saw your boards

Fig. 22. at the required angle without difficulty. Lacking that, be careful to have your edges straight. Place the diagonals in position in the frame and mark the width of each on the surface of the other where they cross. Between these two lines, on the edges of the boards, draw a line which will divide the edge exactly in half. Saw along the oblique lines down to the line on the edge, then with a chisel pare down to the edge lines, thus “halving” your boards, Fig. 24.

Fig. 23.

Cross your diagonals at the halving and with long wire nails, driven from the outside of the frame, nail them in place, Fig. 25. Now fit the largest braces on the front and back of each upright with edges resting on the floor as in Fig. 26, and screw them on with screws near the top as shown by C and D, Fig. 26. Have the outside edges of the braces on a line with the outside

Fig. 24. edges of the uprights; this will leave a space of about an inch on the inside of the uprights. The braces will hold the frame in an upright position, but in order to support any weight it must be further strengthened by adding a platform to which the braces may be screwed. Make the platform of a size to fit inside the uprights and reach across from end to end of the braces. Two

Fig. 25. or more boards will be required to give sufficient width, and it will be necessary to stay them by putting on three cleats across the under side, as in Fig. 27. These cleats must be of equal width and thickness and, as in all cleats, the grain of the wood must run lengthwise. Cut notches at each end, as shown in the diagram, to fit the projecting uprights, then fit the platform into the frame, and screw the braces on to its edges, Fig. 28. You have now a firm foundation and may add your shelves. The widest shelves are to go across the frame on either side on a line with the top of the lower cross-piece, the narrower

Fig. 26. shelves on a line with the top of the middle cross-piece. Fasten these in place with screws at the lower end of each brace, and with hooks in the uprights, and screw-eyes at the top of the shelves, as in the shelves for the dressing-stand, Fig. 14.

Instead of four you now have two very broad shelves, running directly

Fig. 27. through the frame. Take measurements of these shelves and make a shallow box, about seven inches deep, to fit each shelf. To prevent the boxes springing at the seams from dampness, get a strip of tin three inches wide, bend it through the middle lengthwise, and tack it over the seams, as in Fig. 29. Paint the entire frame and the outside and edges of the boxes dark green, and then varnish them. Of course the paint must be quite dry before the varnish is applied.

Fig. 28.

Put a layer of charcoal in each box, then a layer of sand, and over all a thicker layer of good soil. Fill your boxes with flowering plants and hanging vines, and use the lower platform for potted plants. From the top cross-piece a small hanging basket may be hung, adding its beauty and sweetness to the rest.

Fig. 29.

The illustration will give an idea of the appearance of the flower-stand, though much of the beautiful, luxuriant growth of plant and vine had to be omitted in the drawing so that the construction of the stand might be distinctly shown.

Hooded Chair Made of Packing-Box.

Hooded Chair Made of Packing-Box.

A Hooded Chair Made of a Packing-box

You must select with care the box for this rather unique piece of furniture, for you will want it to be durable. If you prefer you may make it altogether of new material after the same pattern, but a box for the foundation will simplify the work. When standing on end your box should measure about five feet six inches in height, eighteen inches in depth, and twenty inches in width. Nail two cleats, each thirteen inches long, in an upright position on each side and at the back of the box, as shown by the letters E, F, G, H in Fig. 30, placing the front ones, E, one inch back from the edge as in diagram. Fig. 30 gives one side and the back of the box. Across and resting on the top of these upright cleats nail the cleats I and J. Lay the box on its side and draw a curve like Fig. 31, starting the line four inches from the top and ending it two feet from the bottom. The curve at its greatest fulness should take in half the width of the side. Draw a curve exactly like the first on the other side of the box; saw carefully along the lines, following them as closely as possible, and then take off the remaining rough edges with a chisel.

Fig. 30. Nail a strip of wood four inches wide across the front at the top to finish the hood, Fig. 32. Box in the lower front up to the top of the cleats and there make a seat to fit in the chair and rest on the cleats, Fig. 32. You will notice that in the seat, near the forward corners, are two holes; these are for the adjustment of the rest, which gives additional comfort to the chair, and upon which one may stretch one’s self out luxuriantly. Two boards, three feet four inches long, will be required for the rest, which should be just wide enough to fit easily inside the chair, resting on the seat. Cleat the rest at each end and in the middle, as in Fig. 33, putting the end cleats on the edges of the boards and the middle one underneath. Round the corners and smooth them off with knife or chisel.

Fig. 31.

Fig. 32.

Fig. 33.

Measure the distance from the top of the seat to the floor and make the end-piece (Fig. 34) for the foot of the rest exactly that height, for the foot must be on a level with the other end when adjusted. Screw the end-piece to the rest with screws passing through the top of the boards into the top edge of the end-piece, and put braces at the corners to keep it secure, Fig. 35. Bore holes three-quarters of an inch in diameter at the upper corners of the rest, making them one inch from the cleat and two inches from the side edges of the boards, Fig. 33. Place this end of the rest on the seat of the chair, allowing it to lap about four inches, and through the holes just made mark corresponding places for the holes in the seat. Make

Fig. 34. or buy wooden pegs like Fig. 36, and slip them through the holes in rest and seat when you wish to adjust the rest. The ordinary wooden easel peg is about what you want for this purpose.

Fig. 36. Fig. 35.

Pad the sides and back of the chair with cotton batting, using only enough tacks to hold it in place, then cover the chair inside and out, except the seat, with pretty cretonne, making a box-plaited ruffle for the front, as shown in the illustration. Pad the top of the rest up nearly to the holes in the end, and cover it with the cretonne. Use an old feather pillow for the seat cushion, and another (smaller) for an extra one at the back, and cover them also with cretonne.

CHAPTER II
POSSIBILITIES OF AN EASTER EGG

Throughout the entire United States Easter eggs are very popular, and the practice of coloring them is increasing rather than diminishing. The stores are full of all sorts of novelties in real or simulated eggs; some valued at very large sums have been manufactured in London, but Uncle Sam does not raise such costly varieties. The real fun is in coloring one’s own eggs, and if the eggs can be transformed into something else, the sport will be doubled. To turn an egg into

A Frog That Will Swim

in the water is a new idea, and one which will furnish no end of diversion. Cut stiff paper in the shape of Fig. 37. Make a

Fig. 37. small hole on one side of an egg (Fig. 38, B) and a tiny hole at one end (A), remove the contents by shaking the egg and blowing in at the end A. Then fit the shell on a stand made of a paper box with a hole cut in it just large enough to hold the egg firmly, and pour some melted wax in at the hole B, using great care to keep the egg steady, that the weight may fall exactly in the centre and make a perfect balance.

Paste paper over each hole and fit the frog (Fig. 37) on the egg, keeping the side of the egg with the covered opening B for the top, forming the back of the frog. Remove the paper frog and cover the slashes cut in the back with melted sealing-wax, while hot adjust it on the egg, pressing the slashes against the shell

Fig. 38. before the wax hardens and holding them in place until they adhere. When perfectly dry paint the frog mottled green on the back and a yellowish white underneath in oil colors (Fig. 39). Try to recall the coloring of a real frog and make this one as lifelike as possible. Pour water in a large basin and stir it around to produce a current. The paint having dried, place the frog on the top of the water

Fig. 39. and watch it swim. If you would like to race these queer Easter eggs, make two or three frogs and start them all swimming at the same time.

Should oil paints not be at hand, use stiff brown paper, preferably glazed, for Fig. 37. Make a hole at each end of the egg-shell and remove the contents. Drop some shot in the shell and glue paper over each opening; then fasten the paper frog, with the hole in its back (Fig. 37), securely on the egg. Wait until it is perfectly dry before placing the little animal on the water, where it will look very comical and lifelike, even though it is not green in color.

At break of day on Easter morn the sun dances for joy, says the old legend, and if you would prove it, arise early and watch the reflection of the sun as it plays hide-and-seek on the surface of the clear water which you have placed in a tin basin where it can catch the first rays from the “King of Day.” A breath of air will cause the water to move, and with the motion comes the dance, as the sun sparkles and glides here and there, glittering and laughing in its joyous play. The legend is a pretty one and its meaning deeper than appears on the surface.

Fig. 40.

Fig. 41.

Fig. 42.

Fig. 43.

Beside enabling one to see the sun dance, being up early gives time, before breakfast, to help decorate the table as a pleasant surprise to the family. One of the most attractive ornaments is the white dove with its snowy wings spread wide, while it floats and sways in mid-air as if it were really flying slowly and softly through the room. It is easily made. Take a pure white egg, and empty the contents; then cut from writing paper the wing (Fig. 40), head (Fig. 41), and tail (Fig. 42). Pin each in turn on a fresh, smooth piece of cotton wadding and cut the raw cotton out along the lines of the pattern. Make two wings of the cotton wadding, and cut two wing-bones (Fig. 43) from stiff paper; open each cotton wing along the upper edge about a quarter of an inch in depth, according to dotted line O O (Fig. 40), insert a paper bone in each opening and gum it sparingly here and there. Smooth up the edges of the cotton wings, covering the bones entirely; then gum the wings to the sides of the egg according to the dotted line on one end. Fasten the tail in place and, last of all, the head; open the neck a little and paste each side of the open edge on the egg. Bend the wings out, as if the bird were flying.

Fig. 44.

To float the dove in the air, make a knot in a piece of fine thread and with a needle run the thread through a small square of white court-plaster; pull the knot up tight to the plaster, unthread the needle, and with the court-plaster over the knot, dampen it and gum the thread down tight on the back of the dove, something as a leather sucker is stuck on a brick; it will soon dry. In the morning suspend the dove over the centre of the table (Fig. 44) by tying the end of the thread on the chandelier. Let it be about ten inches above the dishes. If you can handle pen and ink very lightly, the bird’s eyes and mouth may be carefully marked, although this is not absolutely necessary, as the effect is almost the same without the features being emphasized.

Fig. 45.

Fig. 46.

One of the minor sports now gladly participated in by the girls, is top-spinning, and the amount of fun they derive from the whirling playthings is only equalled by their skill in the game. All kinds of tops are welcomed and experimented with but the queerest is the

Spinning Egg

Easter top (Fig. 45) made of a hard-boiled egg colored red, with a disk of stiff red paper (Fig. 46) fitted and glued on with sealing-wax. When twirled by the fingers the toy will whiz around almost equal to a peg top. Try it, and try also

Fig. 47.

The Kaleidoscope,

for an egg-shell containing a kaleidoscope is a still greater novelty. In preparing this it is better to blow the egg first, then, by puncturing holes, as in Fig. 47, each end of the shell can be removed evenly. Care must be taken to thoroughly rinse and dry the shell, as any moisture from the egg will dim and blur the glasses, which should be kept perfectly clear. Fasten with mucilage three strips of glass, two inches long and one-half inch wide, to a piece of black paper, as in Fig. 48. The dark paper left between the light strips will allow the two end-pieces of glass to be brought together, thus forming a triangle, which is held in place by pasting the paper extending beyond the edge of the last strip of glass over on the edge of the first piece of glass. Fasten triangular pieces of glass, like Fig. 49, to the ends, in the following manner:

Fig. 48.

Fig. 49.

Fig. 50.

Fig. 51.

Cut from paper, not too stiff, a circle one inch in diameter, out of the centre of which cut a triangle of even proportion, just a trifle smaller than the glass, see Fig. 50. Paste the triangular glass, Fig. 49, over the triangular hole in the paper circle, Fig. 50, then fit this paper-framed glass to one end of the cylindrical triangle, and, folding the paper down smoothly, fasten with mucilage, to hold it firmly in place. Put several small pieces of differently colored glass into the kaleidoscope and close the other end in the same way as the first. When this part of the work is finished, slide it carefully into the shell, and over each end paste a piece of bright-colored paper with a triangular hole in

Fig. 52. the centre, as shown in Fig. 51. A half-yard of colored ribbon of the same shade as the paper, tied around the egg, forms a loop to hang it up by, and also enhances its appearance (Fig. 52). In connection with the egg another emblem frequently found in the shops is the

Easter Hare

Why this little animal is associated with Easter eggs no one seems to be able to tell. There are several legends which explain the connection, each one different from the others. This is the prettiest:

"Scarcely had the Winter King left on his way to Northland when the young Prince, Spring, passed along, bringing with him delicate flowers and wild birds. The flowers charmed his senses with their exquisite perfume, and the birds entertained and delighted him with their sweet songs; but Spring was lonely and sighed for the children of the earth, for whom he had brought these fair gifts. Thinking, perchance, they did not know of his coming, he concluded to send them tidings, when suddenly a little hare appeared, and immediately the Prince decided that the swift-footed animal should be his messenger. The little hare, however, begged hard to be spared, as he stood in terror of the dreadful shot-gun, which had killed so many of his brothers. But Spring, smiling said: ‘You shall be the bearer of gifts to the people, then they will not harm you,’ and the hare, calmed but hardly convinced, consented to do the will of the Prince.

"Then Spring wove a dainty willow-basket and filled it with pretty colored eggs, which the birds gave him, and this he handed to the hare to give to the people, with many sweet messages from Spring.

“Taking the basket in his mouth, the hare trotted off rapidly toward the nearest village. When he reached there, however, fearing the grown people, he delivered the messages to the children and gave them all the pretty eggs.”

A delightful little legend, isn’t it? And Spring must have been well pleased with the hare for choosing to deliver his messages to the children, for on this day it is the young people who first know of the coming of Spring.

Hares Made of Eggs

The Easter hares shown in Fig. 53 are made of eggs. Goose eggs are the best to use—they are so much larger than hen’s eggs.

Blow the egg if you desire to keep the little hare; if you wish later to eat it, boil the egg hard.

Take two little tufts of cotton, roll and pinch them in shape for the ears, then two more tufts for the forefeet; fasten ears and feet to the shell with gum arabic, in the position shown in Fig. 53. Remember, the small end of the egg is the hare’s head; on this end, below the ears, draw with pen and ink the eyes, nose and mouth, using Fig. 53 as a guide.

Fig. 53.

If you make two hares, place them together on a fresh, green leaf of lettuce, and they will look very natural.

Did Palmer Cox have in mind an egg when he drew the picture of one of his famous Brownies? This queer little character certainly suggested one so forcibly that it was impossible to resist trying the experiment of making his likeness from an egg, and

Fig. 54.

The Brownie

shows the result, see illustration.

Prepare the shell of a goose egg as for the Easter hare, and follow the directions given for blowing the egg. Fig. 54 is the Brownie’s face. Trace this on tracing-paper, turn the other side and rub a soft lead-pencil all over the back until that side of the paper is covered with lead, taking care not to tear it in doing so. Place the face on the shell, the printed side out, and holding it steady, go over the lines with a pencil. This will reproduce the face on the shell, then with pen and black ink strengthen the drawing. The small end of the shell is the head and the face must be drawn well up on it.

The Brownie.

Make the Brownie’s costume, cap and all, of brown material. An old brown stocking will be just the thing to use. Fig. 55 is the pattern of the cap; the dotted lines on the edges show where the seam is to be taken, and the dotted line running from side to side shows where the cap is to be turned up. Fig. 56 is the back and Fig. 57 half of the front of the jacket. Fig. 58 is the pattern of half of the trousers, which are made in two pieces cut exactly alike.

Fig. 55.

Fig. 56.

Make two little rolls of unbleached cotton, two inches long, for the arms. Fig. 59 shows how the muslin is turned up on one edge and then rolled. Fig. 60 gives the roll stitched and complete. When the jacket is made, slip the arms into sleeves and fasten at top of sleeve. Make the legs just as you did the arms, but use black cloth for them instead of white. Finish the trousers and sew in the legs at the dotted lines.

When the costume is complete cut a disk of soft muslin like Fig. 61, and slip through it, at the centre, a needle threaded with strong linen thread. A long darning needle will be the best. Pass the needle through the hole in the large end of the shell and up through the hole at the top. Draw the disk of muslin down to the large knot in the end of the thread, then bring it up close to the egg as in Fig. 62 and paste the muslin on the shell.

Fig. 57.

Fig. 58.

Fig. 59.

Fig. 60.

Fig. 61.

Fig. 62.

Dress the Brownie in his clothes; first his trousers, then his jacket; fasten them here and there with glue; run the needle which you have passed through the shell up through the little cap and out at its point on top. Slide the cap down on his head and glue in place.

Let the thread be long enough to hold while you dance the Brownie on the floor.

Eggs can also be turned into

Fruits, Vegetables, Opera Glasses, and Dishes

How would you like great, luscious purple plums, watermelons and fine radishes for breakfast? We can manage to have them, and at the same time may be served mammoth acorns—not the kind gathered for cups and saucers, but quite different. These are as large as eggs and either all brown or green in color. They taste something like hard-boiled eggs, and, what is more strange, the plums, watermelons and radishes all have a similar flavor. To prepare them, color some eggs, make the eggs all of solid hues,—a few rich purple, several red, others brown or light green, one or two dark green. When the eggs are boiled hard and of the desired shade change them into the vegetables and fruits. Begin by making

Fig. 63.

Fig. 64.

Fig. 65.

Fig. 66.

The Radish

Gum a number of crisp tissue-paper leaves cut from Fig. 63 on the big end of the red eggs. Fold each leaf lengthwise through the centre, according to the dotted line (Fig. 63); then slip a hatpin or the back of the blade of a table-knife tight up in the fold and, holding the leaf in place with the right hand, gradually push it up together on the blade with the left hand; this gives the leaf a natural crimped appearance (Fig. 64). Take a small piece of raw cotton and dip it in the dye, or, better still, color it with a little crushed red crayon; then pull the cotton into the form of Fig. 65. Fasten this red point on the small end of the egg and the egg will be a radish (Fig. 66). Use a dark green egg to make the baby

Fig. 67.

Watermelon[Watermelon]

Mark uneven, lengthwise bands around it with a soft lead-pencil and fasten in the stem with sealing-wax. Bore a hole in the large end of the melon, making the opening big enough to admit the end of a small curved twig which must form the stem; put on enough sealing-wax to secure firmness (Fig. 67). Convert the purple egg into

Fig. 68.

A Plum

by fastening it on a natural twig in the same way you stuck the melon on its stem. Gum two green tissue-paper leaves to the branch for foliage (Fig. 68).

The funny big

Acorn

must likewise be attached to a stem, and on its small end

Fig. 69. you should fasten with sealing-wax a leaf bud from a lilac bush; if that cannot be obtained, make the little point of cotton. Let a band of colored raw cotton or crumpled tissue-paper be glued on to form the edge of the acorn cup (Fig. 69). When the fruit is ready for the table, serve each piece on a separate small plate in which has first been laid a white doily or a home-made mat cut from white paper.

Fresh flowers always give an added charm to the breakfast table, and in

A Dainty Vase

their value is doubled. Select three large-sized eggs, bore holes in the small ends of each, and carefully make the openings large enough to admit the

Fig. 70. points of a pair of small, sharp scissors. With these cut the holes to a diameter of nearly one inch, remove the contents of each and place the shells close together, as in Fig. 70. Notice where the sides touch and drop hot sealing-wax there to fasten the three shells together.

Flower vases are collected by people whose aim is to obtain as odd and as many vases as possible. Other collectors delight in teapots, and you will find on their shelves all sorts of queer and antique affairs. If you happen to have a friend with such a hobby, give her

Fig. 71.

A Unique Little Teapot

to add to her collection—one from which the tea can actually be poured out of the saucy, wee spout (Fig. 71). Remember, however, the fragile little affair cannot be placed on the hot stove. Blow the contents from an egg and, if desired, color it. Have the sealing-wax of a broken color, if it is obtainable, such as soft gray, delicate brown or quiet gray-green. The work will appear better than when more positive colors are used. With sharp scissors carefully cut a round hole in each end of the shell and another small one in the side, a short distance from

Fig. 72. the top, as an opening for the spout. Soaking the shell in warm water for nearly half an hour will render

Fig. 73. it less brittle. Make the bottom of the teapot of a round piece of stiff paper; cover the upper side of the paper all over with melted sealing-wax, and before the wax hardens set the shell down on it. For greater security drop melted sealing-wax entirely around the bottom where it joins the shell. Let the wax splash up on the egg; it gives a decorative effect. The spout (Fig. 72) should be cut from stiff paper, also the handle (Fig. 73); fasten both on the egg-shell with sealing-wax in their respective positions, following the dotted lines. When finished test the teapot to make sure it is water-proof; then fill it more than half full with water and have the fun of

Fig. 74. pouring the water in a tiny stream out of the spout. If the teapot leaks the least bit, fill the crack with sealing-wax. Be sure that the little gift is in perfect order before it leaves your hands.

Having completed the teapot, it will be easy work to make

The Sugar Bowl

Use two strips of paper for the handles; fasten them on with sealing-wax, and set the round bottom of the half egg-shell in the soft sealing-wax which you have dropped on a circular bit of paper. The paper being flat will give the sugar bowl a level stand, enabling it to remain erect and firm (Fig. 74).

In old-fashioned Southern country-houses there is usually a pail of clear, cold spring water conveniently near, with a gourd dipper from which to drink in place of a common glass. The gourds are interesting, odd-looking drinking vessels, but cannot compare in quaintness with the little

Fig. 75.

Egg Dippers

fashioned from egg-shells. A large half of an egg-shell forms the bowl and a slender stick the handle (Fig. 75). Bore a hole in one side of the dipper and slide the end of any kind of a slender stick through. Fasten this securely in place with hot sealing-wax both outside and inside at the juncture of the bowl and handle, and in less time than it takes to tell it the dipper will be made. Place all the Easter gifts you have manufactured on a table where you may enjoy them, and in order that you shall get the full benefit of their beauty, look at them through a pair of opera-glasses; but first you must make the glasses. Cut Fig. 76 from card-board; then bore holes in each end of two eggs, remove the contents and cut the openings large enough to see through (Fig. 77). The egg after the holes are made is shown in Fig. 78. Attach the large ends of the shells to Fig. 76 by means of melted sealing-wax; glue them on tightly, and the opera-glasses will be ready for use (Fig. 79).

Fig. 76.

Fig. 77.

Fig. 78.

Fig. 79.

Paper Butterflies that Fly, and Egg Frogs that Swim.

CHAPTER III
A PAPER EASTER

Even play eggs manufactured of paper have many possibilities. Of course, all girls would rather make these for themselves than to buy them, be the trifles ever so beautiful; for, after all, the purchased eggs can only be looked at and then put away. You cannot have any real sport with them; cannot take them apart and put them together again any more than “all the king’s horses and all the king’s men” could restore “Humpty Dumpty” after his fall; nor can you change these designs from one thing to another, each complete in itself. Only the home-made Easter egg admits of such manipulation. It is an Enchanted Egg and from it can be made

Fig. 80.

Fig. 81.

Fig. 82.

An Ostrich, Rabbit, Penguin, and Rooster

To make the egg, cut from medium-weight water-color paper two egg-shaped designs, Fig. 80; in one of these cut two slits exactly like Fig. 81; lay this over the second paper egg, being very careful to have the two perfectly fitted, and with a pin-prick mark the ends of the slits of the top egg into the under one; stick the pin entirely through, first at one end and then at the other of each slit; remove the top egg and draw a straight line from pin-point to pin-point of the upper and then of the lower slit; these lines are guides and render it easy to cut the slits to correspond with those in the first egg. The two eggs must be exactly alike, as they are in reality the two sides of one egg. Trace the markings of Fig. 82 on one egg and spread strong paste sparingly over the darkened portion, not allowing it to extend in the least across the boundary lines, for the white spaces must be left free, that they may form openings or pockets. Again fit the two sides together (the paste will cause them to adhere), and place the egg under a few books, or some other weight, to dry, and in a little while it will be ready for transformation.

Changing an Egg Into a Rooster

Fig. 83.

Fig. 85.

Fig. 86.

Fig. 84.

Trace the rooster’s head (Fig. 83), his tail (Fig. 84), his wings (Fig. 85), and his foot (Fig. 86), on the water-color paper. Make two feet and two wings; either paint the natural markings or indicate them with ink on the different parts, then slide the head in the large end of the egg at D, Fig. 82, fitting it in between the two sides according to the line drawn above

Fig. 87. the letter D on neck of rooster. In the same way place the tail in the egg at the small end, A, Fig. 82; fit the wings in, one on each side, at the slit E; notice that each wing is cut on both sides of the extension E, to bring the top edges of the wings up higher, when they are in position, than their central top portions. Slide the feet in the slit F, one on each side, slightly bending them out from each other; the rooster (Fig. 87) will then stand alone when it is placed on a level surface.

A Rabbit from the Egg

Fig. 92.

Fig. 88.

Fig. 89. Fig. 90. Fig. 91

After the rooster has served its day remove the different parts and leave the egg as it was at first. We are now ready to construct a rabbit. Make the head (Fig. 88), the tail (Fig. 89), one fore foot (Fig. 90), and two hind legs (Fig. 91), of the same water-color paper. Carefully slip the head in the small end of the egg, Fig. 82, A, and place the tail down low in the large end of D; the piece which represents the fore feet—it should be painted to look like two, one slightly back of the other—is placed at the opening B, and the hind legs are fastened on each side of the egg in the upper slits E. Bend the hind legs out a trifle and stand the little rabbit on its feet (Fig. 92). If you wish you can copy the markings on this one and make your rabbit look as natural as possible. All the animals that you make should be white, except the penguin, as the white egg forms the body of each one.

Fig. 98.

The Egg Develops Into an Ostrich

Fig. 93.

Fig. 94.

Fig. 96.

Fig. 97.

Fig. 95.

In order to hatch the ostrich change the rabbit back again to an egg. Cut from light-weight card-board the head (Fig. 93), and the two legs (Figs. 94 and 95); these must be stiff and strong: you will notice that the legs are not bent alike. Use water-color paper for the two wings (Fig. 96) and a tail (Fig. 97). The wings and tail should look as much like ostrich-plumes as you are able to make them. Slide the extension of the neck, Fig. 93, D, into the upper part of the large end of the egg, D, Fig. 82, and the extension of the tail into the small end, A, fitting it in according to the line on the tail drawn around A; slip a wing into each side of the egg at the slits E, and finally fasten the legs, one on each side, in the slits F. Slightly bend the legs outward and adjust them so they will balance the body perfectly; the ostrich is now able to stand alone and will even appear to be walking (Fig. 98).

To Hatch a Penguin from the Egg

Fig. 103.

Fig. 100.

Fig. 99.

Fig. 101.

Fig. 102.

Make the head like Fig. 99. A is the portion which must be placed in the small end of the egg, A, Fig. 82, allowing the lower curve of the head, K, to extend down over the egg. Cut from very stiff writing-paper a like curve, and paste it in position on the other side of the head, where it should hang free: only the top edge of the piece being fastened on the head in order that the curve may easily slip down over the other side of the egg. This will make both sides of the bird appear alike. Fold a piece of writing-paper, and from it cut Fig. 100; the straight fold extends from O to U. Carefully fasten together the open edges of the back from T to O and from U to P; gluing them on the extreme edges, that the pocket thus formed may be as large as possible. Take stiff paper for Figs. 101 and 102, which are the feet and tail of the bird, the extension X of Fig. 102 forming the tail. Leave the eyes and mouth white, and paint the remainder of the head black; also blacken the wings and back, Fig. 100, and the feet and tail. Place the head in the small end of the egg, A, with the curves K down over the white egg on each side; then put on the little fellow’s overcoat, or back, Fig. 100, fitting it over the sides, F, Fig. 81, of the egg; push the egg or body of the penguin in the pocket formed in the back of the overcoat, and shove the feet into the large end of the egg, D, Fig. 82. Hold the lower edges of the egg firmly together while you bend out the feet sufficiently to enable the penguin to stand alone, Fig. 103.

These little creatures should be made so carefully that either side will be presentable. It is always distressing to know that “the other side” does not look real, and it is a great satisfaction to be able to show both sides of our work to our friends and know there is no “wrong side” in what we do. If you can manage to paint the designs in water-colors they will look best, but even when marked with black ink the little animals are charming; no adequate idea can be gained of this fascinating Easter egg until all the different parts have been made and the egg changed from one to another of the various life-like little creatures. The egg has been so planned that the wings come down and cover the tops of the legs of both rooster and ostrich; the penguin and rabbit need no such cover, as the rabbit’s legs fit in naturally, and those of the penguin merely slide up in the egg. A little practice will enable you to perform the work skilfully.

Butterflies are also emblems used for Easter. The beautiful fairy-like creature changing in its close, gloomy chrysalis from an insignificant little worm to the radiant winged creature of the air, fitly typifies the Resurrection. Did you ever find a chrysalis and after examining it lay it carefully aside, to await the development of the life within, and some bright morning discover the shell broken and empty, while in the room fluttered a brightly colored butterfly? If so, you will enjoy all the more

The Butterfly That Will Fly

and which we will manufacture of tissue-paper.

Fig. 104.

Take four pieces of tissue-paper—yellow, red, blue, and white—and cut each according to Fig. 104. The shape is not exactly that of a real butterfly, but when made of paper it proves more satisfactory, because such butterflies fly far better when cut in this way. Fasten a fine black thread through the back of each butterfly (Fig. 105); bend the wings up a little and tie, or fasten with bits of court-plaster, the loose ends of the threads on a round stick, placing them at a distance of about four inches apart. Let the threads vary in length from six to thirteen inches; this will bring the butterflies at different distances from the stick. When all is ready stand about forty-five inches from and in direct line with a register built in the side wall next to the floor;

Fig. 105. hold the stick, with the butterflies attached, up and out horizontally fifty or more inches from the floor. The gentle heat will cause the brilliant little things to flutter up and down, this way and that, in a most natural manner; the fine black threads being practically invisible, the butterflies appear as if floating in the air without aid from any source.

You might try the experiment of taking them out-of-doors; if the breeze is not too strong, the butterflies will behave in the most approved manner, which you know all about, having so often watched the graceful movements of the beautiful live insects during the long summer days.

Perhaps the most charming of all Easter offerings is

The Easter Lily

Everyone strives to have a lily on Easter day. If you are unable to obtain one of the beautiful, fresh flowers, do the next best thing; make a lily—a stately, graceful white blossom on a long, dark-green stalk. The flower is lovely even when manufactured of tissue-paper, and can be made to look so natural that one almost expects to find the sweet, delicate perfume of the real blossom. The paper plant has one advantage at least over the natural one: it lasts much longer and needs no care to keep it fresh. From a new, smooth sheet of white tissue-paper cut six petals (Fig. 106); fold each lengthwise through its centre and bend or curl the top into a slight curve to take away the stiffness (Fig. 107); then cut Fig. 108 of unruled white writing-paper. Paint both sides of the stigma or top a greenish yellow and the style or stem-like portion a pale Nile-green. Bend the style up flat against the scalloped stigma according to the dotted line in Fig. 108. Allow an eighth of an inch and bend the style back again, which will make a little tuck in the style, bringing it exactly in the centre of the scalloped stigma when it is straightened out (Fig. 109). Fold each of the three scallops of the stigma through its centre and bend them down (Fig. 109); this finishes the pistil.

Fig. 106.

Fig. 107.

Fig. 108.

Fig. 110.

Fig. 112.

Fig. 109.

Fig. 111.

Make six stamens according to the pattern (Fig. 110); paint the anthers or tops orange color on both sides, and the supports or stems a very light green—as you remember those in the natural flower. Bend the supports in the same way as you did the style of the pistil, and slightly curve the orange-colored anthers. These should seemingly balance directly on the tip-top of the supports (Fig. 111). With strong paste fasten the pistils and stamens on the end of a stick which has previously been covered with dark olive-green tissue-paper (Fig. 112); then paste on three of the white petals (Fig. 113). Use paste sparingly, and be careful to arrange the petals evenly before adding the remaining three (Fig. 114), which should be placed one over each space between the first three petals. Fig. 115 will make the idea plainer. The petals numbered 1, 2, 3 represent the first three; the other three alternate with these, coming back of and between them as in the corolla (Fig. 115). Should the last petals incline to droop, attach them to the inner ones about midway up with a very little paste.

Fig. 113.

Fig. 114.

Take a strip of olive-green paper and cut it according to the dotted lines in Fig. 116; slightly curve each leaf in the hollow of your hand by rolling the round head of a hat-pin down its centre; when finished wind the strips of foliage around the lily stalk (Fig. 114). Have the stalk quite long,

Fig. 115.

Fig. 116. a short one does not look well. If you desire buds as well as blossoms, cut squares of white tissue-paper (Fig. 117); roll each paper (Fig. 118), fold down the top ends a trifle and pinch up both ends; then pull the bud into proper shape (Fig. 119). Paste the pinched tops together and fasten the lower end of the bud on a green-covered wire (Fig. 120).

You can make smaller buds for the top and have the larger, which represent buds ready to open and blossom, bent as in Fig. 120. To make a stalk bearing buds and several blossoms, instead of building the flowers on the end of a stick, fasten each blossom and each

Fig. 117. bud on a separate wire which has first been covered with green tissue-paper; then bind the small buds on the top of the long green stalk with thread or fine wire. Next fasten on the larger buds, afterwards the blossoms, and when all are arranged satisfactorily wind the green foliage around the stalk (Fig. 114), and it will all look very beautiful and natural. The lilies may be placed in a tall glass vase or the end of the stalk pushed into the earth in a real flower-pot, and at a short distance it will have the appearance of a growing plant.

Fig. 118.

Fig. 119.

Fig. 120.

CHAPTER IV
VACATION WORK WITH NATURE’S
MATERIAL

Here is a piece of advice for you, girls; possibly it may not be appreciated, but it is good advice, nevertheless: While you are away for your summer holidays, keep out of sight the fancy work you do at home.

When we drop the work or study that has employed us during the long winter and spring months and go off in the summer to be refreshed and invigorated, do we not say we go for recreation? If you will stop to think about it you will see that recreation means literally re-creating, being created anew; it means the laying aside of our ordinary habits and thoughts and adopting entire new ones, for the time being at least. It is this refreshing change of thought and occupation as well as change of air that proves so beneficial; therefore, don’t keep the one little portion of your brain which you devote to fancy work busy all summer long in the old routine, but let it have recreation as well as the rest of your mind and body.

By this I do not mean that the faculty ordinarily exercised in the interest of fancy work should not be used in any way, or that the hands which take so kindly to needle and thread should be always idle. Not at all; but there are other forms of work for quiet hours, distinctively summer work, which with their entire or comparative novelty refresh the mind and give added deftness to the hands.

Cone Hanging-basket.

The rainy day comes occasionally and you cannot be out of doors; then is the time to look over the store of treasures which you have gathered in your walks through wood and field and try to devise some means of preserving them or making them of use. To begin with, there are your pine cones, and no doubt you have gathered a great number of them; everyone does. Sort the cones and select several of the largest, most open ones to use as hanging-baskets in your window next winter, and if you have an open fire devote the remaining cones to creating a cheery blaze, to help disperse the gloom that a northeast storm in summer is apt to throw over one.

If you are impatient to try the experiment of making a

Cone Hanging-basket,

you need not wait until winter, for, being in the country, your materials are all close at hand, and there is no reason why you should not start one immediately. Having selected your cone, shake out the seeds, if any remain in it, and tie a cord around at about the middle, leaving a loop on the top by which to hang it, as in the illustration. Fill the interstices with lightly sifted earth, scatter a handful of wheat or oats over it, and thoroughly dampen the whole. Hang the cone in your window, keep it damp, and shortly the grain will sprout and the cone will become a mass of vivid green.

Of course the beauty of the cone hanging-basket does not last a great while, but a new one can be so quickly and easily prepared that, with a store of half a dozen cones, you may have one fresh and green in your window all winter. Almost any kind of small cereal will sprout if treated in this way, and each time you can plant different seeds.

Fig. 121.

If you happen to have sweet grass in your collection, make it into

Sweet-grass Mats

to put in the linen closet or bureau-drawers. These mats, placed between sheets or clothing, impart such a sweet, country perfume you will be surprised and delighted with the result. Take seven or eight stalks of the sweet grass, cut off the flower-heads, bunch the stalks together, and with a long, strong blade of the grass, wrap tightly into a rope, as in Fig. 121. Make several of these ropes before beginning your mat. Then coil one in an oblong, and sew it together, as shown in the diagram, Fig. 122.

Fig. 122. When the first rope is nearly used up, wrap the free end securely to the end of another rope and continue to coil as before. When finished, the longest diameter of the mat should measure about seven inches. You will notice in

Fig. 123. Fig. 123, which shows the sweet-grass mat completed, that the last end is tucked in neatly under the coil next to it, where it is fastened tightly with needle and thread.

With all the other treasures, I hardly think it has occurred to you to collect corn-husks, and yet many pretty things can be made of them. For instance, there is the

Corn-husk Basket,

strong, durable, and useful. For making one of these baskets select the fine, inner husks, and wrap them in a

Fig. 124. damp cloth, let them remain two hours, and then cut into strips about one inch wide. Take six of these strips and tie them together at one end with a strong thread; separate the strips into three strands, two strips to a

Fig. 125. strand, and braid as in Fig. 124. In the beginning do not choose strips all of the same length, as they will have to be pieced out to make the braid the required length, and the piecing should not be all done at the same place. When you have nearly reached the end of your shortest strip, open it out flat, lay the end of a new strip over it as in Fig. 125, and fold together as in Fig. 126. In this way the piecing goes on as the braid grows in length. When you have about a yard of the braid, dampen and begin to coil it as in Fig. 127, fastening the edges together with needle and strong, waxed thread. It will require the whole yard of braid for the bottom of the basket, which should measure about five inches in diameter. Before you have coiled quite all of it, piece the strips again and make a yard or so more of braid. Dampen the new part and begin to coil once more, this time turning the braid up on its edge, and running it around horizontally to form the sides of the basket, widening the sides a little with each row. Four inches is a good depth for a basket of this kind. Finish the top of the basket by sewing another row of braid around the outer edge. For the handle make a braid twelve inches long, then divide the strands and at the end of the large braid make two small ones six inches long. Fasten the ends of the small braids and cut off neatly close to the wrapping. Remove the thread which holds the other end of the large braid together and separate the strips far enough up to make two small braids at that end the length of those you have just finished. Sew the handle on the outside of the basket in the position shown in the illustration, tucking the ends between the bottom and next to the bottom row of braids, and fastening them neatly on the inside.

Fig. 126.

Fig. 127.

Corn-husk Basket.

Like the sweet-grass mats the

Lavender Sticks

are for perfuming clothing and household linen. They are pretty little trifles, and make most acceptable birthday and Christmas gifts.

The Lavender Stick.

Gather your lavender stalks (each one having a blossomed top) while they are fresh and green, and use them as soon as possible after cutting, as they grow brittle when dry. It will take about twenty-five stalks for a large lavender stick, less for a small one, but in both cases there must be an uneven number. You will need, also, some narrow lavender ribbon. It is best to buy the ribbon by the piece, or roll, as it is not easy to calculate the exact amount required for the sticks. Bunch your lavender stalks together, with the heads at the top, and tie securely just below the blossoms (Fig. 128) with linen thread. Bend the stems over carefully, bringing them down over the blossoms (Fig. 129). A little raw cotton may be used to fill out the bulb or, if you have them, extra lavender blossoms. Pin one end of your ribbon at the top of the bulb, where the stalks are tied together, pushing the pin through the ribbon down into the bulb, then begin to weave it under and over the stalks as in Fig. 129. Weave about two inches, widening all the time, then draw the ribbon a little tighter, bring the stalks closer together, and narrow the bulb gradually. When the stalks are bunched again, stop weaving and begin to wrap, lapping the edges of the ribbon as in the illustration. Have the wrapping tight and firm and, when about an inch or two from the ends of the stalks, fasten with needle and thread, then tie the ribbon in a bow of many loops. Finish the top with a bow also, making it quite full.

Fig. 128.

Fig. 129.

Braiding Palm-grasses and Corn-husks

Away down in Florida, where the palms and palmettos are as common as are the most ordinary trees and shrubs in the North, most of the children wear hats made of the strong and durable leaves of these beautiful trees; and all the children know how to braid the palm in a number of ways. Indeed, it was a little girl not more than eight years old who taught me just what I am going to try to teach you. She was “keeping house” with a number of other children on one of the fine, shady streets of Daytona, Fla., and, stopping to watch them at their play, we were made welcome in their “house,” and one little hostess gave me the lesson I asked for then and there.

You all know how a palm-leaf grows, tall and straight, and closed tightly like a fan until it is time for it to open,

Fig. 130. when it slowly separates and spreads its fingers wide. It was the unopened leaf of the cabbage-palm which was chosen for the braid, and very pretty the tender leaf is; white, soft, and pliable, and edged with light green. It is beautifully adapted to braiding, and the fingers of my little teacher flew deftly, as the braid lengthened in her hands, and my mind sped along almost as swiftly, as I tried to adapt the process to materials to be found in the North, so that Northern, as well as Southern, girls might share with me this little piece of handicraft.

I am sure wide, flat grasses can be braided in this way, and corn-husks and—well, a number of other things which you will find if you keep your eyes open; but I must return to the palm and tell you just how I was taught to braid that.

Fig. 131.

Fig. 132.

Fig. 133.

First I tore the leaf into strips about one-quarter of an inch wide, then taking two strips, I folded one end of each as in Fig. 130, and lapped the folded ends as in Fig. 131. Bending the right-hand strip (A), I pushed it through the loop formed by the other (B) as in Fig. 132, and pulled B down tightly (Fig. 133). Bending B, I pushed that through the loop A had formed, and drawing A tightly, left a loop of B at the top (Fig. 134). Each time a loop was formed I pushed another loop through it and drew the first down snugly, and so braided a strip like Fig. 135.

Fig. 134.

Fig. 135.

Fig. 136.

My little teacher forgot to show me how to piece the strips, and I was obliged to work out the problem for myself and for you. When one of the strips had dwindled down and grown too narrow, I cut it off, leaving a little over an inch below the loop. I then inserted another strip over B, pushing it under A, as in Fig. 136, bringing it over the B loop and again under A on the other side, pulling it down until the two short ends were even. After that I continued to braid as before, the first two B loops being double, of course.

It is not well to have the piecing of both strips come together, therefore one should be longer than the other at the start, and the strips should be always of the same width in order to make the braid uniform and even.

This is regular hat braid you have learned to make, and perhaps having done so much you will feel inspired to continue the work and make a hat, if not a large one, at least one for your own or your younger sister’s doll. Or you can make it into a basket by sewing the braid together, lapping one edge over the other.

The braid should be back-stitched for both hats and baskets.

Most materials require damping before they are braided, for even when soft and pliable they are apt to separate when dry, unless they have first been soaked for a while in water.

Fig. 144.—A Girl’s Collection of Pictures.

CHAPTER V
COLLECTIONS

Every girl can have her own gallery of famous artists’ pictures, and the searching for and finding of treasures to form a home art collection are a constant source of interest. When once the supply is started it grows rapidly, for the fascination increases as the work progresses, and the nucleus of a fine assortment is soon gathered. Daily papers furnish valuable material in this line through their reproductions of paintings, and the market is flooded with beautifully illustrated magazines giving the art of our own land and that of foreign countries; then there are unmounted photographs of masterpieces which may be purchased for a very small sum; many can be bought at a penny each.

If new magazines are not to be had, old ones can be found at bookstalls for low prices, which contain reproductions of paintings and excellent accounts of them. Carefully take the magazines apart, removing the wire fastenings by straightening and drawing them out before attempting to separate the leaves; then cut out the chosen pictures, allowing as wide a white margin as possible. Only those prints which represent the work of eminent artists should be selected.

Decide upon some definite line of art, for the field is a large and varied one. Better results can be obtained if you devote your efforts to the paintings of only one nation, such as American, English, French, or Flemish art. Again, the collection might embrace the works of but one artist or school of painting, or be restricted to famous caricaturists or mural decorators. Having made your choice and collected two or three designs, buy low-priced medium-weight card-board for

Mounting the Pictures

Fig. 137.

Select a kind not brittle or liable to tear; get either a soft gray tone or white, the former often harmonizing best with black and white pictures. Your material being ready, turn the pictures on the wrong side and mark the centres. The easiest way of doing this is by laying a ruler diagonally across the back of picture, Fig. 137, and drawing a line on the

Fig. 138. paper along the edge of the ruler. Be sure to have the ruler precisely at the corners; if placed either to one side or the other, the centre will not be found. Fig. 138 shows the first line drawn; cross this line by another running from the remaining two corners which will give Fig. 139; the point where the lines intersect is the exact centre of the picture. Cut the mounting board in portions large enough to allow a surrounding margin of four or five inches

Fig. 139. on each picture; then mark the centres on the right, not wrong, side of the mounting board. It will be unnecessary to extend the line from corner to corner of the mounting board; lay the ruler across and mark it merely at the centre, Fig. 140. Take the print

Fig. 140. you intend to mount first and carefully place it upon the blank piece of paper so that the centre of the picture will be exactly over the centre of the blank paper; lightly mark a line in lead-pencil around two corners of the picture, remove the print and the blank paper resembles Fig. 141. The last markings are a guide in pasting the picture on the sheet of paper. First dampen the wrong side of the print with a wet sponge. Have ready some strong paste and spread it lightly on the wrong side. Be careful not to get too much paste lest it smear the mounting-paper. Lay

Fig. 141. the mounting-sheet upon a perfectly clean, level surface and place the print on it according to the guiding marks. Have the picture absolutely smooth, without a suspicion of a wrinkle or blister, and with a clean cloth again smooth it gently, pressing it down here

Fig. 142. and there as seems necessary to make it adhere firmly (Fig. 142). Then place a weight upon the mounted picture and leave it to dry. After having been successful with one picture no difficulty will be found in mounting the others.

It often happens that it is impossible to separate a picture from the article treating of it, for the reason that one side of the page gives the print and the other side the description. This difficulty is remedied by

Splitting the Paper,

which will give two layers of uniform thickness, and if there are pictures on each side of the paper they may both be preserved. Cut two pieces of perfectly smooth muslin a little larger all around than the sheet of paper to be split. Dampen one of the pieces of muslin and lay it out smooth on an even, flat surface; cover one side of the paper to be split with a thin layer of very strong paste or glue and carefully place the paper, paste-side down, on the muslin; lay it out flat and be sure it does not wrinkle; then cover the other side of the paper with paste and place the second dampened piece of muslin over it. Be certain that the muslin adheres over the entire surface of both sides of the paper. Should it fail in places, the spots of paper not clinging to the muslin will tear out during the splitting. See that the paste extends to the outermost edges of the paper, and do not forget that muslin, paper, and paste must all be smooth. Use a rolling-pin to secure uniform adhesion. When the pasting is done, let it dry, and after it has dried perfectly, separate the two pieces of muslin at one corner, and the paper will begin to split if the work has been properly done. Continue opening the edges until all four sides are partially separated, and the fission of the paper just beginning; then a firm pull will entirely separate the two pieces of muslin and, at the same time, split the paper. If you experiment on a small piece of paper before attempting the picture you will better understand the process. To remove the muslin from the paper, soak it in hot water; place the water in a basin large enough to admit of the muslin lying out flat. Let the paper side be underneath, so that the muslin may be easily removed when it detaches itself from the paper. Should any bits of paste remain on the paper, soak them off; move the paper gently in the water back and forward, until the paste is washed away; then lift the paper from the water by placing a thin stick of wood under one edge and carefully drawing the wet picture out; it will hang like a curtain from the stick. Let the water drip off; then lay the paper down flat and smooth on a piece of blotting-paper, picture-side up. When nearly dry, place the picture between two sheets of pasteboard, and leave it under a weight until quite dry. Mount split pictures on white card-board; gray will show through the thin paper. On the back of each mounting-board fasten two small brass rings by which

Fig. 143.

To Hang the Picture

Slide a ring on a short piece of tape and glue the ends of the tape at one side on the back and near the top of the picture to form a hook (Fig. 143, H). Do the same with a second ring and tape. When both tapes are securely fastened on the mounting-board, paste over each a strip of tough paper or muslin (Fig. 143, P). If a wire be fastened on the rings, the pictures may hang from the picture-moulding around the room, or the collection can depend upon nails for support. If desirable, the rings may fit over tacks driven in the wall.

Fig. 144 at the beginning of the chapter gives a girl’s collection of reproductions from famous paintings. The pictures can be kept in

A Portfolio

made expressly for the purpose, should there be no wall-space on which to hang them. Make the portfolio of two strong, stiff pieces of pasteboard, cut large enough to extend one inch beyond each of the four sides of the mounted designs so as to preclude all possibility of damage to the edges of the work. Sew a length of brown tape at each corner of the two sides of the portfolio, making in all eight pieces of tape, four on each pasteboard; then lay each cover down on a piece of denim and mark four spots on the cloth, corresponding to the places where the tapes are fastened on the pasteboard.

Remove the denim and punch holes through the cloth at the four places designated on each piece; button-hole stitch the openings, and run the tapes through, drawing the cloth down tight and flat upon the pasteboard; smooth the brown covering out evenly and turn the four sides neatly over the edges where they can be securely fastened by long stitches of strong thread taken from edge to edge of the cloth. Cover the wrong side of each piece with heavy, rough, brown paper; paste it on carefully and put them under weights to dry; the paper forms the inside and the cloth the outside of the portfolio. In such covers any number of mounted pictures can be kept secure from harm.

It is only necessary to pile them up evenly on one cover, lay the other cover on top, and tie the two together over the pictures by means of the tapes at the four corners. The portfolio is not intended to stand on edge; it must be laid flat.

Another and different collection is very precious, though the best part is not visible. It is a collection that is sure to be always a comfort, and one with which the more familiar you grow the better you will feel. Such a collection is called the

Fig. 145.

Sunshine Diary

The book may be one of the usual styles of diaries sold in the stores, or an ordinary blank-book; better still, a home-made book. The latter requires forty-six sheets of writing-paper (Fig. 145), and for a cover stiff brown paper or card-board—the kind used for making passe-partouts and which comes in all colors—will be excellent. Cut the cover a trifle longer and broader than the writing-paper, so that it may extend beyond the leaves of the book on the sides, protecting the edges (Fig. 146). Fasten all together by means of a strong brown or yellow cord laced through holes made in the cover and book (Fig. 147).

Fig. 146. Should you be unable to cut the holes as neatly as you desire, send the book to a shoe store or a harness-maker’s to have the holes made.

Decorate the cover in gilt. Make a circle for the sun and use a ruler in marking the rays. Draw the top and bottom rays first. Begin at the top of the centre ray and run the lead-pencil down along the edge of the ruler as far as you wish the ray to extend; then raise the pencil, but

Fig. 147. not the ruler. Hold that down firmly with the left hand, while you again place the pencil down below the circle and draw the lower ray. Make the two horizontal rays in the same way (Fig. 148). After this it will be easy to draw the remaining rays by laying the ruler diagonally between the top and bottom and the side rays. Beneath the sun mark the title in plain lettering (Fig. 149). If you cannot make the letters even and straight, do the best you can, and they will look very well—better, in a way, than if another had made them for you, because that will be your own

Fig. 148. work. When the design is finished in pencil go over it with liquid gilt, painting the sun a solid gold disk, the rays mere lines of gold, and the lettering slightly heavier. On the first page of the diary write in ink your age and full name and under this the year and day of the month. Then turn over the leaf and on the right-hand page rule a line exactly across the centre with red ink. At the top of the page write in red ink the day of the week and month and under the red line write the next day of the week and month (Fig. 150). Put down all dates and divisions in red ink. The book is now ready for the record of January 1.

Fig. 149.

Before making any entry try to think of the kindest and pleasantest things said to you and done for you during New Year’s Day, and with black ink write these, and these alone, for each day must reflect only beautiful thoughts and acts—nothing else is allowed in the “Sunshine Diary.” On the second day of the month make a similar record on the lower half of the page; the third day turn over the leaf and carefully rule the next two pages as you did the first, which will make four equal divisions for

Fig. 150. four more days. Date each half of the page correctly and proceed with the journal. Continue in the same way until the end of the year and you will have a treasure well worth keeping all the days of your life. The very act of carrying out the “sunshine” idea will tend to strengthen all kindly feelings and cause you to be on the watch for happy items to jot down in your book.

A Guest Book

Fig. 151.

Another work is the “Guest Book”—one in which each friend who calls to see you can write his name, with the date and a few remarks. One boy might draw a simple little pencil sketch under his name; another could write a joke in reference to some mutual experience. From one of the girls might come an apt quotation; from another an original rhyme—in fact, anything that would be interesting. Let the grown people also have the privilege of leaving their autographs with a few remarks in the “Guest Book,” for they, too, are your friends. The book itself should be at least seven inches long and five broad; larger would be better. The common blank-book of good paper will answer the purpose; it can be covered with stiff linen, which is sold for dress lining and may be found in the shops. Cut the cover to extend beyond the book two or three inches (Fig. 151). The dotted line indicates the book. Adjust the cover evenly and crease it slightly along the edges of the book in order to know exactly how it will fit. Still holding the book in the left hand, carefully cut two flaps, in the extension at the top and bottom of the back. Remove and unfold (Fig. 152, A and B); turn down the flaps as in Fig. 152, and again place the linen on the book. Fold over the linen at the top and bottom of one side of the book binding (Fig. 155); do the same with the other side, then turn in the outer edge (Fig. 154). Again remove the cover and, after creasing the folds, cut the four corners out, as in Fig. 155, C, D, E, F. Keep the flaps (Fig. 152, A and B) folded in, and place the cover on the book (Fig. 156). Paste the corners G and H firmly to the underlying piece of linen, do the same with the other side and the cover will be finished.

Fig. 153.

Fig. 154.

Fig. 155.

Fig. 156.

Letter the outside in deep, rich red, using paint and brush. If you cannot print the letters, write the title “Guest Book” in a bold hand with the brush.

Fig. 157.

Calendars

Calendars are always welcome and appropriate on New Year. Make yours of twelve pieces of heavy unruled, tinted writing-paper. Decide upon twelve persons whom you would like to think of often and cut twelve slips of white writing-paper of exactly the same size. Send one to each chosen individual and ask that the friend’s name and some sentiment be written on the

Fig. 158.

Fig. 159. paper and that it be returned to you. Having received all the slips, paste one near the top of each sheet of writing-paper (Fig. 157); below paste one leaf of a printed calendar representing one month (Fig. 158). Use a Christmas card for an outside cover and through the two top corners of the calendar make round holes large enough to allow a silken cord, matching in color the tint of the paper, to pass through. Then fasten all the pieces of the calendar together in order, January being the first and December the last (Fig. 159). As each month passes by slide that leaf back on the cords, bringing after January, for instance, February to view. Hold the two loops of cord together at the top and hang the calendar where it may be readily seen.

You can also

Begin Illustrating Books

Do not be surprised! No knowledge of drawing and painting is necessary in order to illustrate in the new, easy fashion. Decide upon some short story you wish to embellish; then look among your scraps for appropriate pictures. Should you not find exactly what you want, make the pictures over to suit.

If the story introduces a jolly little maiden full of fun, and describes her as feeding her pet dog and laughing at his antics, and there is no such maiden in your collections, look for one with the style of face you think the girl in the story ought to have. When this is found and the body is not satisfactory, cut off the head and hunt up an appropriate body to fit it; that obtained, paste the pretty head on the new body and cut out the entire figure. Find a dog, in the correct position, in some old magazine or newspaper, cut out the animal, and before pasting the group in place try the effect of both on a blank piece of white paper. Slide the figures together and apart until you have them where they look best; then paste the girl and dog neatly in position on the white paper, and the full-page illustration is ready for insertion in the book.

Fig. 160.

Always leave a wide white margin on all illustrations; never crowd the picture up to the very edge of the page if you desire it to look well, and be sure to dampen the wrong side of each picture before attempting to paste it in your book, that it may be smooth and not wrinkle. The new leaf for the picture should be cut wide enough to allow a quarter-inch projection or more over on the opposite page, as in Fig. 160, OO, where it can be pasted down on the inner margin of the other leaf. The dotted line indicates the centre of the book.

Bound books will not admit of many extra leaves being inserted, so you can select only a few of the incidents in the narrative for illustration. Use care that the picture shall express your idea of the event or place you desire to represent. Sometimes it may happen, by lack of suitable material, that you cannot finish certain pictures for days or weeks after they are begun. In such a case bide your time until the wished-for designs appear, and in the meantime go on with the other illustrations.

If the book is paper-covered, you can take it all apart, insert as many pictures as you desire and fasten it together again. When obtainable use

Colored Pictures and Photographs

as illustrations. You may chance to find appropriate colored reproductions from water-color sketches, that will serve the purpose without alteration. Such would give a fine appearance to your book. Unmounted photographs can also be employed, but, if possible, avoid different styles of pictures in the same work. Keep the colored designs for one book, the prints for another, and the photographs for a third. Bear in mind that, whatever the nature of the illustrations, you are to use only such as appeal to you and express your ideas; the scheme will lose individuality—that is, it will not represent your choice—if you select what others may deem best in preference to that which you would have chosen if left unmolested. It is the individuality which gives value to the work.

Never attempt to illustrate a valuable book in this new way, though it would not injure the volume if you found a good unmounted picture of the author and pasted it on one of the fly-leaves in the front of the book. The portrait would add to the value and interest of the volume, as would also items of information on the subject of which the book treats, if pasted on an extra loose leaf and left in the back of the book.

When you have a collection of snap-shots that you wish to preserve, make

Fig. 161.

A Photograph Book

in which to keep them. Cut two pieces of stiff pasteboard, each 6¼ inches wide and 5¾ inches high. Use strong paste to fasten these on one side of a strip of heavy linen of a soft green color, 14¼ inches long by 6¾ inches wide. Leave a space of uncovered linen three-fourths of an inch wide in the centre, Fig. 161. This will give the foundation for the cover of your book. Draw the linen tightly over the edge of the card-board at the top and bottom, paste it down smooth and even; then paste the two end-pieces over, thus binding the four edges of the book. Cut sixteen leaves from heavy

Fig. 162. dull-surfaced paper, matching the green linen in color, make each leaf 6¾ inches wide and 5½ inches high. Two of the leaves serve as lining for the cover, leaving fourteen leaves or twenty-eight pages for the unmounted photographs. Paste the first leaf on the left-hand side of the cover, let it fit over the turned-in border of linen and extend across the centre onto the edge of the other card-board, LL to KK,

Fig. 163. Fig. 162; the dotted lines indicate the turned-over linen underneath the paper leaf which is used as a lining. Take a second leaf and turn down the left hand edge to a depth of ¾ of an inch, leaving the leaf 6 inches wide. Cover the ¾ of an inch extension with paste, then lap it over on the left-hand side of the centre and paste securely. The place where the side of the leaf should be fastened down to the lining of the cover is represented by MM in Fig. 162. Fig. 163 shows the space MM covered by the side of the leaf, the diagram giving two leaves properly glued together, the dotted line indicates the centre of the book. As each leaf is fastened in, turn it over and paste the next one on it as in Fig. 163. Continue adding leaves, always allowing the right-hand leaf to

Fig. 164. overlap the left three-quarters of an inch. When the last leaf is fastened in place, paste it down tight on the right-hand side of the inside of the cover, where it will form a lining concealing the raw edges of the linen and the blank pasteboard as the first leaf covered the left-hand side of the inside of the cover. This system of fastening the leaves together will cause them to fold in the back where there will be no raw edges. Fig. 164 gives four leaves, showing the back where they are folded over after each is joined to the preceding leaf. When the book is finished the back hinge part of the cover is free from the leaves, leaving an opening from top to bottom large enough to run a slender pencil through when the book is opened. If desired the cover can be decorated with the title “Snap-Shots.”

Making Valentines.

CHAPTER VI
ORIGINAL VALENTINES

Always alert, chubby little Cupid works hard on St. Valentine’s Day; his duties are many, and his pretty bow sends the arrows flying in all directions. He is a merry little fellow, full of queer pranks and a great favorite. The venerable St. Valentine seems to have merely loaned his name to the fourteenth of February, leaving all the duties to Cupid, who appears to be well pleased with the arrangement. For hundreds of years past the young people have been as anxious to send and receive valentines as at the present time

In Former Days,

before valentines were dropped in the mail-box, girls and boys had a great deal of fun sending them to each other. Generally the young folks waited until twilight; then each would sally forth in his neighborhood, lightly step up to the front door of the house where the valentine was to be left, and without the least noise slip the paper under the door, ring the bell and scamper away as fast as possible, to avoid being seen. Valentines to-day bring the same thrill of pleasure, and when the whistle of the postman announces the arrival of the mail on the eventful day, eager fingers are impatient to open the envelope and discover the treasure within. Then the question follows, “Who could have sent such a lovely valentine to me?”

Before making original valentines try to think of some particular study or pursuit in which each friend is interested to whom you desire to send a token on February 14. One may have a talent for painting, another for music; a third may delight in flowers, and so on throughout a long list of subjects which will furnish you with many suggestions for

The Most Appropriate Valentine

to be sent to each. As a little practice before using ideas entirely your own, try making the valentines here described. The mystic four-leaved clover (Fig. 165) would be just the thing for a companion who delights in hunting that symbol of good luck. This valentine is very simple and can be made in a short time.

Fig. 165.

Fig. 166.

Cut a sheet of unruled heavy writing-paper in halves and on one piece trace

The Four-leaved Clover

(Fig. 166). Paint it green; an even flat tint will look well if you cannot manage shadows, but be careful to do the work to the best of your ability. In plain lettering mark the words,

“Good Luck to You, my Valentine;”

then slide the missive into an envelope large enough to contain an unfolded half-sheet of paper. In case you happen

Fig. 167. to have a natural four-leaved clover which has been pressed, use it instead of the painted one, and take a whole sheet of paper so that the brittle leaf may not be exposed, but can be secured inside the sheet on the third page by means of a little paste. With the pressed clover the lettering should be made on the outside of the sheet of paper before the leaf is placed within.

Another easy valentine to make is

The Easel Holding a Picture

Cut this from stiff paper or light-weight card-board (Fig. 167). First trace the design on the card-board; then

Fig. 168. cut it out and paint the easel golden-brown on both sides, except the part which forms the canvas for the picture and the cross-piece for the lettering. Leave these white; draw a line at the bottom of the canvas and letter the strip,

“To my Valentine.”

Fig. 169.

Paste any pretty colored floral design you may possess on the blank space or canvas left for the purpose. Bend down the supporting strip (A) projecting from the top (Fig. 167), and the miniature picture and easel will stand alone and be ready to send to some friend who is studying drawing or is interested in art (Fig. 168).

Fig. 170.

To an attractive friend who has no special fancy for any particular avocation, send the valentine shown at Fig. 169. Make it of

Two Heart-shaped Pieces

of stiff white paper and a small piece of broken mirror. Cut the heart according to the size of the glass (Fig. 170); then with strong paste fasten the mirror on the heart (Fig. 170). Cut another heart exactly like the first, and and in its centre make a heart-shaped opening as large as possible, while leaving it small enough to cover well the edges of the glass. If you do not know how to make a heart-shaped design trace Fig. 169. Decorate the top part with a painted pink ribbon, and on one side write,

“Look into this Mirror Clear,”

and on the other,

“And My True Love will Appear.”

At the bottom point of the valentine paste a Cupid; then using strong paste fasten the heart-shaped frame over the glass and lay the valentine under several books until the paste is dry, taking the precaution to put a clean piece of paper underneath, and another over the top of the valentine to keep it perfectly fresh and clean. Any other style of decoration may take the place of the ribbon and Cupid. Small colored embossed paper forget-me-nots could be used.

Fig. 171.

Should one of your friends delight in fireworks displays give her

The Firecracker

shown at Fig. 171. Roll together a piece of stiff paper two inches wide and three inches long (Fig. 172); let the two sides overlap each other slightly and join them securely with strong paste, forming a hollow tube. Have the paper the peculiar red of genuine firecrackers, if you can obtain such. For the inside take a piece of white paper four inches long and a trifle less than three inches wide and

Fig. 172. write on it these words:

“Your eyes are so bright

That if they were mine,

I would soon have a light

For this queer valentine.”

In the turned-over edge at the bottom of the paper paste a waxed string, as in Fig. 173. Then roll the paper and insert it in the red tube (Fig. 171).

Fig. 173.

One of the prettiest customs of St. Valentine’s Day was instituted by the daughter of Henry IV. of France, Madam Royal, who built a palace and named it the Valentine. She then gave a grand party in honor of St. Valentine where each lady received a beautiful bouquet of flowers from one who was chosen as her valentine. The same gallantry was repeated ever after on like occasions. The idea of the valentine flowers is very pleasing, and we will use it in a modified form, but instead of cut blossoms in a bouquet we will have

Fig. 174.

A Pot of Growing Flowers

(Fig. 174). Trace on reddish-brown card-board (Fig. 175), and cut it out, also cut the point B and the slits C and E. Bring the two sides together, sliding the end D over, not under, through the slit C, at the same time pushing the point B into the small slit E; and bend back the extension D on the wrong side to hold the sides together and keep the flower-pot upright. Cut out the bottom (Fig. 176) and let it drop down through the top of the flower-pot until it lodges. Straighten and fit it in evenly; then cut out the top (Fig. 177) of dark card-board, as it represents the earth. Of course, one cannot dig holes in paper earth to plant paper flowers, so slits must be made according to Fig. 177. On white card-board trace Figs. 178, 179, and 180; paint them to resemble as nearly as possible natural pinks, and plant them

Fig. 175.

Fig. 176.

Fig. 177. in the paper earth in this way: slip the rounded extension of Fig. 178 through the slit F (Fig. 177). Bend back the angular part K and slide its extension L through the small slit T. Turn the paper earth over on the wrong side, holding the flowers in position the while, and bend up the roots of the two projecting pieces against the under side of the disk or earth; paste them in place. Next plant Fig. 179 in the same manner, sliding its rounded extension through slit G, and its smaller one through slit O. Plant the last flower (Fig. 180) through

Fig. 178. slit H; adjust the earth or top disk, and the finished work will be a little round flower-pot filled with growing pinks standing up separately from each other and looking very bright and natural (Fig. 174). On a dainty piece of paper write this message:

Fig. 179.

“Go, Little Flowers,

Salute My Valentine,

Who Can, Who May,

Who Must Be Mine.”

Fig. 181.

Place the note inside the flower-pot. Pretty colored printed flowers or embossed ones for scrap-books, which may be bought in almost any toy-store, can be substituted for the pinks. Fasten them in position by making three tracings of Fig. 181 and pasting a group of flowers and foliage on each one; these extra pieces will furnish the flowers with proper paper roots, which can be planted and fitted in the paper earth in the same manner as the pinks.

Fig. 182.

A Gentle Little Friend

should receive the valentine which is shown at Fig. 182. Cut from white card-board the circular disk (Fig. 183); around its edge write:

“Lift the Loop and You Shall See

That Which Makes Me Think of Thee.”

From fancy gold paper cut a circular band (Fig. 184) smaller in circumference than the card-board; fold it through the centre (Fig. 185), bring the

Fig. 183.

Fig. 185.

Fig. 184.

Fig. 186. folded ends together and again fold (Fig. 186). Once more fold (Fig. 187) and from this cut the outline seen in Fig. 188, being careful not to cut the folded ends P and Q. Unfold the paper and you will have Fig. 189. Place this ornamental golden band on the white cardboard. It should fit just inside the writing. Stick it down slightly here and there with a very little paste; then make Fig. 190 of fancy white paper. Insert the scissors at the beginning (S) and cut the spiral around and around in one unbroken strip until the centre is reached. In the centre make a short slit and push the two ends of a narrow white ribbon through the slit; then turn the spiral over and paste each end of the ribbon flat against the paper, as in Fig. 191. Have ready a white paper dove and fasten it in the centre of Fig. 183, which has previously been decorated with the gold-paper design. Slide the end S of the spiral under the edge of the gold band, placing the spiral so that it will lie flat and even inside the golden paper and will cover the centre of the valentine. Lift the cover by the loop and you will have a glimpse of the white dove, which means peace and gentleness.

Fig. 189.

Fig. 187.

Fig. 188.

Fig. 191.

Fig. 190.

CHAPTER VII
VEGETABLE ANIMALS AND FRUIT LANTERNS

Do you know that with the aid of a little enchantment equal to magic employed by the fairy folks of old, you can make a tiny fowl, one small enough to stand on the palm of your hand? A certain process which you shall learn will cause a common raw potato to change into a wee turkey of which anyone might well be proud.

The wands you will use for the work differ in nature and appearance and are far superior to the fairy wands; the latter are merely stiff sticks said to be endowed with magical powers, while yours are of most wonderful workmanship and adapted to any use to which you care to put them. More than that, you have complete control over the wands; at your command they do your bidding, making all kinds of useful and beautiful things, from the most delicate and fragile articles to the largest and heaviest creations. One of your wands is known as the right, the other as the left hand. Look at these pliable and exquisitely fashioned wands, think of all they have accomplished and may do for you, then set them both to work on your

Fig. 192.

Fig. 194.

Fig. 196.

Fig. 198.

Fig. 193.

Fig. 195.

Fig. 197.

Fig. 192.

Fig. 194.

Fig. 196.

Fig. 198.

Fig. 193.

Fig. 195.

Fig. 197.

Potato Turkey

Select a small potato (Fig. 192), break off the ends of three burnt matches and force the longer portions into the potato, two to serve as legs, and one as a support (Fig. 193 ). Trace Fig. 194 on stiff brown pasteboard, an old box-lid will be the best thing to use, its surface being dull and almost the same in color as the potato. Cut out the tracing and mark eyes, mouth, and tuft on it with ink (Fig. 195 ). If you wish to have your turkey look extra fine, make wattles of red paper or cloth (Fig. 196 ); fold as in Fig. 197 , and paste the band-like upper portion over each side of the turkey’s neck, allowing the lower flaps to hang free (Fig. 198 ). Cut a slit in the potato (Fig. 192, A-A) and insert the head, pushing in the extension as far as the dotted line, or until it fits (Fig. 199). Make a small opening on each side of the turkey (Fig. 199, C) and stick in two curved feathers for wings. If you have only stiff feathers, choose two small ones, and with your forefinger and thumb bend the ribs (Fig. 200) until they are rounded enough to cling to the sides of the turkey. Use stiff feathers for the tail, first making holes in the turkey in which to insert them (Fig. 199). Push the feathers in securely, and should they stand up unevenly at varying heights, trim them carefully with scissors and the turkey will be finished (Fig. 201).

Fig. 199.

Fig. 200.

Fig. 201.

In the South a young pig, called

A Shoat,

is considered as desirable as a turkey and is eaten with much relish. Of course, each person is served with only a portion

Fig. 202. and cannot have a whole one, as is your privilege; for your shoat, like the turkey, will be very small, no larger than a lemon, and of the same color-in fact, it is a lemon to begin with (Fig. 202). Four sticks furnish the legs (Fig. 203). The ears are

Fig. 203. formed by cutting the skin in the shape of a V on each side of the pointed end of the lemon (Fig. 204, B) and bending up the points (Fig. 205). A slender stick bent at short intervals (Fig. 206) until it simulates a twist or curl is used for a tail (Fig. 207).

Fig. 204.

Fig. 205.

In cutting the ears be cautious not to pierce entirely through the skin; allow the point of the knife to enter only deep enough into the rind to cut a piece of sufficient thickness to turn up without

Fig. 206.

Fig. 207. breaking, and have the slender sticks used for legs and tail sharpened at one end so they may readily be pushed into the lemon. Ordinary wooden toothpicks will answer the purpose, but they must first be broken into shorter lengths for the legs. The eyes are two black-headed pins.

Fig. 208.

Fig. 209.

Turtle Soup

is thought a great delicacy by some families, who deem a holiday dinner incomplete without the dish. While we do not care for the soup, we would like a small turtle, one that will not snap at us but be content to remain quiet and look natural.

Fig. 210.

Fig. 211.

Ask for a large raisin (Fig. 208) and six cloves, five without and one with the round seed; work in the four cloves with claw-like ends to serve as feet (Fig. 209). Use the reverse end of a clove for the tail (Fig. 210) and the round seed clove for a head (Fig. 211). Bend the head and tail up and the feet down (Fig. 212). Beautiful golden pumpkins hold a prominent place in the minds of Americans. Beside the delicious pies made of the yellow fruit, there are the

Fig. 212.

Funny Lanterns

fashioned by cutting a semblance of a face in the pumpkin, shaking out the inside fibre and seeds, and, in the evening, placing a lighted candle in the queer head, causing the light to shine through eyes, nose, and mouth in a manner startling to those unaccustomed to the sight.

Fig. 213.

Fig. 214.

Fig. 215.

The real pumpkin is large and heavy to handle, but you can have

A Substitute

in the form of an apple. Choose one that is deep red in color, in order to have the greatest possible contrast between the features and the head proper. It will not be

Fig. 216.

Fig. 217. necessary nor desirable to light up the face, the apple head is comical enough with the face merely cut in its surface and the work is very easy. Cut out from the apple (Fig. 213) two triangles near the top for eyes (Fig. 214); directly below the eyes but in the central part cut the triangular nose (Fig. 215); under the nose make the mouth in the shape of a slender crescent (Fig. 216), and tie a ribbon on the stem as an ornamental headdress (Fig. 217). There! you have fairly made the apple laugh. Only see how it is stretching its mouth in a broad grin!

CHAPTER VIII
PASTEBOARD MODELS FOR A HOME DRAWING
CLASS

Study drawing at home and make your own models; form a class of several girls and work together; criticise one another’s drawings, and get a criticism from an artist whenever you can. Much may be accomplished in this way if you have the enthusiasm, perseverance, and will to carry it through. Starting with one object, complete in itself, a variety of forms may be evolved, and combinations can be made until an entirely new model is produced. Such, for instance, is the church shown in the illustration. First there is the house, then the house with a chimney, the house with chimney and one wing, the house with chimney and two wings; then the church, which is made by adding turret and steeple, the church without wings, and the church with wings. A number of times this model may be used, changing the position and adding to or taking from it, and a different picture will be the result of each drawing.

Simpler models like

The Pyramid

can also be made, and it is well to try your hand on this before attempting the more complicated forms.

Pasteboard Model of Church.

Lay a sheet of heavy card-board flat on your work-table and draw carefully four triangles like Fig. 218. These are for the four sides of the pyramid. Use a rule to keep your lines straight, and make each side according to the dimensions given on the diagram. You will see that the measurement from apex to base is ten inches, and the width at the bottom is six and one-half inches. With a sharp knife, or large shears, cut out each part, taking pains to keep your edges true to the lines. Besides the card-board you will need a roll of passe-partout paper. This comes in one-inch widths, ready gummed, for making passe-partout frames. It is strong, easily handled, and altogether more convenient for joining the parts of the models than ordinary strips of paper. Should the passe-partout paper be out of reach use new cotton cloth

Fig. 218.

Fig. 219. cut in even one-inch strips. Of course the cloth or paper must be white. Cut off a strip of your gummed paper a little longer than the long edge of the triangle. With a pin at each end, pin it to the table, the gummed side up, and draw a line lengthwise through the middle, dividing it exactly in half. Have ready a glass of clear water and a paint brush, dip the brush in the water, and with it moisten one half of the paper. Over the wet half lay one of the

Fig. 220. triangles so that its long edge almost touches the central line, then gently press it until the paper holds fast to the card-board (Fig. 219). Remove the pins and turn the triangle over to make sure the paper is quite smooth on the right side; then lay it down again, moisten the other half of the gummed surface and

Fig. 221. press another triangle over that part, keeping the edges of the two triangles perfectly parallel, but not touching. The space between the edges must be left to give room for the bending of the corners (Fig. 220). Pin a second strip of

Fig. 222. paper to the table, moisten one half, and press still another triangle in place; continue doing this until all four sides of the pyramid are joined as in Fig. 221; then bring the last two edges together, while holding it in your hand, and press the moistened paper down, smoothing out any wrinkles that may appear. Lastly, trim off the ends of the paper at the bottom, and stand your pyramid up, holding it so that its base will form a perfect square (Fig. 222). Do not allow it to flatten and form a diamond. The top edges of the paper should be trimmed off as the sides are put together.

There are six parts to

Fig. 223.

The House,

two sides, two ends, and two halves of the roof. Draw these on your heavy card-board, like Fig. 223, the roof; Fig. 224, the side, and Fig. 225, the end, making them according to the dimensions given on each diagram. Put the house together, as you did the pyramid, with the passe-partout paper. When you have joined the sides and ends of the house and have fastened the two halves of the roof together, paste strips of the passe-partout paper along the upper edges of the sides of the house, as in Fig. 226. These strips must be on the

Fig. 224.

Fig. 225.

Fig. 226.

Fig. 227. inside, and half of the paper must extend above the edges of the sides. Moisten this part and, fitting the roof to the house, put your hand inside and press the paper up against the roof; this will hold it securely in place. In fitting the roof on, be sure it extends exactly the same distance over each end of the house (Fig. 227).

Fig. 228.

Fig. 229.

Fig. 230.

The Chimney

is adjustable and is not fastened to the house. Make four sides; two like Fig. 228, two like Fig. 229. The dimensions of each side are given on the diagrams. In putting the chimney together, paste your strips of paper only as far up as the dotted line at the top, the part beyond this line is to be turned over as in Fig. 230, which shows the completed chimney. Make

The Wings

with slanting roofs like the ones shown in the illustration of the

Fig. 231. church. Fig. 231 is the highest side, which goes next the house when the wing is added;

Fig. 232. Fig. 232 is the lower side; Fig. 233 is for the two ends, which are exactly alike, and Fig. 234 is the roof. The dimensions are given on the diagrams.

Fig. 233.

Fig. 234.

Fig. 235.

Fig. 236.

Fig. 237.

The Tower and Steeple

which transform the house into a church are shown in the illustration. Cut two sides for the tower like Fig. 235, and two like Fig. 236, and put them together like Fig. 237. The notches in the lower part of the tower and of the chimney allow them to sit astride the roof, which position holds them in place without making them permanent. Fig. 238 and Fig. 239 are for the cornice of the tower, which is something like a box with a square opening at the bottom and a round hole at the top. Cut Fig. 238 according to the dimensions given and bend at the dotted lines, first the lengthwise lines, then the cross ones. Allow the laps with the trimmed corners to come on top of the others. Put the two end edges together with the gummed paper to form a square, then with a drop of glue or paste at each corner fasten the laps in position, as shown in Fig. 240. In the centre of a perfect square, made according to the dimensions on the diagram, Fig. 239, cut a circular hole;

Fig. 238. paste strips of paper along the four edges of the square, Fig. 241, bend down the free edges of the paper and paste the square on top of the cornice. Fig. 240 is the cornice with top down to show its construction. Cut the steeple from rather heavy drawing-paper, like Fig. 242, keeping to the dimensions on the diagram. Turn in the lower laps and paste the side lap over the corresponding edge to form a cone (Fig. 243). Drop a little glue on each of the lower laps, place the cone directly over the circular hole in the top of the cornice, and, slipping your fingers through the hole, press the laps down until they are firmly fixed. Fit the cornice on the tower, but do not attempt to glue it, for it will hold its place quite well without.

Fig. 239.

Fig. 240.

Fig. 241.

Fig. 242.

Fig. 243.

Your own ingenuity will suggest other models to be made in this way; any angular object is easily constructed, and curved ones are not impossible.

The Tower and Steeple which Transform the House into a Church.

CHAPTER IX
QUICK INK PICTURES

When you happen to drop ink on paper you may be using, do not look disconsolate and feel uncomfortable. Make a joke of the accident by turning the blot into something funny. Fold the paper over the ink-spot, press the two sides together; then open the fold, and you will find the dull, round blot transformed into a queer, comical-looking object the like of which was never seen on land or sea. The strange thing about these oddities is that try as you may you cannot coax any two ink-drops to change themselves into the same shape; they utterly refuse to do so. Experiment with them and you will soon realize that each has its own independent idea regarding the figure it will assume, insisting, when you press it, upon taking the matter into its own hidden hands and turning into whatever it pleases. The various results are generally decorative and might often be used with good effect for book-plates.

If You Have a Group

of three or four ink-drops, they may be controlled to a certain extent. Hold the paper so that the wet ink will trickle downward, and you can join the blots together, elongating the design; then, when the paper is folded lightly, if you press the ink with short, gentle strokes out sidewise the tiny splashes tend in that direction, and an upward movement will cause the ink to spread upward—sometimes in little streaks, again in a bulging way, giving an uneven, undulating boundary. Should the paper be folded across the ink the result would be a single figure, while an allowance of an eighth or quarter of an inch space before creasing the paper gives two designs, one a duplicate because a print of the other. A similar method of making ink-impressions is to splash the fluid on the paper with a paint-brush and then to fold and press it; or, group drops of ink with the splash of a brush and press the two sides of the paper together.

Ink Marine. Fig. 244.

The ink-impressions may be made to take the form of

Landscapes and Marines

Often very pretty effects can be produced in this simple manner. Fig. 244 is a suggestion showing a stretch of sky with mountains as a background and points of land jutting

Ink Marine. Fig. 245. out into the sea for the middle distance, while the foreground is entirely of water, which reflects the distant purple hills. The picture is readily made, but the work must be rapid to insure success, as delays cause the ink to dry in spots, which ruin the design. Fold through the centre a piece of blank, unruled paper from a large-sized writing pad; open it and on the upper portion mark the sections according to diagram Fig. 245. The dotted line indicates the crease through the centre of the paper and gives the distance at which the first sections should be placed above the fold. With a lead-pencil lightly trace the divisions: have ready a bottle of ink, a common water-color brush, a glass of water and a clean dinner-plate. Dip the brush in the ink and dab it on the plate several times; then do the same with the water, mixing ink and water together. Try the strength of this mixture on a scrap of paper; if it corresponds to the tone of the second point of land in Fig. 244 (or A in the diagram) it is ready for use. B and D (Fig. 245) require a degree lighter than A, so mix more water than ink on a clean place in the plate. C (Fig. 245) is the faintest mountain and needs the most water mixed with ink. Use ink as it comes from the bottle for E (Fig. 245), the nearest point of land, as that is the darkest portion. Test the three tones and keep changing them, adding more water as needed, until you are satisfied that each one is of the required strength; then wash the brush clean and be sure everything is ready for the work. Having once commenced, you cannot stop an instant until the sketch is finished; understand exactly what you intend to do and how you are to do it before beginning, as there will be

Fig. 246.

Fig. 247.

Fig. 248.

No Time for Deliberation,

and you must work as fast as possible. Dip the brush in the lightest tone of diluted ink, have it well charged with the fluid, and in swift strokes paint C. Without stopping, take up the next lightest tone on the brush and sweep in B and D, then the darker, A, and finish with E in pure ink. Fold the paper immediately, and, holding it down flat on the table with the left hand, press with the right; rub the paper all over again and again, being sure to cover the entire surface in order to print the mountains on the lower portion of the paper. The study will then be finished with the exception of the sailing-vessel, which may be indicated with a few strokes. Bring the brush to a fine point and trace in ink the lines of Fig. 246. First make the central vertical line, then the slanting line on the right-hand side which joins the mast a short distance from the top, from the same point extend two lines down on the left. Fig. 247 is the hull of the vessel, and the straight line crossing it a short distance from the top denotes the narrow space to be left white. Fig. 248 shows the complete outline of the craft, intentionally made as simple as possible, to enable any girl to introduce the boat into the sketch without difficulty. As is seen in Fig.

Fig. 249. 244, the boat is filled in with black and duplicates itself in the shadow reflected on the water, but the shadow must be made with the brush; it cannot be printed from the boat. The chrysalis of the

Ink Butterfly

(Fig. 249) was made of two or three ink-blots and a splash of ink from a paint-brush. This chrysalis did

Fig. 250. not in the least resemble a real one, but when the paper was folded along the edge of the ink a butterfly appeared.

On soft-finish paper write any word you choose; then, while the ink is wet, fold the paper, and upon opening it you will find

Fig. 251.

An Odd Design

Figs. 250 and 251 were made in this way; both from written words which represent most desirable states of mind. When you can gain Fig. 250 you will surely have Fig. 251.

The Fantastic Horses

(Fig. 252) gave no hint of what might be expected when they were first seen in the form of a group of shiny black spots, and it was only after opening the folded paper that they revealed their true character as extravaganza animals with legs different in length and extraordinary eyes.

Fig. 252.

You can make creatures wilder in appearance than these, and in this way form a collection of pictures of the animals you have never known.

Fig. 253 represents

A Pair of Birds

of a peculiar kind, found nowhere but inside ink-bottles. Others may come from the same source, but none will be precisely like these. Try the experiment of ink-drops on pieces of muslin; work rapidly and you will be delighted with the results.

Fig. 253.

If you are fond of

Nature Study

and happen to have vines or any other kind of house plants, you can make valuable ink sketches from them. Break off a few pieces of the main growth. Take one at a time, and with the left hand hold the spray either in the bright sunlight or lamplight in such a way as to cast a distinct clean shadow upon the paper pad that is placed beneath it. With a brush dipped into the ink, paint over the shadow; be careful to follow every turn and twist of leaf and stem, that the sketch may be true in every detail. You will find the work to be quick and easy and the results satisfactory. In no other

Fig. 254. way can better characteristic growth of the various specimens be obtained. Notice carefully Fig. 254,

Fig. 255. and it will give a true idea of the plant; and Fig. 255, how naturally and gracefully the vine turns in curving lines. Fig. 256 gives sprigs from four different plants. Can you name them? All the studies are decorative and furnish original designs for embroidery,

Fig. 256. or wood-carving, but, best of all, you can make and use this kind of ink-pictures as illustrations for the book in which you write down your notes on Nature study, and so be able, after describing a plant, to give an original, realistic picture of it.

Small specimens can be painted with ink, root and all forming one picture, but larger plants must be separated at the centres and a study made of each part, the two halves being placed side by side on the same piece of paper.

CHAPTER X
MOVING TOYS

How would you like a merry-go-round with all the animals prancing one after another, each with a girl or a boy on its back, riding along regardless of the speed of the steed, like the real ones you have tried in the parks and at the seashore?

The Merry-go-round

Fig. 257, is easily made, the work consisting mostly of stringing different things on a hat-pin and sticking the pin through a box. Procure a long hat-pin (Fig. 258), a large, empty spool (Fig. 259), three small corks (Fig. 260) and, for a foundation, a round flat box if you can obtain or make it, if not, a common note-paper box must answer the purpose. A piece of string about a yard long and two shank buttons will help out the simple machinery (Fig. 259). The canopy is of paper or card-board (Fig. 261) and the support for the animals of card-board (Fig. 262).

Fig. 257.

Fig. 258.

Lay a piece of card-board flat and place over it an ordinary tea-plate; hold the plate steady and draw a circle on the card-board by running the lead-pencil around the edge of the plate. This will give a circle of about the desired size. Then draw bands across the circle, as in Fig. 262; to do this draw lines dividing the circle into quarters and at the left of each of the four lines draw a line a little more than half an inch away from it, making four bands (Fig. 262). Cut out the circle, then the four wedge-shaped pieces between the bands, and bend up the end of each band five-eighths of an inch (Fig. 262).

Fig. 259.

Fig. 260.

On these ends paste any stiff paper animals you may happen to have, (Fig. 263), selecting those which will balance each other, as the merry-go-round must revolve evenly. Colored scrap-book animals look well and are stiff enough to hold themselves firmly in place. Should you not happen to possess these, animals from old pamphlets, advertisements or newspapers may be used. They should be stiffened by being pasted flat on thin card-board or stiff paper. When fastening the animals on the merry-go-round paste the body of the animal to the turned-up end of the card-board band (Fig. 263).

Fig. 261.

In Making the Canopy

use a small saucer or bowl as a guide to draw the circle on paper or card-board. Cut out the circle, point it around the edge (Fig. 261), turn the points down and the canopy is

Fig. 262. ready to go on the hat-pin. If you do not have the correct-sized plate, saucer, or bowl, the circles may be drawn with the aid of a home-made compass. To make the compass, take a pair of scissors and a piece of card-board (Fig. 264), punch two holes about two inches apart in the card-board and through them pass the points of the scissors until they extend through on the other side an inch or a trifle more; secured in this way the scissors make a very good compass. Adjust the scissors so that the distance between the two points is four inches, then firmly

Fig. 263. stick the sharper point in a piece of cardboard and, keeping that steady, slowly move the other point around in a circle, pressing it down only hard enough to scratch the surface (Fig. 264). Make the circle for the canopy in the same way, but have the distance between the scissor points

Fig. 264. much less—not more than two and one-fourth inches—in order to preserve the correct proportions.

Now watch the almost

Magical Forming of the Merry-go-round

Pass the long hat-pin (Fig. 258) through the exact centre of the canopy (Fig. 261) then put on one of the corks (Fig. 260); work this up tight to the canopy that it may hold the latter in place. Twist the cork around and around on the pin, as it will be apt to go on crooked if the pin be forced carelessly through the cork. String on another cork, working it up the pin midway, then slide on the bands, with the animals attached, pushing the pin through the exact centre of the pasteboard; next put on the large spool.

The Box Must Have Some Holes

made in it before using; puncture two one inch from the front edge and four inches apart in the lid; then make two more holes through both lid and box on the front side half an inch from the top and five inches apart, as seen in the illustration. Fig. 257.

Stick the loaded pin through the centre of the box-lid, bringing it well down, and cover the extreme point of the pin with the last cork in order to prevent the pin from coming through and pricking. This cork must lie firmly on the bottom of the inside of the box.

The merry-go-round is now ready for the machinery to set it in motion. Pass the string around the spool and cross the two ends in front (Fig. 259) keeping the ends crossed; thread one of the ends through the two holes on its own side of the box, bringing the end out from the front of the box, do the same with the other end of the string as shown in the illustration. To prevent the string from accidentally slipping back through the holes, tie a shank button on each of the ends.

Now, holding the box with one hand, gently

Pull One End of the String

with the other hand and see the animals go dancing around, just like the big wooden griffins, zebras, and giraffes on real carousels.[carousels.]

Of course, the merry-go-round needs boys and girls to ride the animals and enjoy the sport. Look them up in the advertisements of old magazines, newspapers, or wherever you can find paper young people. Cut them out neatly and let them take turns riding on the different animals. When cutting out the legs of the paper children, merely cut up a deep slit to divide the legs in order to make the riders cling firmly to the various animals.

The brighter the colors used in the merry-go-round the gayer and more attractive its appearance. There is

Something Very Fascinating

in the toy; even grown people are interested and amused as they watch it whiz around with its burden of happy little paper children. Another lively game for paper children is the

Flag Dance,

(Fig. 265), where each doll actually waves its own little paper flag as she dances to and fro.

Make four small flags of different colored tissue-paper, each 1½ inch wide and 3 inches long, which allows for fastening to the staff.

Four little paper girls can be cut from Fig. 266. Take four half-sheets of stiff, unruled white writing-paper, fold each lengthwise through the centre; then trace Fig. 266 and cut it out of an extra piece of paper. Lay this half figure with its straight edge on the fold of one of the papers and with a lead-pencil draw a line around it. Cut out and open (Fig. 267). Make four dolls. Cut the flag-staff off the right hand of two and off the left hand of the other two, that the hands on the outside of the group, when the dolls

Fig. 265. are in place, may hold the flags (Fig. 268). Draw or paint a face and dress on each of the little girls, being sure to use the inside of the bend or fold for the front of the doll, as this slight inclination to fold forward after the doll is cut out and straightened out flat is of great assistance in bracing the figure when it is in position. Cut a slit up between the feet, but no further. Let the legs be of one piece, to insure greater strength to the standing doll (Fig. 267). Fold the flag-staff lengthwise, also the hand holding it, and give to each of the paper children one of the home-made tissue-paper flags by pasting a flag on every flag-staff (Fig. 268). When the dolls are ready, obtain a very flexible, slender, cloth-covered, long steel from a dress-waist or stays, and tie a strong black thread from end to end, making a stretch of nine or ten inches. On the centre of this thread tie another about a yard long (Fig. 265), and on the steel foundation fasten the four dolls. They should stand erect, one on each end, and two midway between centre and ends.

Fig. 268 shows the method of pasting the feet of the figures on the steel; slide the steel up between the feet; then bend them forward and glue one foot on each side of the steel, flat against it. Fasten a flag, about four and a half inches long, on the end of a long, strong hat-pin; then stick the pin firmly in a small pastry-board and slip the steel with its pretty children over it, resting the centre of the steel flat against the pin, which is now a flag-pole (Fig. 265).

Take hold of the loose end of the thread and step-back from the table on which the dolls are placed. When a sufficient distance away to cause the thread to stretch out straight give it a number of gentle jerks in quick succession. This will cause all the paper children to rush back and forth, waving their bright flags in triumph.

They can enter more heartily into the play if there is music, and it gives life to the “flag dance.” Ask your companion to strike up the “Star-Spangled Banner” on a comb while you make the little paper children dance in time to the music, which you can do by jerking the thread to the musical rhythm.

Find three large-sized button-moulds and some burnt matches for your

Button-mould Tops

Select round matches, as they will fit the holes in the button-moulds. Place one mould flat down on a piece of orange-colored paper and draw a line on the paper around its edge. Cut out the circular paper and paste it on the flat side of the button-mould; then pierce a hole through its surface, exactly over the hole in the mould, slide a match, unburnt end first, through the mould, until it extends about one-third

Fig. 268. beyond the bottom of the mould. If the match does not seem firm, fasten it in place with a little mucilage. When this top is finished, make two more of the same size, one covered with red and the other with green paper. No string is necessary for spinning these tops; merely give each one a twist with the thumb and second finger of the right hand and around it goes.

The Game

consists in spinning the three tops, one immediately after the other, the red top first, then the orange one, and last the green, allowing them all to whirl around together and not disturbing them in any way until the last one to cease spinning falls. The top which keeps up for the longest time scores the first point. When the first round is finished set the tops twirling again, commencing with the orange one and taking the red one last. Mark down the score of the winning top and give them all a third and last trial, leading with the green top and bringing in the orange last. The top which gains the greatest number of point wins the game. Should each top gain a point, the game would be a “tie,” and necessitate the playing of it all over again.

In case two friends would like to join in the sport, the game may be changed. Let each, with closed eyes, select a top, leaving one for the hostess. At a given signal have all the tops spin at once. The top which stands up longest wins the first point, and the greatest number of points the game. Allow two rounds, making six points to each three-handed game.

CHAPTER XI
HOME-MADE PYROTECHNICS

If you would like some bright, lively fireworks, the kind you can manufacture at home, make them the day before the celebration, and there will be no necessity of waiting all the long hours until dark before seeing the sparks fly. Begin the fun early the next morning, and fire off these queer fireworks the entire day. The

Fig. 269.

Fig. 270.

Fig. 271.

Three-story Red, White, and Blue Pin-wheel

is very satisfactory, affording three times the enjoyment of a simple one-story affair. Fold a three-inch square of stiff red paper diagonally across from corner to corner, making two folds, which cross at the centre of the paper. Unfold and cut the square along the folds almost to the centre (Fig. 269); then pierce the alternating corner flaps with a long, stiff hat-pin, allowing each point threaded on the pin to remain there; run the pin through the centre of the paper (Fig. 270) and shove the red pin-wheel up close to the large round head of the hat-pin. Push a small cork on also, to prevent the pin-wheel from slipping. Work up another cork on the pin, about an inch or so below the first one; then make a larger pin-wheel of white paper and slide it on the same hat-pin, holding it in place with a third cork. Cut the last pin-wheel still larger and make it of blue paper. Shove up a fourth cork on the pin, and below, against it, thread on the blue pin-wheel. No cork will be required under the last pin-wheel; the hat-pin being now pushed firmly into the end of a stick, the blue pin-wheel cannot slide out of place (Fig. 271).

When ready, run with the toy, or whirl rapidly around, holding it in your hand, and see how beautifully the three parts spin, the whole appearing like a whirling red, white, and blue pyramid.

Another

Pin-wheel in Your Hands

has a button as a foundation. Take a large cup and trace two circles on yellow paper measuring three and a half inches in diameter; make two smaller circles of red paper, two still smaller of green paper, two others—decreasing in size—of yellow paper, and the two smallest circles of blue paper (Fig. 272). Separate the disks into two groups exactly

Fig. 272.

Fig. 273. alike; then fasten each of the two sets of disks together by placing one over another; they will form two vari-colored disks, each a duplication of the other. Select a large button and place it between two vari-colored disks. Be sure to have it in the centre; then with a large pin or needle punch two holes through the disks, covering the corresponding opposite holes in the button. Thread a string through the two holes and tie the ends together (Fig. 273); join the edges of the two disks and the pin-wheel will be ready for action. Place the first two fingers of the right hand in one loop, and of the left hand in the other; give the string a twirl and pull the hands apart. The motion causes the string to twist, allowing the hands to come nearer together; another outward motion of the hands and the pin-wheel will revolve rapidly in another direction. By alternately bringing the hands together and pulling them apart, the pin-wheel can be kept spinning as long as you like. In making the pin-wheel, the paper may be either pasted or sewed; it is firmer when pasted.

Pin-wheels on the Fence

are fiery, sparkling, and larger than the hand pin-wheels Find a large-sized empty spool (Fig. 274) for a foundation; then cut a circular pasteboard disk four inches in diameter for the back of the pin-wheel (Fig. 275). Make blue fire of strips of fringed-out bright-blue paper (Fig. 276) and paste them across each other on the disk (Fig. 277). Cut a square

Fig. 274.

Fig. 275. of yellow paper fringed around the edges for the yellow fire and fasten it over the blue fire. Make red fire of a circle of fringed red paper (Fig. 278) a trifle smaller than the yellow, that the yellow fire may be seen surrounding the red and the blue stand out beyond the yellow. Each succeeding layer of fire must be smaller, though not necessarily of the same shape as the last. The uneven, straggling ends add to the effect when the pin-wheel is in motion. Let the last two Fig. 276.

Fig. 277. papers be white and green and on the top fasten irregular lengths of the thread-like tinsel left from your Christmas-tree decorations. Do not bunch it too much; have the tinsel string out

Fig. 278. long in various directions, so it will look like dropping flying sparks when you fire off the pin-wheel. If you have no tinsel, finely cut stands of gold-paper may take its place. Paste the back of the pin-wheel securely on one end of the empty spool. When finished it should resemble Fig. 279. Select a strong wire nail and push it through a small disk of inked pasteboard (Fig. 280); bring the pasteboard up close to the head of the nail, then pierce the pin-wheel in the centre and run the nail through both wheel and spool. The little black card-board prevents