SOME OF OUR OUT-DOOR NEIGHBORS AND WHERE TO LOOK FOR THEM 365
Observation Book, 366; The Squirrel, 367; The Red Squirrel,
The Chipmunk, 368; The Weasel, 369; Salamander, 370; The
Cicadas, 371; Insect Music, 373; The Indian Pipe, The
Moccasin Flower, 374; Engraver Beetle, The ’Coon, 375; The
Flying Squirrel, Luna Moth, 377; Woodchuck, 380; The
Sea-shore, 381; The Jelly-fish, Sea-anemones, 382;
Sea-urchins, 383; Starfish, 384.
PART I
WHAT A GIRL CAN MAKE
[Illustration: 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.
[Illustration: 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.
[Illustration: 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.
[Illustration: 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.
[Illustration: 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.
[Illustration: Fig. 7.]
[Illustration: 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=
[Illustration: 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=
[Illustration: 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.
[Illustration: 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.
[Illustration: 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 [Illustration: 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.
[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 [Illustration: 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.
[Illustration: 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.
[Illustration: Fig. 16.]
[Illustration: Fig. 17]
[Illustration: Fig. 18.]
=A Five O’clock Tea-Table=
[Illustration: 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.
[Illustration: Fig. 19.]
[Illustration: Fig. 21.]
[Illustration: 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.
[Illustration: 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 [Illustration: 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.
[Illustration: 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 [Illustration: 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
[Illustration: 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 [Illustration: 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
[Illustration: 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.
[Illustration: 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.
[Illustration: 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.
[Illustration: 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. [Illustration: 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.
[Illustration: Fig. 31.]
[Illustration: Fig. 32.]
[Illustration: 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 [Illustration: 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.
[Illustration: 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
[Illustration: 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 [Illustration: 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 [Illustration: 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.
[Illustrations: Figs. 40-43.]
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.
[Illustration: 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.
[Illustration: Fig. 45.]
[Illustration: 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
[Illustration: 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:
[Illustration: Fig. 48.]
[Illustration: Fig. 49.]
[Illustration: Fig. 50.]
[Illustration: 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 [Illustration: 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.
[Illustration: 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
[Illustration: 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.
[Illustration: 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.
[Illustration: Fig. 55.]
[Illustration: 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.
[Illustration: Fig. 57.]
[Illustration: Fig. 58.]
[Illustration: Fig. 59.]
[Illustration: Fig. 60.]
[Illustration: Fig. 61.]
[Illustration: 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
[Illustration: Fig. 63.]
[Illustration: Fig. 64.]
[Illustration: Fig. 65.]
[Illustration: 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
[Illustration: Fig. 67.]
=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
[Illustration: 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 [Illustration:
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 [Illustration: 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
[Illustration: 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
[Illustration: Fig. 72.] the top, as an opening for the spout. Soaking
the shell in warm water for nearly half an hour will render
[Illustration: 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
[Illustration: 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
[Illustration: 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).
[Illustration: Fig. 76.]
[Illustration: Fig. 77.]
[Illustration: Fig. 78.]
[Illustration: Fig. 79.]
[Illustration: 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
[Illustration: Fig. 80.]
[Illustration: Fig. 81.]
[Illustration: 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=
[Illustration: Fig. 83.]
[Illustration: Fig. 85.]
[Illustration: Fig. 86.]
[Illustration: 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 [Illustration: 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=
[Illustration: Fig. 92.]
[Illustration: Fig. 88.]
[Illustration: 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.
[Illustration: Fig. 98.]
=The Egg Develops Into an Ostrich=
[Illustration: Fig. 93.]
[Illustration: Fig. 94.]
[Illustration: Fig. 96.]
[Illustration: Fig. 97.]
[Illustration: 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=
[Illustration: Fig. 103.]
[Illustration: Fig. 100.]
[Illustration: Fig. 99.]
[Illustration: Fig. 101.]
[Illustration: 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.
[Illustration: 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;
[Illustration: 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.
[Illustration: Fig. 106.]
[Illustration: Fig. 107.]
[Illustration: Fig. 108.]
[Illustration: Fig. 110.]
[Illustration: Fig. 112.]
[Illustration: Fig. 109.]
[Illustration: 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.
[Illustration: Fig. 113.]
[Illustration: 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, [Illustration: Fig. 115.] [Illustration: 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 [Illustration: 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.
[Illustration: Fig. 118.]
[Illustration: Fig. 119.]
[Illustration: 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.
[Illustration: 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.
[Illustration: 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. [Illustration: 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 [Illustration: 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 [Illustration: 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 [Illustration: 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.
[Illustration: Fig. 126.]
[Illustration: Fig. 127.]
[Illustration: 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.
[Illustration: 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.
[Illustration: Fig. 128.]
[Illustration: 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, [Illustration: 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.
[Illustration: Fig. 131.]
[Illustration: Fig. 132.]
[Illustration: 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.
[Illustration: Fig. 134.]
[Illustration: Fig. 135.]
[Illustration: 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.
[Illustration: 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=
[Illustration: 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 [Illustration: 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
[Illustration: 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
[Illustration: 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 [Illustration: 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 [Illustration: 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
[Illustration: 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
[Illustration: 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). [Illustration: 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
[Illustration: 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 [Illustration: 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.
[Illustration: 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 [Illustration: 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=
[Illustration: 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.
[Illustration: Fig. 153.]
[Illustration: Fig. 154.]
[Illustration: Fig. 155.]
[Illustration: 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.
[Illustration: 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 [Illustration: Fig. 158.] [Illustration: 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.
[Illustration: 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
[Illustration: 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 [Illustration: 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, [Illustration:
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 [Illustration: 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.”
[Illustration: 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.
[Illustration: Fig. 165.]
[Illustration: 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 [Illustration: 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 [Illustration: 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.”
[Illustration: 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).
[Illustration: 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.
[Illustration: 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 [Illustration: 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).
[Illustration: 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
[Illustration: 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 [Illustration: Fig.
175.] [Illustration: Fig. 176.] [Illustration: 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 [Illustration: 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:
[Illustration: Fig. 179.]
“Go, Little Flowers,
Salute My Valentine,
Who Can, Who May,
Who Must Be Mine.”
[Illustration]
[Illustration: 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.
[Illustration: 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 [Illustration: Fig. 183.] [Illustration: Fig. 185.]
[Illustration: Fig. 184.] [Illustration: 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.
[Illustration: Fig. 189.]
[Illustration: Fig. 187.]
[Illustration: Fig. 188.]
[Illustration: Fig. 191.]
[Illustration: 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
=Potato Turkey=
Select a small potato (Fig. 192)[Illustration: 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
[Illustration: Fig. 193.]). Trace Fig. 194 [Illustration: 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
[Illustration: Fig. 195.]). If you wish to have your turkey look extra
fine, make wattles of red paper or cloth (Fig. 196 [Illustration: Fig.
196.]); fold as in Fig. 197 [Illustration: 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 [Illustration: 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).
[Illustration: Fig. 199.]
[Illustration: Fig. 200.]
[Illustration: 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 [Illustration: 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 [Illustration: 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).
[Illustration: Fig. 204.]
[Illustration: 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 [Illustration:
Fig. 206.] [Illustration: 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.
[Illustration: Fig. 208.]
[Illustration: 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.
[Illustration: Fig. 210.]
[Illustration: 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
[Illustration: 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.
[Illustration: Fig. 213.]
[Illustration: Fig. 214.]
[Illustration: 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 [Illustration: Fig. 216.] [Illustration: 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.
[Illustration: 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 [Illustration:
Fig. 218.] [Illustration: 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
[Illustration: 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 [Illustration:
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 [Illustration: 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
[Illustration: 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
[Illustration: Fig. 224.]
[Illustration: Fig. 225.]
[Illustration: Fig. 226.] [Illustration: 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).
[Illustration: Fig. 228.]
[Illustration: Fig. 229.]
[Illustration: 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
[Illustration: Fig. 231.] church. Fig. 231 is the highest side, which
goes next the house when the wing is added; [Illustration: 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.
[Illustration: Fig. 233.]
[Illustration: Fig. 234.]
[Illustration: Fig. 235.]
[Illustration: Fig. 236.]
[Illustration: 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; [Illustration:
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.
[Illustration: Fig. 239.]
[Illustration: Fig. 240.]
[Illustration: Fig. 241.]
[Illustration: Fig. 242.]
[Illustration: 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.
[Illustration: 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.
[Illustration: 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 [Illustration: 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
[Illustration: Fig. 246.]
[Illustration: Fig. 247.]
[Illustration: 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. [Illustration:
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 [Illustration: 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
[Illustration: 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=