seen in the form of a group of shiny black spots, and it was only after
opening the folded paper that they revealed their true character as
extravaganza animals with legs different in length and extraordinary
eyes.
[Illustration: Fig. 252.]
You can make creatures wilder in appearance than these, and in this way
form a collection of pictures of the animals you have never known.
Fig. 253 represents
=A Pair of Birds=
of a peculiar kind, found nowhere but inside ink-bottles. Others may
come from the same source, but none will be precisely like these. Try
the experiment of ink-drops on pieces of muslin; work rapidly and you
will be delighted with the results.
[Illustration: Fig. 253.]
If you are fond of
=Nature Study=
and happen to have vines or any other kind of house plants, you can make
valuable ink sketches from them. Break off a few pieces of the main
growth. Take one at a time, and with the left hand hold the spray either
in the bright sunlight or lamplight in such a way as to cast a distinct
clean shadow upon the paper pad that is placed beneath it. With a brush
dipped into the ink, paint over the shadow; be careful to follow every
turn and twist of leaf and stem, that the sketch may be true in every
detail. You will find the work to be quick and easy and the results
satisfactory. In no other [Illustration: Fig. 254.] way can better
characteristic growth of the various specimens be obtained. Notice
carefully Fig. 254, [Illustration: Fig. 255.] and it will give a true
idea of the plant; and Fig. 255, how naturally and gracefully the vine
turns in curving lines. Fig. 256 gives sprigs from four different
plants. Can you name them? All the studies are decorative and furnish
original designs for embroidery, [Illustration: Fig. 256.] or
wood-carving, but, best of all, you can make and use this kind of
ink-pictures as illustrations for the book in which you write down your
notes on Nature study, and so be able, after describing a plant, to give
an original, realistic picture of it.
Small specimens can be painted with ink, root and all forming one
picture, but larger plants must be separated at the centres and a study
made of each part, the two halves being placed side by side on the same
piece of paper.
CHAPTER X
MOVING TOYS
How would you like a merry-go-round with all the animals prancing one
after another, each with a girl or a boy on its back, riding along
regardless of the speed of the steed, like the real ones you have tried
in the parks and at the seashore?
=The Merry-go-round=
Fig. 257, is easily made, the work consisting mostly of stringing
different things on a hat-pin and sticking the pin through a box.
Procure a long hat-pin (Fig. 258), a large, empty spool (Fig. 259),
three small corks (Fig. 260) and, for a foundation, a round flat box if
you can obtain or make it, if not, a common note-paper box must answer
the purpose. A piece of string about a yard long and two shank buttons
will help out the simple machinery (Fig. 259). The canopy is of paper or
card-board (Fig. 261) and the support for the animals of card-board
(Fig. 262).
[Illustration: Fig. 257.]
[Illustration: Fig. 258.]
Lay a piece of card-board flat and place over it an ordinary tea-plate;
hold the plate steady and draw a circle on the card-board by running the
lead-pencil around the edge of the plate. This will give a circle of
about the desired size. Then draw bands across the circle, as in Fig.
262; to do this draw lines dividing the circle into quarters and at the
left of each of the four lines draw a line a little more than half an
inch away from it, making four bands (Fig. 262). Cut out the circle,
then the four wedge-shaped pieces between the bands, and bend up the end
of each band five-eighths of an inch (Fig. 262).
[Illustration: Fig. 259.]
[Illustration: Fig. 260.]
On these ends paste any stiff paper animals you may happen to have,
(Fig. 263), selecting those which will balance each other, as the
merry-go-round must revolve evenly. Colored scrap-book animals look well
and are stiff enough to hold themselves firmly in place. Should you not
happen to possess these, animals from old pamphlets, advertisements or
newspapers may be used. They should be stiffened by being pasted flat on
thin card-board or stiff paper. When fastening the animals on the
merry-go-round paste the body of the animal to the turned-up end of the
card-board band (Fig. 263).
[Illustration: Fig. 261.]
=In Making the Canopy=
use a small saucer or bowl as a guide to draw the circle on paper or
card-board. Cut out the circle, point it around the edge (Fig. 261),
turn the points down and the canopy is [Illustration: Fig. 262.] ready
to go on the hat-pin. If you do not have the correct-sized plate,
saucer, or bowl, the circles may be drawn with the aid of a home-made
compass. To make the compass, take a pair of scissors and a piece of
card-board (Fig. 264), punch two holes about two inches apart in the
card-board and through them pass the points of the scissors until they
extend through on the other side an inch or a trifle more; secured in
this way the scissors make a very good compass. Adjust the scissors so
that the distance between the two points is four inches, then firmly
[Illustration: Fig. 263.] stick the sharper point in a piece of
cardboard and, keeping that steady, slowly move the other point around
in a circle, pressing it down only hard enough to scratch the surface
(Fig. 264). Make the circle for the canopy in the same way, but have the
distance between the scissor points [Illustration: Fig. 264.] much
less—not more than two and one-fourth inches—in order to preserve the
correct proportions.
Now watch the almost
=Magical Forming of the Merry-go-round=
Pass the long hat-pin (Fig. 258) through the exact centre of the canopy
(Fig. 261) then put on one of the corks (Fig. 260); work this up tight
to the canopy that it may hold the latter in place. Twist the cork
around and around on the pin, as it will be apt to go on crooked if the
pin be forced carelessly through the cork. String on another cork,
working it up the pin midway, then slide on the bands, with the animals
attached, pushing the pin through the exact centre of the pasteboard;
next put on the large spool.
=The Box Must Have Some Holes=
made in it before using; puncture two one inch from the front edge and
four inches apart in the lid; then make two more holes through both lid
and box on the front side half an inch from the top and five inches
apart, as seen in the illustration. Fig. 257.
Stick the loaded pin through the centre of the box-lid, bringing it well
down, and cover the extreme point of the pin with the last cork in order
to prevent the pin from coming through and pricking. This cork must lie
firmly on the bottom of the inside of the box.
The merry-go-round is now ready for the machinery to set it in motion.
Pass the string around the spool and cross the two ends in front (Fig.
259) keeping the ends crossed; thread one of the ends through the two
holes on its own side of the box, bringing the end out from the front of
the box, do the same with the other end of the string as shown in the
illustration. To prevent the string from accidentally slipping back
through the holes, tie a shank button on each of the ends.
Now, holding the box with one hand, gently
=Pull One End of the String=
with the other hand and see the animals go dancing around, just like the
big wooden griffins, zebras, and giraffes on real carousels.
Of course, the merry-go-round needs boys and girls to ride the animals
and enjoy the sport. Look them up in the advertisements of old
magazines, newspapers, or wherever you can find paper young people. Cut
them out neatly and let them take turns riding on the different animals.
When cutting out the legs of the paper children, merely cut up a deep
slit to divide the legs in order to make the riders cling firmly to the
various animals.
The brighter the colors used in the merry-go-round the gayer and more
attractive its appearance. There is
=Something Very Fascinating=
in the toy; even grown people are interested and amused as they watch it
whiz around with its burden of happy little paper children. Another
lively game for paper children is the
=Flag Dance,=
(Fig. 265), where each doll actually waves its own little paper flag as
she dances to and fro.
Make four small flags of different colored tissue-paper, each 1½ inch
wide and 3 inches long, which allows for fastening to the staff.
Four little paper girls can be cut from Fig. 266. Take four half-sheets
of stiff, unruled white writing-paper, fold each lengthwise through the
centre; then trace Fig. 266 and cut it out of an extra piece of paper.
Lay this half figure with its straight edge on the fold of one of the
papers and with a lead-pencil draw a line around it. Cut out and open
(Fig. 267). Make four dolls. Cut the flag-staff off the right hand of
two and off the left hand of the other two, that the hands on the
outside of the group, when the dolls [Illustration: Fig. 265.] are in
place, may hold the flags (Fig. 268). Draw or paint a face and dress on
each of the little girls, being sure to use the inside of the bend or
fold for the front of the doll, as this slight inclination to fold
forward after the doll is cut out and straightened out flat is of great
assistance in bracing the figure when it is in position. Cut a slit up
between the feet, but no further. Let the legs be of one piece, to
insure greater strength to the standing doll (Fig. 267). Fold the
flag-staff lengthwise, also the hand holding it, and give to each of the
paper children one of the home-made tissue-paper flags by pasting a flag
on every flag-staff (Fig. 268). When the dolls are ready, obtain a very
flexible, slender, cloth-covered, long steel from a dress-waist or
stays, and tie a strong black thread from end to end, making a stretch
of nine or ten inches. On the centre of this thread tie another about a
yard long (Fig. 265), and on the steel foundation fasten the four dolls.
They should stand erect, one on each end, and two midway between centre
and ends.
Fig. 268 shows the method of pasting the feet of the figures on the
steel; slide the steel up between the feet; then bend them forward and
glue one foot on each side of the steel, flat against it. Fasten a flag,
about four and a half inches long, on the end of a long, strong hat-pin;
then stick the pin firmly in a small pastry-board and slip the steel
with its pretty children over it, resting the centre of the steel flat
against the pin, which is now a flag-pole (Fig. 265).
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
Take hold of the loose end of the thread and step-back from the table on
which the dolls are placed. When a sufficient distance away to cause the
thread to stretch out straight give it a number of gentle jerks in quick
succession. This will cause all the paper children to rush back and
forth, waving their bright flags in triumph.
They can enter more heartily into the play if there is music, and it
gives life to the “flag dance.” Ask your companion to strike up the
“Star-Spangled Banner” on a comb while you make the little paper
children dance in time to the music, which you can do by jerking the
thread to the musical rhythm.
Find three large-sized button-moulds and some burnt matches for your
=Button-mould Tops=
Select round matches, as they will fit the holes in the button-moulds.
Place one mould flat down on a piece of orange-colored paper and draw a
line on the paper around its edge. Cut out the circular paper and paste
it on the flat side of the button-mould; then pierce a hole through its
surface, exactly over the hole in the mould, slide a match, unburnt end
first, through the mould, until it extends about one-third
[Illustration: Fig. 268.] beyond the bottom of the mould. If the match
does not seem firm, fasten it in place with a little mucilage. When this
top is finished, make two more of the same size, one covered with red
and the other with green paper. No string is necessary for spinning
these tops; merely give each one a twist with the thumb and second
finger of the right hand and around it goes.
=The Game=
consists in spinning the three tops, one immediately after the other,
the red top first, then the orange one, and last the green, allowing
them all to whirl around together and not disturbing them in any way
until the last one to cease spinning falls. The top which keeps up for
the longest time scores the first point. When the first round is
finished set the tops twirling again, commencing with the orange one and
taking the red one last. Mark down the score of the winning top and give
them all a third and last trial, leading with the green top and bringing
in the orange last. The top which gains the greatest number of point
wins the game. Should each top gain a point, the game would be a “tie,”
and necessitate the playing of it all over again.
In case two friends would like to join in the sport, the game may be
changed. Let each, with closed eyes, select a top, leaving one for the
hostess. At a given signal have all the tops spin at once. The top which
stands up longest wins the first point, and the greatest number of
points the game. Allow two rounds, making six points to each
three-handed game.
CHAPTER XI
HOME-MADE PYROTECHNICS
If you would like some bright, lively fireworks, the kind you can
manufacture at home, make them the day before the celebration, and there
will be no necessity of waiting all the long hours until dark before
seeing the sparks fly. Begin the fun early the next morning, and fire
off these queer fireworks the entire day. The
[Illustration: Fig. 269.]
[Illustration: Fig. 270.]
[Illustration: Fig. 271.]
=Three-story Red, White, and Blue Pin-wheel=
is very satisfactory, affording three times the enjoyment of a simple
one-story affair. Fold a three-inch square of stiff red paper diagonally
across from corner to corner, making two folds, which cross at the
centre of the paper. Unfold and cut the square along the folds almost to
the centre (Fig. 269); then pierce the alternating corner flaps with a
long, stiff hat-pin, allowing each point threaded on the pin to remain
there; run the pin through the centre of the paper (Fig. 270) and shove
the red pin-wheel up close to the large round head of the hat-pin. Push
a small cork on also, to prevent the pin-wheel from slipping. Work up
another cork on the pin, about an inch or so below the first one; then
make a larger pin-wheel of white paper and slide it on the same hat-pin,
holding it in place with a third cork. Cut the last pin-wheel still
larger and make it of blue paper. Shove up a fourth cork on the pin, and
below, against it, thread on the blue pin-wheel. No cork will be
required under the last pin-wheel; the hat-pin being now pushed firmly
into the end of a stick, the blue pin-wheel cannot slide out of place
(Fig. 271).
When ready, run with the toy, or whirl rapidly around, holding it in
your hand, and see how beautifully the three parts spin, the whole
appearing like a whirling red, white, and blue pyramid.
Another
=Pin-wheel in Your Hands=
has a button as a foundation. Take a large cup and trace two circles on
yellow paper measuring three and a half inches in diameter; make two
smaller circles of red paper, two still smaller of green paper, two
others—decreasing in size—of yellow paper, and the two smallest circles
of blue paper (Fig. 272). Separate the disks into two groups exactly
[Illustration: Fig. 272.] [Illustration: Fig. 273.] alike; then fasten
each of the two sets of disks together by placing one over another; they
will form two vari-colored disks, each a duplication of the other.
Select a large button and place it between two vari-colored disks. Be
sure to have it in the centre; then with a large pin or needle punch two
holes through the disks, covering the corresponding opposite holes in
the button. Thread a string through the two holes and tie the ends
together (Fig. 273); join the edges of the two disks and the pin-wheel
will be ready for action. Place the first two fingers of the right hand
in one loop, and of the left hand in the other; give the string a twirl
and pull the hands apart. The motion causes the string to twist,
allowing the hands to come nearer together; another outward motion of
the hands and the pin-wheel will revolve rapidly in another direction.
By alternately bringing the hands together and pulling them apart, the
pin-wheel can be kept spinning as long as you like. In making the
pin-wheel, the paper may be either pasted or sewed; it is firmer when
pasted.
=Pin-wheels on the Fence=
are fiery, sparkling, and larger than the hand pin-wheels Find a
large-sized empty spool (Fig. 274) for a foundation; then cut a circular
pasteboard disk four inches in diameter for the back of the pin-wheel
(Fig. 275). Make blue fire of strips of fringed-out bright-blue paper
(Fig. 276) and paste them across each other on the disk (Fig. 277). Cut
a square [Illustration: Fig. 274.] [Illustration: Fig. 275.] of yellow
paper fringed around the edges for the yellow fire and fasten it over
the blue fire. Make red fire of a circle of fringed red paper (Fig. 278)
a trifle smaller than the yellow, that the yellow fire may be seen
surrounding the red and the blue stand out beyond the yellow. Each
succeeding layer of fire must be smaller, though not necessarily of the
same shape as the last. The uneven, straggling ends add to the effect
when the pin-wheel is in motion. Let the last two [Illustration: 175]
papers be white and green and on the top fasten irregular lengths of the
thread-like tinsel left from your Christmas-tree decorations. Do not
bunch it too much; have the tinsel string out [Illustration: Fig. 278.]
long in various directions, so it will look like dropping flying sparks
when you fire off the pin-wheel. If you have no tinsel, finely cut
stands of gold-paper may take its place. Paste the back of the pin-wheel
securely on one end of the empty spool. When finished it should resemble
Fig. 279. Select a strong wire nail and push it through a small disk of
inked pasteboard (Fig. 280); bring the pasteboard up close to the head
of the nail, then pierce the pin-wheel in the centre and run the nail
through both wheel and spool. The little black card-board prevents
[Illustration: Fig. 279.] the pin-wheel from slipping off the nail.
After the paste or glue has dried, hammer the nail which is in the
pin-wheel upon the fence and set the firework off by means of a strong
string placed over the spool with the ends crossed (Fig. 281). By
holding the two ends of the [Illustration: Fig. 280.] [Illustration:
Fig. 281.] string, one in each hand, and rapidly pulling first one, then
the other, the pin-wheel will revolve so fast that it might be mistaken
for one of actual fire, but unlike the real one there is no likelihood
of the paper wheel turning black and falling to the ground. Yours will
spin as long and as often as you like, losing none of its brilliancy
(Fig. 282).
[Illustration: Fig. 282.]
=The Sparkling Calumet=
is fascinating. Its bright sparks fly up and out in every direction all
over your head, hair, and clothing, but they do [Illustration: Fig.
283.] no harm. Take a strip of stiff paper three and a half inches wide
and eleven inches long; cut a hole in one end (Fig. [Illustration: Fig.
284.] 283) and paste the two lengthwise edges together, forming a hollow
tube; then pin up the open end nearest the hole (Fig. 284). Cut Fig.
285, making it about four inches across at the widest [Illustration:
Fig. 288.] point; slash the lower edge and pin this pipe-bowl in funnel
shape by bringing [Illustration: Fig. 285.] [Illustration: Fig. 286.]
the two sides together (Fig. 286); fasten it on the tube over the hole
in the top by gluing the flaps down on the pipe-stem (Fig. 287).
Half-fill the pipe-bowl with brilliantly colored bits of paper,
including [Illustration: Fig. 287.] scraps of gold and silver tinsel cut
very small. In this way pieces too little for anything else can be
utilized. Make a good supply so that you may fire off the calumet many
times. Place the open end of the tube to your lips and blow (Fig. 288).
It will not take more than five minutes to make the
=Roman Candle=
Cut a piece of paper about ten inches long and seven inches wide, roll
it up and slip a small elastic over the roll [Illustration: Fig. 289.]
to hold the Roman candle in shape; carefully fold in one end of the roll
(Fig. 289); then collect all of the scraps of bright-colored paper
[Illustration: Fig. 290.] and bits of tinsel for sparks (Fig. 290). When
the sparks are ready load the candle by filling it with them. Hold the
candle in one hand and gayly swing it around like a real Roman candle.
In what a dazzling circle the bright paper sparks fly! No matter if they
do scatter all around, they may be gathered up and used again.
If you can find a side-steel taken from a dress-stay, use it for a
=Snap-fire=
Bend the ends together [Illustration: Fig. 291.] [Illustration: Fig.
292.] until it breaks at the centre (Fig. 291). On the broken end of one
piece paste two gay tissue-paper streamers (Fig. 292). To fire it, hold
the firework in an upright position, streamers downward, the papered end
between the thumb and forefinger of the left hand and [Illustration:
Fig. 293.] the upper end held with the thumb and forefinger of the right
hand. Bend the snap-fire as in Fig. 293. Let go suddenly with the right
hand, then an instant later with the left, and see the firework spring
up high in the air, carrying its gay trimmings with it.
Just wait until you make the
=Rushing Comet=
and send it flying through the air, with its long tail sweeping
[Illustration: Fig. 294.] out behind. How heartily you will laugh when
it strikes its round head against some object which drives it flying
backward.
A rubber ball about three inches in diameter will make a good comet’s
head (Fig. 294).
[Illustration: Fig. 295.]
[Illustration: Fig. 296.]
[Illustration: Fig. 297.]
[Illustration: Fig. 298.]
Cut two strips of bright red tissue-paper, each four inches wide, the
entire length of the sheet, and paste the two pieces together, forming a
long paper ribbon (Fig. 295); fold this once near the centre (Fig. 296);
fold again, bringing the lower folded end up to the first end (Fig.
297), then cut the paper in a fringe, making the strands half an inch
wide; begin at the folded end and cut through all the layers up to the
single layer of paper (Fig. 298). Unfold and you will have Fig. 299.
[Illustration: Fig. 299.] Fasten this tail on the ball with strong paste
(Fig. 300). In the same manner cut another long fringe of bright-blue
tissue-paper; fasten it on the ball partly beyond and partly
[Illustration: Fig. 300.] overlapping the red paper. Make a third fringe
of orange-colored tissue-paper, and glue that also on the comet’s head.
[Illustration: Fig. 301.] Gather up the tail carefully so it will not
tangle and set the ball aside until it is perfectly dry; then run out in
the sunshine with the comet in your arms and throw it up as far as you
can toward the blue sky. The comet will look gorgeous sailing through
the air. When it comes down, take the ball up again and throw it as far
in front of you as possible. Away it will speed with a flutter and a
dash, a long, brilliant streak of color (Fig. 301). The tail of the
comet can be made longer by using three instead of two lengths of the
paper.
Now we will make
=The Pistol=
of any firm, strong, hollow cylinder. A slender pasteboard mailing tube,
or a stick of bamboo, or a section of some shrub from which you can push
the pith, leaving a hollow case, will answer the purpose. Have the
hollow stick about eight inches long, and for a ramrod cut a smooth,
round stick an inch or two longer. Be sure that the ramrod slides easily
through the tube while fitting snugly. [Illustration: Fig. 302.] Fig.
302 shows the ramrod in the pistol. Get a large raw potato and cut off
several thick slices to use for bullets. Punch a slice with one end of
the pistol, [Illustration: Fig. 303.] then with the other, leaving the
potato bullets in it exactly as they came from the slice. When you are
ready to fire, place the ramrod against the bullet in one end of the
pistol and suddenly push the ramrod with force through the tube, sending
the first bullet flying, and as it leaves the pistol a loud report will
follow. Fig. 303 shows the potato slice and the bullets which have been
used. Should you be able to find corks which exactly fit the pistol you
could use them instead of potato. Fasten each cork to the end of a
string and tie the string firmly around the centre of [Illustration:
Fig. 304.] [Illustration: Fig. 305.] the pistol. Remember that the
success of the pistol depends upon keeping the air bottled up tight in
the tube by having the bullets fit tight. If the air is allowed to
escape, no report will be heard; the bullets will not pop. But never
fear; you will be able to make the pistol; have confidence, patience,
and care, and your work will turn out well.
=Sky-rockets=
are one of the best kind of fireworks and furnish lots of fun. We will
make some and send them flying through the air. Cut strips of paper
eighteen inches long and two inches wide, fringing them seven inches on
one side (Fig. 304). Commence at the unfringed end, B, and roll them
like lamplighters (Fig. 305), folding each over at top end to keep it in
place (Fig. 306, C). These are the sky-rockets, and are best made of
stiff, bright-colored paper, but may be of any kind except very limber
paper. Make a number of sky-rockets and “fire them off” by the aid of a
large, empty spool with a piece of elastic adjusted loosely over one
end, but tied securely (Fig. 307). Place one sky-rocket at a time
through the hole in the spool, fringed end out, and, grasping the tip
end in the elastic (Fig. 308), pull the sky-rocket toward [Illustration:
Fig. 306.] you and let it fly back as you would send an arrow from a
bow. There is another paper sky-rocket which rivals a real one in
brilliancy, and is much easier to fire. Make the rocket of a hollow
stick—a bamboo handle from a Japanese fan or parasol, or an old dried
sunflower stalk will do—and [Illustration: Fig. 307.] cut the stick
about seven inches long. Near one end tie on firmly a stout rubber band
(Fig. 309). The stick of the sky-rocket should be strong and slender and
about twelve inches in length. Have it small enough in diameter to slide
easily through the sunflower stalk. Fasten many gay-colored streamers of
tissue-paper on one end, making them fully a yard in length. When all is
ready, place the stick with streamers uppermost in the tube, draw back
the rubber band with the stick (Fig. 310), and fire (Fig. 311). The
sky-rocket goes swiftly through the air, carrying a stream of paper fire
in its wake. As with the real fireworks you must be careful not to aim
any of these in a direction where they will strike anyone.
[Illustration: Fig. 308.]
[Illustration: Fig. 309.]
[Illustration: Fig. 310.]
[Illustration: Fig. 311.]
CHAPTER XII
MONOTYPES
They are charming, these monotypes; charming in effect when finished,
delightful in their accidental results, and wholly fascinating in the
method, or lack of method, used in their production. Painted with a
bristle brush, a camel’s-hair brush, a sponge, a rag or your thumb, as
the case may require; painted on glass and then printed on paper, with a
clothes-wringer for a printing-press; can anything be more enchantingly
unconventional? Yet the finished monotypes are truly artistic and
beautiful. If you can paint at all, be it ever so little, you can make
some kind of a monotype, and you will always have the feeling that you
can do better next time. The
=Materials=
for your work are a piece of glass about six inches square, a tube of
lamp-black oil-paint, some sewing-machine oil, and a pad of unruled
writing-paper.
See that your glass is perfectly clean and free from dust, squeeze out
some of the black paint in a saucer and mix it with a few drops of the
machine oil. You will soon learn the consistency required, for if you
make the paint too thin it will run and blot, and if there is not enough
oil it will go on too thickly and smudge in printing.
=The Painting=
Choose a photograph or print for your copy which is simple in
effect—that is, one which shows a good deal of sky and broad stretches
of light and shade. It may be either landscape or marine, but, until you
have had some experience with the work, avoid figure pieces, and
architecture. When you have learned the process be as original as you
like, but keep to your copy at first; you will never make an exact
reproduction. Use whatever kind of a paint-brush seems best fitted, and
work rapidly that the paint may not dry. A fine soft sponge will give
excellent foliage effects; this should be dipped in the paint and simply
dabbed on the glass. A clean cotton rag will take off extra paint and is
especially useful where water is represented in the picture. By dragging
the rag or sponge over a surface too thickly painted you can loosen it
and give the appearance of grass and shrubbery, or of a roadway. Soft
clouds can be made by putting the cloth over the end of your finger and
rubbing on the glass with a circular movement, using but little paint;
for an ordinary sky make horizontal strokes with the rag, keeping the
tint as flat as possible. If you place a piece of white paper under the
glass the work will be easier, for you will appear to be painting on a
white surface and the transparency of the glass will not trouble you.
[Illustration:
Soft Clouds.
_Can be made with a cloth on the end of your finger._
]
[Illustration:
Foliage Effect.
_Made with a sponge._
]
[Illustration:
The Distant City.
_Printed on Unruled Writing-paper._
]
If you have ever painted
=Heads,=
sooner or later you will long to try one with this process. A woman’s
head with flowing, wind-blown hair seems especially adapted to the work.
A bristle brush and the ever-useful rag will spin the hair out, and toss
it about in decorative masses. For the face you will need a small pad
made of soft silk, or muslin, and raw cotton—indeed, several pads will
be found useful. Cut the silk into a four-inch square, place in the
centre a wad of raw cotton about the size of a hickory nut, and, drawing
the silk smoothly over the cotton at the bottom, bring it together at
the top; wrap with thread close to the cotton and tie securely.
Draw the outlines of the face lightly with a fine camel’s-hair brush,
and lay in the shadows broadly with a large brush; then take your pad
and go over the shadows, stippling them with little dabs until they are
smooth and free from brush strokes. When it is necessary to deepen a
shadow add more paint with the pad.
Do not put in the features with hard lines, let the face be modelled
with light and shade, making deeper accents where more sharpness is
required. The definite strokes about the eyes, the nostrils, and the
line between the lips can be made with a brush without hardness. Hard
lines never look well in a monotype; they stand out harshly from the
general softness of the effect, and appear unpleasantly out of place.
=The Printing=
When your painting is finished, slightly dampen a piece of paper by
passing a wet sponge across one side, lay the dampened side carefully on
the glass next to the paint, and then pass both through the
clothes-wringer. Remember to hold the glass as it comes through that it
may not fall and break. Lift your paper off lightly and quickly, without
dragging, and you have the completed monotype, like, and yet unlike, the
picture you painted. In the first place, the design is reversed, and
then there are often beautiful effects which your brush could never have
produced. If the painting on the glass still holds, try another print,
and even a third; the first are not always the best.
[Illustration:
The Turbulent Sea.
_Printed on Imported Blotting-paper._
]
[Illustration:
Study of a Head.
_Printed on Imported Blotting-paper._
]
[Illustration:
Study of a Head.
_Printed on Imported Blotting-paper._
]
When no more impressions can be taken, wipe the paint from the glass
with a cloth and begin another picture.
=Monotone Monotypes=
A very pretty experiment is to use color instead of black and make a
monotone of your monotype. Sepia will give the picture in soft brown,
Indian red in bright red, while Antwerp blue produces the tone of blue
found in a blueprint photograph. Of course oil colors alone must be
used, water colors will not print.
=Another Field for Experiment=
lies in using several colors in one picture. For instance, you might
make your mountains blue, your trees green, and your foreground red and
yellow.
Then again mixing the colors and using them as if painting on canvas
will prove interesting. The deepest pleasure in all work of this kind is
to experiment and discover methods for ourselves, then to work out and
perfect these methods and make them all our own.
There are various
=Papers=
suitable for monotype painting. Rice-paper is especially pleasing; it is
soft of texture, light of weight, and has a warm, creamy tone. The
monotypes printed upon it are delicate, clear, and distinct. Imported
blotting-paper also produces satisfactory results, though the print is
not quite as soft in effect; it has a smooth, rather hard surface, but
takes the paint well. Both of these papers are used dry.
Some professionals use a Japan paper and a Holland paper. The Japan
paper is very thin, and the Holland paper has a surface like water-color
paper, but is heavier than the ordinary kind.
For first efforts the unruled, ten-cent writing pad is the best. Very
good prints can be made on this, and one feels free to experiment as
much as heart desires with such inexpensive material. The monotypes
given here were painted on writing-paper and imported blotting-paper.
[Illustration:
Early Spring.
_Printed on Unruled Writing-paper._
]
[Illustration:
Florida Coast.
_Printed on Imported Blotting-paper._
]
CHAPTER XIII
PRISCILLA RUGS
As there is no limit to the beautiful effects which may be produced by
the well-chosen color combination in the Priscilla rag rugs, and anyone
who has an eye for color (which, by the way, may be cultivated) is sure
of success.
There are many new inventions in hand-looms, yet the old cumbersome loom
of our grandmother’s day is still to be found in the outlying districts
of most towns and cities, and the weaving done on this is fully as
satisfactory as that on the new looms. Almost every village has its
rag-carpet weaver, and on his old-fashioned machine can be woven all
that we want in this line.
First, there are the all-wool rugs for general use in the house, then
mixed wool and cotton rugs for the piazza, all cotton for bedroom and
bathroom, mixed cotton and silk and entire silk for portières and
couch-covers, and for covers for sofa-pillows.
There are also rugs of heavy cotton, such as denim in its dull reds,
blues, yellows, greens, and browns.
The size of a rug for general use is usually one yard wide by two yards
long, the yard width being the limit of the ordinary loom. Smaller rugs
are woven in different proportions: a runner for the hall is
three-quarters of a yard wide and of any required length, and door-mats
half a yard wide by one yard long. Squares for the centre of the room
can be made by having two breadths woven exactly alike and then sewing
them together.
You who possess a loom of even the clumsiest design have a field open
before you full of interest, for freedom to experiment in pattern and
manner of weaving will lead to continually new results and there will be
increasing originality and beauty in your productions.
=Color Schemes for Rugs=
Collect all your available material, plan your combination of colors,
and then decide whether it will be necessary to put some of the rags
into the dye-pot. If you have a handsome vase in your room it is a
pretty idea to take that for your keynote and reproduce its color in
your rugs.
Solid colors are the best unless you wish to have part of your rug what
is called “hit or miss.” For “hit or miss” any short pieces may be used
and sewed together indiscriminately; then again, if you have a good deal
of checked, plaid, or mingled material, it may be used by itself for
centre or border. It is upon the solid colors, however, that you must
principally rely, as there is less of the element of chance in their
use, and your calculation as to the result of your color combination
will be surer.
[Illustration: Making a Priscilla Rug.]
A favorite design is a “hit or miss,” or a solid-colored centre with
striped ends. A more unconventional effect is produced by making the rug
in stripes of unequal width and in daring color combinations; some of
these latter are startlingly barbaric and artistic in appearance and are
well adapted to studio use. Again, more harmonious effects are produced
by using various tints and shades of one color. Very narrow stripes of
black and of white often separate wide stripes of different colors,
sometimes singly, sometimes together, and when used with discretion they
give a certain decision and finish to the whole. You will naturally want
to exercise your own taste and originality in designing your rugs, so a
description of one all-wool rug will be amply sufficient as a guide.
This rug is one yard wide by two yards long. The centre is exactly one
yard square and is of solid dark cardinal red. The two ends are
precisely the same and the stripes of the border follow each other in
this order: Next the centre comes a very narrow stripe of old gold, then
one of the same width of white. These are made by putting the strips of
color only once through the loom, or once across. After these comes a
five-inch stripe of old blue, again the narrow yellow and white stripes
followed by a two-inch stripe of moss green, a three-inch stripe of dull
light blue, a five-inch stripe of light brown, a two-inch stripe of old
blue, and next the fringe a one-inch stripe of dark cardinal red. The
fringe is simply the warp allowed to extend beyond the rug about a
quarter of a yard at each end.
Gray is a useful color in all-wool rugs and makes an effective centre
for a bright-colored border.
=The Fire Rug=
is a beautiful blending of reds and yellows giving a flame color. The
ends are dark red, and, by degrees, the red runs into orange, which, in
turn, melts into dark yellow, growing gradually lighter until the centre
of the rug is a pale, soft yellow.
[Illustration: Tack on a Piece of Paper Samples of the Rags Used.]
Pale tones of yellows and greens are sometimes combined, also yellows
and browns.
Before taking your rug to the loom tack on a piece of paper samples of
the rags used in the order in which you wish them woven, and write
opposite each sample the width the stripe is to be made, as shown in
diagram. Give this to the weaver that no mistakes may be made by him in
the placing of the colors.
=The Weight=
To calculate how much you will need of each color, remember that it
requires about two pounds of woollen rags to the yard; therefore, if you
want half a yard of one color, one pound will be required; for a quarter
of a yard, one-half pound. Do not make your calculations too closely,
with a little over-weight in each case no harm is done and it is better
than falling short of the required amount. The narrow, or once-across,
stripes require an inch or two over the yard for each stripe.
=How to Cut and Sew the Rags=
[Illustration:
Sew the pieces together
in this way.
]
Cut your rags in strips one-half an inch wide unless the material is
very thin or loosely woven, in which case make them wider; very heavy
cloth should be even narrower than the half-inch. Cotton rags should be
one inch wide. As the rags are pinched together when woven it is the
thickness that counts, and the object is to keep them of an even bulk so
that the rug may not have an uneven, lumpy surface. Perhaps you will be
told by the weaver not to sew your rags too securely, for they cannot be
jerked apart readily when it is necessary to break off one color to
begin weaving the next; but do not act on such advice. You must sew the
strips together with care so that the ends may not stand out and give a
ragged look to the finished rug. The accompanying diagram shows the best
manner of joining the pieces. You see that one piece is laid over the
end of the other, then both are folded lengthwise and sewed securely in
the fold. This gives smooth joints and an even surface.
Wind your different colors into balls, having, as a rule, one pound in
each, and put them in a bag to send to the loom.
=Cotton and Wool Rugs=
For piazza rugs, or for summer cottage use, cotton may be mixed with the
wool; indeed, some hold that it is unnecessary to have all-wool for any
purpose, though the writer thinks differently. The temptation is great,
however, to use the pretty bits of gingham and lawn left from summer
gowns, and they do give a certain, if not lasting, brilliancy to the
rug. That much of the cotton is apt to fade and grow shiny with use is
of little consequence when the rugs are not subjected to hard and
constant use. Rugs of this class should be as bright and gay as
possible; the combination of even the crudest colors looks well on a
vine-shaded piazza and in the gayly decked summer cottage.
=All-cotton Rugs=
For bedroom and bathroom all-cotton rugs are exceedingly pretty and
appropriate, and when they are made of fast-colored material they may be
washed with ease and kept always fresh and clean.
[Illustration: The Centre may have Dashes of Color through it.]
White should predominate in these washable rugs, and the best as well as
the simplest effect is produced by combining it with but one other
color. Indigo blue and turkey red are safe and useful colors; brown and
green gingham also look well with the white. Of cotton rags allow one
and one-half pounds to the yard. When you are in doubt as to the
permanency of your colors soak the rug, before washing, in a strong
solution of salt and water; this will “set” almost any color. These
cotton rugs may be woven in alternate strips of color and white, or the
white be used for the centre and the colors for the border, or the
centre may have dashes of color through it as shown in diagram.
[Illustration: In Stripes of Unequal Width.]
Bathroom rugs can be entirely of white or, towel-fashion, have a narrow
colored strip at each end. Any white cotton may be used in these
bathroom rugs, old being better for this purpose than new, as it is much
softer.
=Warps and Fringe=
Gray linen is undoubtedly the best-wearing warp and harmonizes with all
colors, therefore for all-wool rugs it is the best. It gives, of course,
a gray fringe, but that is not undesirable. When a colored fringe is
wanted the cotton warp will have to be used. This comes in red, blue,
purple, yellow, and white. Use cotton warp for cotton rugs, and where
the filling is largely white the warp should be white also. When red
warp is used with white filling a pink tone is the result, while blue
and purple with white filling produce a gray effect.
At each end of the rug the warp should be woven with self-filling to the
depth of one inch. This makes a heading for the fringe and prevents the
rag filling from ravelling. It is, in fact, a selvage. You may knot the
fringe, using six strands to a knot, or plat it and then knot as in
diagram, or it may be stitched at the top and left to flow freely.
=Dyeing the Cloth=
Those who make a business of manufacturing rag rugs scorn to use the
dyes that come ready prepared and think it well worth the extra trouble
to make their dyes themselves. So it is, perhaps, when one has plenty of
time to devote to the work, but a girl’s life is so full of interests
and occupation she generally chooses quick methods, though the results
may not always be as lasting.
[Illustration: You may Knot the Fringe or Plat it and Knot it.]
In case your heart yearns toward the old-fashioned process and you want
to go into the work thoroughly, read the recipes given here and follow
them carefully. They are taken from an old manuscript recipe-book,
yellow with age and worn by use, which has descended to the writer from
an ancestress famous for her good housekeeping and housewifely arts. The
dye appears to have been prepared in large quantities, usually enough
for sixteen pounds of wool, but you can easily regulate the proportion
of the ingredients and make as much or as little as you want.
=Wool Dyes=
_Navy Blue._—"Boil in a sufficient quantity of water twelve ounces of
copperas, three ounces of alum, one and one-half ounces of verdigris,
one and one-half ounces of cream-tartar. Run[A] your cloth in it for
four hours, then air. Empty out that liquor and fill up with clear
water; add four and one-half pounds of logwood, boil it for one hour and
a half, then add six ounces of madder and boil for half an hour, then
run your cloth for half an hour. Air it (the cloth), then add six ounces
of blue vitriol and three ounces of pearl-ash. Mix it well and run your
cloth in it for twenty minutes, then air and rinse it.
Footnote A:
To “run” means to leave the cloth in the dye, moving and stirring it
about occasionally that the dye may be evenly distributed.
_Silver Gray._—"On one pound of woollen: Take two ounces of sumac and
three ounces of logwood and boil for one hour in four gallons of water,
then add one-half ounce of cream-tartar. Put in your woollen for one
hour, then take out and air. Refresh your dye with water and add
one-half ounce of copperas, bring it to a boil and run your woollen for
half an hour, then air, rinse, and dry it.
_Yellow._—"On woollen for one pound: Dissolve in four gallons of boiling
water three ounces of alum and one ounce of cream-tartar, then run your
cloth for one hour and a half at boiling heat. Take out, cool, and
rinse, then boil one pound of fustic chips for five hours, run your
cloth, while boiling, for one hour, then cool, rinse, and dry it.
_Madder Red._—"On one pound of woollen: Boil five gallons of water in a
kettle, add three ounces of powdered alum and one ounce of cream-tartar,
then run your woollen in it for two hours, rinse and air it. Put five
gallons of fresh water in a kettle, add eight ounces of madder, mix it
well and bring it to the boil, then run your woollen for one hour, but
it must boil only five minutes. Take it out, air and rinse it. Add to
the dye one-half pint of clear lime-water, then run your woollen for ten
minutes, then take it out and rinse it immediately.
=Cotton Dyes=
_Brown._—"On cotton for five pounds: Bring eight gallons of water to the
boil and add four ounces of pearl-ash, dip your yarn (or cloth) for half
an hour and then wring out. Take twenty gallons of water and one bushel
of maple or white-oak bark, boil it two hours, then take out the bark
and strain the liquor and add one pound of copperas; stir it until it is
dissolved and let your liquor cool to lukewarm. Dip your yarn for five
minutes, wring and air it; dip again for fifteen minutes, wring and dip
again until you have it dark enough.
_Purple._—“On cotton for two pounds: Boil four ounces of sumac in four
gallons of water, then dip your yarn for half an hour; wring, air, and
put it in again over night, then take out and wring. Boil in seven
gallons of water one pound four ounces of logwood for one hour; take
three gallons of the logwood liquor and dip your yarn in it for twenty
minutes, then add three quarts of the logwood liquor and dip for twenty
minutes, then put in the remainder and dip for twenty minutes, then
wring out and dry your yarn.”
The wringing process given in the last two recipes is for cotton yarn;
cotton cloth or woollen cloth should never be wrung out; simply lift it
from the dye with two sticks, immerse it in clear cold water, if you are
to rinse it, then hang it up and let it drip. All material must be
perfectly clean and thoroughly soaked before being put in the dye.
_Note._—“In boiling, all drugs and barks that will not dissolve ought to
be put in a thin, coarse bag and taken out before you dip, and the
liquor should be settled. Dip only in clear liquor.”
CHAPTER XIV
A PEANUT NOAH'S ARK
Changing one thing into another is always interesting, and the most
charming part of a Peanut Noah’s Ark is that you can transform these
ground-nuts into any and every kind of wild creature. At your command
they will come trooping from all parts of the tangled jungle, the
elephants leading and tigers, lions, bears, wolves, kangaroos, giraffes,
and others following. Ever so many insects, too-the curious peanut
spider, actually as large as one of those mammoth Southern tarantulas
which often travel North on bunches of bananas, and the enormous
hard-shelled hornet, whose sting will not hurt half as badly as its
smaller cousins who are alive and whose nests are large and round, dark
gray in color and appear as if made of paper. In addition to these you
can have beetles of different kinds, grasshoppers, and various sorts of
moths.
With the help of bits of paper and some wooden toothpicks the
ground-nuts may be transformed into
=Denizens of Earth, Air, and Water.=
First we will catch the terrible hornet, but to get him you must select
a peanut as near like Fig. 312 as you can find. This is for the thorax
or chest; choose a longer nut, resembling Fig. 313, for the abdomen or
body. Take six common wooden toothpicks for the legs (Fig. 314), and
bend each stick until it fractures near the centre without breaking
(Fig. 315). For the waist use a short piece of toothpick (Fig. 316). For
the sting take a pin (Fig. 317). To insert the sting in the body make a
small hole on the lower side and thrust in the pin so that the point
will project from the tail; push the head of the pin into the nut until
it is out of sight, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 317, 2A. This
diagram gives the point of the pin as it stands out from the nut. Join
the chest and body by thrusting one end of Fig. 316 into Fig. 312 and
the other end into Fig. 313, leaving a small length of Fig. 316 exposed
to represent the slender waist of the hornet, as shown in Fig. 318. This
done, put three legs on each side of the insect by forcing the
toothpicks into the thorax or chest peanut (Fig. 318).
[Illustration:
DETAILS
OF THE
TERRIBLE
“PEA-NUT”-HORNET
Fig. 312-322.
]
Now we have a huge ant, and as ants are practically wingless hornets,
some of them even having stings like the bee tribe, it is only necessary
to add a pair of wings to complete the terrible peanut hornet. If you
have any tracing-paper or the waxed paper from a candy-box, the
semi-transparent material will form wonderfully natural wings; but any
kind of paper will make
=A Pair of Good Wings.=
With a pencil draw the pattern (Fig. 319) upon a bit of paper, fold at
the dotted line and you will have Fig. 320. With the scissors cut around
the outline through both leaves of the folded paper; the result will be
Fig. 321, the two wings joined together. Paste them on the back of the
thorax, and you will have Fig. 322. To make it look still more lifelike,
ink stripes across its back and head, and stick in the front of the head
two fine, small black pins for the antennæ. To prove that this is a live
hornet, let anyone who doubts the fact press the end of his finger on
the point of the sting and he will be satisfied. Should he still claim
that the thing is not alive, dip your finger in a glass of water and
allow a drop of the fluid to fall on each joint of the legs where the
wood is fractured; the swelling of the wet wood will cause the legs to
move in a manner sufficiently lifelike to satisfy the most critical.
It is not commonly known that
=Spiders Are Good to Eat,=
but the newly discovered specimen known as the _Peanuticus spiderencus_
is one which the most dainty little girl may eat without feeling at all
nervous as to consequences. Spiders differ in many respects from true
insects, but we need only observe the most obvious points of divergence.
Fig. 323.
Fig. 324.
[Illustration: Fig. 325.]
First, they have no waist; that is, their body is jammed upon their
thorax (Fig. 323). Next, their heads are driven into their shoulders, so
to speak, so that they not only have no neck, but there is not even a
line to indicate where the head ends and the thorax or chest begins.
From the quart of peanuts select one which looks most like Fig. 323.
Spiders have more legs than beetles or wasps. Garden spiders have eight
well-defined legs, and our _Peanuticus_ belongs to the garden spider
family. Therefore, take eight toothpicks and, bending them as before
described, make eight legs. Push two legs into each side of the large
part of the nut—the abdomen—inclining them backward, and two more into
each side of the small part of the nut—the thorax—slanting them forward,
as in Fig. 324. Make the antennæ of two black pins, bent according to
Fig. 325; push the pins well into the head of the spider (Fig. 324). If
you thread a fine piece of black elastic through the spider’s back,
allowing a length of about a half yard, and weight the body by fastening
a little flattened piece of lead or a small stone on the under part with
melted sealing-wax, the _Peanuticus_ can be made to dance up and down in
the air like a natural spider running on its web. The black elastic will
not be noticeable. Tie the end of the elastic on a stick; then you can
hold it out from you and have a better view of the curious creature.
Pick up another peanut and see what it suggests. Imagine it with long
ears. What would it look like?
=A Rabbit, of Course.=
Cut two ears from white paper and a tail from the same paper; paste one
ear on each side of Bunny’s head and fasten the little stumpy tail in
place. Then stick two short pieces of toothpicks in the nut for the
front legs; bend the back legs at the centre and push the upright part
into position so that the lower horizontal portion will be bent forward
and rest on the ground. Ink round spots for eyes and a line partially
across the front for the mouth.
=Camels=
are curious creatures, always carrying a little mountain on their backs,
and chewing as if they had an inexhaustible supply of chewing-gum tucked
away in some invisible pocket. Think of the mountain’s back when
selecting a [Illustration: Fig. 326.] [Illustration: Fig. 327.] peanut
for this animal and find one with a high hump. Cut the head and neck
(Fig. 326) of stiff paper or card-board; ink the eyes and mouth, and
slide the head into a slit cut in the nut. Make the tail of heavy black
thread or darning-cotton and fasten it on by simply sewing the thread in
the nut. Tassel out the end. For the two hind and one of the front legs
use three stiff, straight toothpicks; bend the other toothpick for the
front left leg so that the camel will appear to be walking. The little
animal will stand on three legs, holding the fourth up, as in Fig. 327.
Find a nut shaped something like
=A Little Chicken,=
with part of it inclining upward for the head. Stick two short, bent
toothpicks in for feet; if properly adjusted the chick rests on them.
Cut paper wings and paste one on each side of the chicken. Make the beak
also of paper and insert it in the front of the head. The eyes can be
marked with ink.
When among the jungle folks, off in the tangled wild woods,
=The Elephant=
grows to an immense size, but things are very different in Peanut Land.
There the big-eared creature is a wee thing not much larger than the
chicken you have just made. [Illustration: Fig. 328. Fig. 329.]
[Illustration: Fig. 330. Fig. 331.] It is a veritable midget of an
elephant and not at all dangerous. Look over all your nuts and choose
the one most closely resembling the body and head of an elephant; then
make two pasteboard front legs like Fig. 328, and two more like Fig.
[Illustration: Fig. 332.] 329 for the hind legs. Cut two ears (Fig. 330)
and a trunk (Fig. 331). The tail should be comparatively slender and a
trifle bushy at the end. Paste ears, tail, and trunk in their proper
places and cut four slits in the lower part of the nut for the four
legs, which you may then slide into place (Fig. 332). The tusks are two
toothpicks stuck into the lower part of the head. By the diagrams it may
be plainly seen just how the work is done.
[Illustration: Fig. 333.]
=The Owl=
is fashioned from a nut without the joint-like extension. Ink the eyes,
beak, and wings, and with heavy thread or darning-cotton sew the wise
bird to a twig or toothpick. Divide the stitches forming each foot into
two portions or two toes, as a real owl shows only two when in the same
position (Fig. 333).
In the queer Peanut Land
=Storks=
hold an important position. They are very proud and carry their heads
high as they stand perched upon their long stilt-like legs. Their
Holland relatives delight in [Illustration: Fig. 334.] [Illustration:
Fig. 335.]
building nests on the tops of chimneys, and it is always considered a
sign of good luck for the occupants of the house when Mr. and Mrs. Stork
favor them with their presence. Your stork will not have to remain on
the outside of the house, because, not being as large as the others of
his family, you can find room for him in almost any place. Make the
bird’s body of the most common-shaped peanut, his legs of two stiff
wooden toothpicks, and his head (Fig. 334) of stiff paper. Mark eyes on
the head and put the different parts of the bird together. He will stand
up straight if you punch his feet into a piece of patented paper used in
packing bottles (Fig. 335). If you have no such paper, use anything you
can find that will answer the purpose.
=Lobsters=
which will not pinch also live in Peanut Land. They have eight bent
toothpick legs, a tail of paper (Fig. 336), and [Illustration: Fig.
336.] [Illustration: Fig. 337.] paper claws (Fig. 337). The antennæ are
toothpicks. Real lobsters have one front claw larger than the other, but
on peanut lobsters these are of the same size. When you have made the
lobster (Fig. 338) you might boil him by dipping the funny little thing
in red ink, for lobsters are always red after being boiled.
[Illustration: Fig. 338.]
All these animals need a
=Noah=
to keep them in order in the Ark. Make Noah entirely of peanuts; a small
one for the head, a large one for the body, two for the arms, two for
each leg, and two small nuts for the feet. String the nuts together with
strong, coarse thread. Make the hair of a number of strands of black
thread tied together in the centre. Pin this wig on the peanut head,
part the hair and spread it out to meet in the back and gum it in place.
Mark the face with ink and dress the doll with loose trousers and loose
sack coat. Cut the hat of common wrapping-paper. First make the brim of
a circular piece of paper, with a round hole in the middle; then the
crown of a strip of paper slashed on each side. Fasten the ends of this
together, turn out the slashes on one side and slide the brim over the
crown down on the turned-out slashed portion. Paste it on tight. Next
turn in the slashes on the top edge of the crown, fit a disk of paper
over them as you would put a lid on a pan, and gum the top of the crown
in place. You will find Mr. Noah rather loose-jointed, but that does not
matter; he is better so, for he is not too stiff to run about and attend
to his collection of animals. Make Mrs. Noah of peanuts as you did Noah,
and dress her in bright colors with a gay little hat fastened firmly on
her head.
[Illustration: Fig. 341.]
[Illustration: Fig. 339.]
[Illustration: Fig. 340.]
=The Ark=
may be an ordinary pasteboard box, with a gabled roof pasted on the lid.
Take a box like that shown in Fig. 339, bend a piece of stiff paper
(Fig. 340), paste the sides of Fig. 340 on the lid (Fig. 341), and over
the two open ends gum triangular paper cut as in Fig. 342. Paint windows
and a door on the sides of the Ark; then paste the Ark on a piece of
another larger box-lid cut like Fig. 343. Put Noah and his wife in the
box with all the animals, and tie a string through a hole pierced in the
front of the stand of the Ark, so that the Ark with its entire cargo of
peanut animals may be dragged from one place to another (Fig. 344).
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Fig. 342.]
Noah’s Ark and all its animals has ever had a great attraction for young
folks, and it is not an uncommon sight to see baby grab Noah, Mrs. Noah,
or some of the gorgeously painted animals, and put the [Illustration:
Fig. 343.] toy in its mouth. Many of the colors used in painting the
shop toys contain poison, but the present Mr. and Mrs. Noah and all the
zoölogical collection described in this article are healthy, wholesome
food. So when you tire of playing with them you may eat them, with no
danger of ill consequences. [Illustration: Fig. 344.] Just think!
Elephant and camel for first course, stork and lobster second, and
dessert of spiders, wasps, and small birds. What a novel bill of fare!
One little girl may eat a couple of elephants, several giraffes, a
rhinoceros or two, and still have a good appetite for her regular
dinner.
Should you think of some favorite animal not here described, which would
be an addition to your collection, put your wits to work and hunt up a
peanut suitable for the purpose; then find a photograph or printed
picture of the animal, that you may be sure to have it as perfect as the
materials will allow. In this way almost
=Any Animal, Fish, or Insect Can be Made,=
for after working out the given examples you will have gained sufficient
knowledge of the governing principles of the work and enough skill to
enable you to continue the manufacturing of peanut toys alone or with
the help of other girls and boys.
=Different Lines of Objects=
can also be formed from the nut. Break open one with only a slight
indenture at the centre and make the two halves into fairylike little
sailing vessels by the addition of a sail and mast cut all in one from
white writing-paper, and gummed to the bottom of the boat near the large
end. It requires but a moment to make these tiny crafts, and they will
sail across a basin of water as if they were in reality large affairs on
the salt sea, their white wings gleaming out in the most charming
manner. Stir the water slightly with a stick and see how the boats
dance; blow gently on the sails and off the two will race for the
opposite side of the basin. If you are near any small stream or pond you
may launch your tiny boat and watch it bravely breast the little
ripples.
CHAPTER XV
A FLOWER FEAST
This dinner party will be great fun, especially as there need be no
worry about cooking, for the sun, with the assistance of the rain and
air, has attended to that part of the preparation.
We shall have to provide some sort of a dining-table. An ordinary
letter-paper box about eight inches long and five inches wide will
answer the purpose. Spread over the table a fresh, white table-cloth of
paper, and for a centre-piece choose
=A Pineapple=
made of a cone one and one-half [Illustration: Fig. 349.] or two inches
high (Fig. 345), cutting it off flat at the stem (Fig. 346) so that it
will stand firmly on the table (Fig. 347). On the top of the fruit pin a
small bunch of coarse grass tips tied together with thread (Figs. 348
and 349) and use the petals of a bright-colored flower, [Illustration:
200] which will lie flat when the lower portion is cut off, as an
ornamental mat to place under the pineapple; a nasturtium blossom (Fig.
350) will look well.
Almost everyone is fond of
=A Fine, Fresh Fish=
for dinner, so we will select one which is sound and perfect. Carefully
open a large-size milk-weed pod in the seam which you will find on the
rounded side (Fig. 351) and take out the beautiful white fish composed
of the seeds clinging to their downy wings, the seeds forming the fish’s
scales (Fig. 352) and the down its body. Cut out a piece of white paper
(Fig. 353) and with a drop of paste fasten it on the fish to form the
tail (Fig. 354); also gum a small, round piece of inked paper in
position for the eye; place the fish on a dish made from a long, green
leaf (Fig. [Illustration: 250] 355). Hollyhock seeds, which are
[Illustration: Fig. 353.] packed together in rounded forms, must furnish
cheeses, the resemblance [Illustration: Fig. 355.] being very marked
(Fig. 356). Two will be required and should be placed on the opposite
sides of the table.
[Illustration: Fig. 356. Fig. 357.]
=The Rosy-cheeked Apples=
(Fig. 357) which come from the rose-bush are the seed-vessel of the
flowers, and so closely do they imitate little apples, when detached
from the bush they might easily be mistaken for such. Select a leaf
plate, fill it with the apples and place them on the table between the
pineapple and the salad. They give a bright note of color, which helps
the decoration.
The
[Illustration: Fig. 358. Fig. 359. Fig. 360.]
=Fruit Salad=
shall be dainty enough for a fairy queen. We will mix shredded orange
from the petals of a full, fresh young dandelion blossom (Fig. 358 shows
one of the petals magnified) with shredded strawberries produced from
the common red-clover blossom (Fig. 359 represents an enlarged petal),
and shredded cocoanut made from the ordinary white-clover petals (Fig.
360 also magnified). When these are well mixed serve them on a pretty,
green leaf plate, and the dish will give another bit of mingled color
with its pink, white, green, and yellow.
=The Cups and Saucers=
are furnished by the oak-tree and made of acorns. The lower part (Fig.
361) forms the saucer; the upper (Fig. 362) [Illustration: 75] the cup.
Cut off the top, then remove the kernel and the cup is ready for use
(Fig. 363). It is better to select a large-sized acorn for the saucer
and a smaller one for the cup, in order that the [Illustration: 200] cup
may have more space in the saucer and not fit too closely (Fig. 364).
Miniature dippers can be fashioned of acorn cups by piercing a hole in
one side near the top and pushing a slender stick through until it rests
against the opposite side (Fig. 365).
[Illustration: Fig. 367.]
Odd little baskets are also made of acorns (Fig. 366) by cutting away
all of the top of the acorn except a band through its centre; this forms
the handle. The acorn is [Illustration: Fig. 368.] left in its rough
saucer, which gives the outer surface of the basket, the inner surface
being the interior of the acorn proper. Make several cups and saucers,
and the feast will be ready for others to see (Fig. 367). Of course, it
is only intended to give pleasure in this way and not really to serve as
food.
Rose petals make an excellent substitute for the common
=Snapping Bonbons,=
such as are usually served at parties with the refreshments. Choose
[Illustration: Fig. 369.] [Illustration: Fig. 370.] the largest and best
petals (Fig. 368) and gather up the edge of one all the way around,
holding the folds securely; a little, bag-like object is thus formed
(Fig. 369), which, when held firmly with the thumb and forefinger of one
hand and struck against the out-stretched palm of the other, snaps with
a loud noise. If any opening is allowed when gathering up the edges of
the petal, the air will not be confined and consequently the bag will
not snap, and you must try another.
Of the thorns covering the stems of the roses you can make chains by
sticking the point of one thorn into the base of another and continuing
in this manner until the chain is as long as you desire (Fig. 370).
The party being over we will make some
=Baskets of Green Burs.=
They are pretty and rustic and can be shaped into almost any style; each
bur is provided with little hooked fingers (Fig. 371) that lock when the
two burs are pressed against each other, enabling them to stick fast
together—not so tight, however, that they cannot be separated when
desired. Be sure the burs are young and fresh; they will then be free
from all dryness and perfectly safe to work with; if too old they will
be difficult to handle and apt to drop the small, thorny particles.
Before commencing the work spread a newspaper out in front of you, then,
placing your burs on that, take one bur and with several others form a
circular row around it; another row around completes the bottom of the
basket (Fig. 372). Build up the sides on the top of this last row and
form the handle with a row of burs long enough to reach easily from side
to side [Illustration: 500] of the basket (Fig. 373). You can experiment
and make all sorts of things—vases, bowls, plates, chairs, tables, and
houses—of burs, and the work is very interesting and easy.
Beside contributing to the salad, the dandelion furnishes
=A Variety of Amusement.=
You have only to hold its golden head up under your chin to learn if you
are fond of butter. With one hand hold the flower (Fig. 374), with the
other hand a mirror. If you see a yellow reflection cast upon your chin
by the blossom underneath, you enjoy using plenty of butter on your
bread. Take the grandfather dandelion with his round, white head (Fig.
375) and blow once, then again and again, three times in all; the number
of downy seeds left on the head denotes the time of day. For instance,
should all be blown away except three (Fig. 376), it would mean that it
was three o’clock; if two are left it would say two o’clock, and so on.
[Illustration: Fig. 374.]
Select another nice
=Old Grandfather Dandelion=
and he will tell you when you are fortunate enough to obtain a certain
wish. First make a wish, then say aloud “yes” and give a single blow;
next say “no” and blow again. Proceed in this way, repeating the two
words alternately, giving one blow at each, until all the seeds are
detached from the head. If the word “yes” comes at the last blow your
wish will be granted; if “no” comes last it [Illustration: 300] will be
denied. With stems of this same flower, which, you know, are hollow and
much smaller at the top than at the bottom, you can make pretty green
rings by pushing the smaller into the larger end of the stem (Fig. 377).
To make a chain, join a number of rings together by first passing one
end of the second stem through the first ring before the two ends of the
second stem are fastened together, doing likewise with the third,
fourth, and fifth stems (Fig. 378).
[Illustration: Fig. 378.]
[Illustration: Fig. 380.]
To make an odd little ornament, split the dandelion stem about two
inches down lengthwise through the centre (Fig. 379) and draw one side
strip through your lips several times—it is perfectly harmless—until it
curls [Illustration: Fig. 379.] up (Fig. 380). Treat the other side in
the same way and it will also curl (Fig. 381).
=The Morning-glory=
gives us some of the most fragile flowers of which we have knowledge;
they are so delicate and fine of texture not many artists are able to
render perfectly the peculiar charm of the blossom. [Illustration: Fig.
381.] Beautiful in their varied colors, they blossom until killed by
frost, and growing as they do almost anywhere, even along the dusty
roadside, their cheerful faces sing out a bright “Good-morning” if one
is there in time to find them open. Usually they begin to close early in
the day, and when they close they change into twisted elongated affairs
which are eagerly sought by children bent on having a little sport. If
you will gather a few of these floral cornucopiæ you can make them pop
so loud they will rival the torpedo. Hold tight the opening end of the
closed blossom with the thumb and forefinger of the right hand and fill
it with air by gently blowing in the wee stem end; grasp this securely
with the left hand; then suddenly push the two ends together, and snap!
will go the flower.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration: Home-made Baskets.]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHAPTER XVI
BASKET-WEAVING
In and out, in and out; under and over, under and over; around and
around, again and yet again; widening and narrowing, and, lo! a basket
is woven. A child of eight can learn it, a woman will find the work a
charming pastime; so this is written for girls of all ages.
Dye your reeds, put all the bright colors you like into your baskets,
and see if they are not much prettier and more substantial than the
so-called “Indian work.” Red, blue, green, yellow, black, purple—a
butterfly’s wing need not be gayer nor an old-time work-basket more
useful. Large, small, medium-sized, deep or shallow—only one’s desire
need determine the question.
=Materials for Weaving=
A variety of materials are adapted to basket-weaving, but the most
substantial baskets are made of reeds. When the principle is mastered
you may use anything you choose which will lend itself to the work.
The basket-reeds can be purchased from any reed and rattan manufacturer,
and come in various sizes. Nos. 2, 3, and 4 are the ones to use, and as
No. 4 is quite heavy you will need that only for large baskets, such as
waste-paper baskets, flower-pot cases, etc., and even for such purposes
No. 3 will answer. No. 2 is the finest, and of that you will use the
most. The prices range from twenty-three cents to thirty-five cents a
pound, No. 2 being the most expensive. Beside the reeds you will need a
twist of raffia; this is a soft material used by the florist for tying
up plants, and may be obtained from him at little cost, probably
eighteen or twenty cents a hank.
=To Prepare the Reeds=
The reeds come in bunches of five pounds each; separate these, and
taking each reed wrap it loosely around your hand to form a coil,
twisting the ends in and out to hold them in place. This puts your
material into a convenient form, and you need unwrap the reeds only as
you have use for them, one at a time. Have ready a pan or pail full of
water, for the reeds must be soaked awhile before they are used to make
them more pliable and to keep them from breaking.
Try a small basket at first—let us say a rather flat, shallow one—and
for this one coil of No. 3 and several of No. 2 reeds will be enough.
When they have soaked for about five minutes take out the No. 3 reed,
unwrap it, and cut six pieces twelve inches long and one piece eight
inches long; then untwist your raffia and cut off one strip.
=Weaving the Basket=
The reeds you have just cut are for the ribs of your basket. Lay the
short rib to one side within easy reach, then take three of the ribs in
your left hand and cross them with the other three, as in Fig. 382. Be
sure the reeds lie flat and side by side; do not bunch them. Hold the
ribs where they are crossed between the thumb and first finger
[Illustration: Fig. 382.] of your left hand, the vertical ones on top,
as shown in Fig. 382, and with your right hand place one end of the
raffia on top of the reeds, under your left thumb, leaving the free end
to fall to the left, as in Fig. 382. Hold the ribs securely now, and
bring the raffia up under those on the left-hand side close to the
crossing, then over the upper ribs (Fig. 383), under the right-hand ribs
and over the lower ones, going [Illustration: Fig. 383.] around twice
and catching down the end of the raffia in the process; then trim off
the remaining short end of the raffia. Do not loosen your hold with your
left hand, but with your right separate the ribs as well as you can and
begin to weave the raffia, starting at the left-hand rib of the upper
group, as shown by letter A, Fig. 384. Bring the raffia over
[Illustration: Fig. 384.] this rib and draw it down close to the centre,
then under the next, over the third, under the fourth, and so on until
you have been once around, when you will find another rib necessary to
make the weave come out properly. Here is the place for the short rib;
place one end of this rib across the centre of the others, as shown by
letter B, Fig. 385, and hold in place with your left thumb. Bring the
raffia over the new rib, and continue [Illustration: Fig. 385.] weaving
as in the first round; when you reach the short end of the rib bind it
down with the raffia as you carry it over one of the other ribs, as
shown by letter C, Fig. 386. Weave steadily with the raffia now, and
keep your mind on separating the ribs until they are of an equal
distance apart; also remember to draw the raffia down firmly each time
you pass it in and out between the ribs, first on one side, then on the
other. Of all parts it is most essential that the centre [Illustration:
Fig. 386.] of the basket should be firmly and strongly woven. Be careful
not to weave under or over two ribs at one time. Under one, over the
next, is the rule; and when you find, as you will occasionally, that
something is wrong, and alternate weaving has become impossible, look
back over your work and you will discover that you have somewhere
crossed [Illustration: Fig. 387.] two ribs at once. In such a case pull
out the work and correct the mistake.
Weave the raffia until the centre is about two inches in diameter, or
until you have used up the raffia, then take from the water a coil of
the No. 2 reeds, unwind it, and placing one end across the end of the
raffia, hold it with the thumb of your left hand, and proceed to weave
with the reed just as you did with the raffia (Fig. 387). In all cases
the joining must be done on the inside of the basket.
[Illustration: 'Weaving Baskets.']
[Illustration:
Begin to shape the sides
By bending the ribs upward
Fig. 388.
]
=Weave Your Reed=
as closely as possible, and when you have a disk about four inches in
diameter begin to shape the sides by bending the ribs upward toward you
(Fig. 388) and drawing your reed tighter. If this slips up in the
process, push it back in place and hold it down by passing the fingers
of your left hand between the ribs from the inside. Indeed, this is a
good way to hold your basket as soon as the ribs are sufficiently
separated. Your left hand follows your right always in [Illustration:
Fig. 389.] basket-weaving, holding in place what the right hand commits
to its care.
=When the First Reed is Used Up=
take another, cross the ends, and continue as you did when beginning
with the first reed. As your weaving progresses do not forget to keep
the distances between all of the ribs equal, and try to avoid the
tendency they have to curve spirally. When your basket has slanting
sides you will find it will almost shape itself after you have given the
ribs a sharp bend at the first and started them in the right direction.
By bending the ribs too much you will make straight sides to the basket
or have them slant in instead of out. Two inches is a good depth for a
small basket, and when you have woven that much, cut off the ribs,
allowing them to extend about two inches beyond the edge, as in Fig.
389, and trim the ends slantingly, as shown in the same diagram. Bend
the end of one rib down, and push it into the basket on the farthest
side of the next rib (Fig. 389). Do this with the second rib, and so
continue around until the edge is “bound off.” When the ends of the ribs
do not slide in easily, pry open the space with a pair of closed
scissors, turning them slightly.
All the baskets shown in
=The Photographed Group=
are woven in exactly this manner from start to finish; the shaping is
done by bending the ribs this way or that, and by [Illustration: Fig.
390] tightening the weave when narrowing and loosening it when widening.
There is a difference, of course, in the length of the ribs, the larger
baskets requiring longer ribs and more of them, but there must always be
an even number to start with, the odd rib being added after the first
round of raffia-weaving.
It is difficult to handle more than ten ribs at the start, but where the
basket is large or a close weave is desirable you may double the number
when the disk for the bottom is almost complete. To do this, cut a
number of the ribs one-half the length of the ones you have started
with, and after trimming the ends as in Fig. 389, insert one at the
right of each of the original ribs, as shown in Fig. 390, pushing each
well down toward the centre. This will give you an even number once
more, so a third rib must be added to one of the groups, and should be
inserted at the left, the original rib being between the two new ones
(Fig. 390). Separate these ribs as you weave until all are of an equal
distance apart, and continue the shaping of the basket.
=The Covers=
are pretty and useful additions to some baskets; they are woven in the
same manner and are shaped according to fancy. The saucer shape is the
most common style and requires no sudden bend in the ribs, but rather
tight weaving and an indulgence of the natural inclination to curve from
the centre.
It is only in adding the rings for the
=Fastenings=
that you need make any change in the weave, and that is but a slight
one. When your cover is almost large enough, [Illustration: Fig. 391]
bring your reed up to form a small ring on the outside, crossing one of
the ribs, as shown in Fig. 391; push the end of the reed through the
ring several times, making a twist as in Fig. 391, and continue weaving
as before. This ring should be about one-fourth of an inch from the edge
of the cover. The corresponding ring in the basket is made in the same
manner, and should be placed one-half inch from the edge; it must be a
trifle smaller than the one on the cover, that it may be slipped
through, and so form a fastening.
=Make a Hinge=
by threading a strip of raffia through the basket near the edge, and
tying it on the inside, then through the lid, making a stitch across the
reeds, back to the under side of the cover, bringing it around the loop
of raffia to form a twist, and finally into the [Illustration: Fig. 392]
basket, and once more tie on the inside (Fig. 392).
You may revel in
=Color=
if you like, in the pretty work of basket-making. The soft broken
colors, brightened at times by touches of more brilliant tones, are
really beautiful, while even those which, alone, seem crude and glaring,
by some happy accident of combination often produce charming effects. A
fine line of black is sometimes effective and looks well next to the
whitest of the natural-colored reeds.
It is
=A Law in Decoration=
that bands of color should be so placed as to give the idea of
additional strength to the object decorated—that is, on the most exposed
parts, such as the fullest swell of a curve and the base and edge. You
will find that this rule is observed in most decorated pottery, and it
is a good one to follow in basket-weaving; the nearer one comes to
embodying it in the work, the more satisfactory are the results.
Another style of decoration is to start with a dark color at the base of
the basket and gradually work in the different shades up to the lightest
color at the edge. One color need not be used in this, such as red
running up to pink, but gradual blending of one color into another.
CHAPTER XVII
AN “ABE” LINCOLN LOG-CABIN
A bright, gray-eyed little Kentucky boy, of whom all have heard and
whose memory is honored by the entire nation, lived years ago in a
quaint log-cabin so small that it would now seem to be about the right
size for a large play-house. There was but one room, and that contained
only a few pieces of rough home-made furniture. The boy, with his
musical laugh, was busy and healthy, making the best of everything and
sleeping soundly on the dried leaves piled in one corner of the loft
over the room. There were no stairs for the little fellow to ascend, so
he climbed to his primitive couch by means of wooden pegs driven in the
side of the wall. He never complained of any hardship, but always tried
to better things; and after he grew up to manhood he tried to better his
country, and succeeded.
Imagine this brave boy dressed in the every-day costume of the place and
times, wearing a 'coon-skin cap which partially covered his thick dark
hair, a homespun shirt, trousers of roughly tanned deerskin, and on his
feet, not shoes, but home-made moccasins. Thus attired, he daily trudged
by the side of his sister Nancy, walking several miles to a
school-house, which was also built of logs, so arranged that they stuck
out and formed little recesses in which the children played
hide-and-seek. There were no windows in the building; the day crept
through the open space where a log had been removed to admit light to
enable the girls and boys to see to study. The school floor was the bare
brown earth, not even boards; yet from such modest surroundings came one
of the greatest of Americans. Could you have been at the World’s Fair in
1893 you might have seen a log-cabin which was the home of this boy
after the family had moved to Illinois. The house was on exhibition at
the Fair, having been purchased for the purpose by a special
association.
[Illustration: An “Abe” Lincoln Log-cabin.]
Probably not many Northern girls have ever seen a genuine log-cabin,
though some may have spent part of their Summer vacation in recently
built log-houses in the mountains, but these buildings are usually too
luxurious and spacious to bear any resemblance to the pioneer structure
of logs. The rare human life which has passed through some of these old
log-cabins and left its influence upon the world, will cause the cabins
to be remembered long after the more pretentious mansions have been
forgotten. It is noble lives which are of real worth, not inanimate
things.
Naturally you would be glad to see the funny little Kentucky log-cabin
where Nancy’s brother first lived, but long ago the cabin was torn down;
however, the logs were saved, and in 1895 the old house was rebuilt on
the original site. The surest way of seeing a log-cabin like the one in
which our little friend and his sister lived is for you to erect such a
house. Then you will know exactly what little “Abe’s” home was like—for
you must have guessed before this that Nancy’s brother was the martyred
President, Abraham Lincoln.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration: Making an “Abe” Lincoln Log-cabin.]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Of course, you cannot build a log-cabin large enough for grown people to
live in. Yours will be
=A Miniature “Abe” Lincoln Cabin,=
and the longest and heaviest logs should be about as large around as a
lead-pencil and measure not more than eight [Illustration: Fig. 393.]
inches in length, the short side logs being five and a quarter inches in
length. Notch each log at both ends and on both sides (Fig. 393), except
the four foundation logs, which [Illustration: Fig. 394.] require
notches at each end, but only on the upper side (Fig. 394). When
erecting the house fit the cross logs together at the notches (Fig.
395), in order to make the walls [Illustration: Fig. 395.] firm and to
avoid wide spaces between the logs. Let the elevation or height of the
house be four inches (Fig. 396). In building the roof use end logs
graduated in length (Fig. 397). These gabled ends should raise the house
two inches through the centre. Before [Illustration: Fig. 396.] adding
the roof, slide in two extra side logs, each half an inch or so longer
than the side logs proper; place one at each end of the top of the house
along the inside of the last logs on top of the side walls (Fig. 398, F
E). The longer logs are used to extend the roof back and front beyond
the building, causing it to project as do [Illustration: Fig. 397.] the
roofs on real houses. To produce a like result on the sides, have the
front and back logs of the roof longer than those built in the front and
back of the house, the difference being the same increase in measurement
as in the sides of the roof (Fig. 396, A B and C D).
Cut a piece of paper two and one-quarter inches long and one and
one-quarter inches wide to indicate the door; fasten it by the four
corners to the centre of the front of the house immediately above the
foundation log. Cut another piece of paper the size of the window—one
inch long and three-quarters of an inch wide—and [Illustration: Fig.
398.] paste it also on the front of the house midway between the door
and the end of the house, allowing it to come a little lower than the
top of the door (Fig. 396). With paint-brush and white paint mark the
logs along the edge of the paper door and window; then carefully take
down the house, placing the logs in eight different piles: the front of
the roof in one place, back of roof in another, first end of roof in the
third pile, and second end in the fourth. Tie each group of logs
separately and label. Proceed in like manner with the four sides of the
house proper, first removing the pieces of paper. Cut the logs marked
with the white paint on the inside of the lines to make openings for the
door and window, then rub off the remaining paint from the logs.
Now your material is
=Ready for Building=
and you must find some land upon which to erect the house. Fortunately
log-cabins need no cellars, so digging will be unnecessary, and the
ground need not be deep. A piece of bookbinder’s stiff pasteboard or a
light-weight wooden board seventeen by twenty-three inches or
thereabouts will prove the best kind of a ground plot and, after space
is reserved for the house, will allow for a large yard. Mark the
location for the house a little to one side of the centre and near the
back of the lot, as shown in illustration of An “Abe” Lincoln Log-cabin.
[Illustration: Fig. 399.]
Have ready some strong glue and begin the building of the cabin. Glue
down the four foundation logs to the board, being cautious to lay them
straight and even; then proceed as when first erecting the building,
only this time glue each log to the lower ones at the notched ends,
using putty in place of mortar between the lengths of the logs. Now, do
not say you have no putty. If you cannot get it, use plaster-of-paris;
if you have no plaster-of-paris, use clay; and if there is no clay use
mud. The ends of the logs bordering the window and doorway must be held
level and kept from falling together by chips glued in between them
(Fig. 399).
Be sure to have the four sides of the building plumb. Do not let the
walls lean one way or another. This item must be borne in mind
constantly while building.
=When the House is Up,=
with the exception of the roof, measure the two sides of the door and
window and cut a thin, flat piece of wood—an old [Illustration: Fig.
400.] cigar-box will do—in the desired width and length for jambs. Glue
the pieces in place. Fig. 400 shows the first jamb on one side of the
doorway. When all the jambs are fastened on measure the space of the
doorway and cut a door of the thin wood according to the measurements.
Be sure it fits, and see that it moves easily back and forth. The door
cannot have a knob, because during those early times there were no
door-knobs in this country—people used door-latches, mostly of wood,
with a string hanging down on the outside for friends to pull and
thereby lift the inside latch, causing the door to open. [Illustration:
Fig. 401.] [Illustration: Fig. 402.] If the household did not wish
visitors the string was pulled inside the room; then no one outside
could open the door, as there would not be anything to catch hold of.
This explains the old saying, “The latch-string hangs on the outside of
the door.” Bore a hole through the little cabin door with the red-hot
end of a hair-pin, for the latch-string; move the hair-pin around and
around in order to burn the hole large enough to admit the threading
through of a string. Dampen one end of a short string, twist it to a
point and pass it through the hole to the other side, turn the door over
and make a knot in the end of the string large enough to prevent it
[Illustration: Fig. 403.] coming through when the string is pulled from
the outside. Fig. 401 shows the inside knot and Fig. 402 the outside
string.
=Hang the Door=
by means of a cloth hinge; glue a half inch wide strip of muslin
lengthwise along one edge of the inside of the door (Fig. 403), leaving
the other half of the muslin to be glued on the inside of the doorjamb
that the door sill may be on the outside (Fig. 404). After the door has
been satisfactorily secured in its proper place build on the roof. As a
substitute [Illustration: Fig. 404.] for clapboards or shingles glue
birch-bark over the rafters to serve as a covering, first bending the
bark through the centre to fit the roof, as a sheet of writing-paper is
folded. When the roof is on, fasten over it [Illustration: Fig. 405.]
lengthwise slender poles at wide intervals, that the roof may resemble
the original clapboard style. In real houses these poles were laid
across to hold the rough clapboards in position and have them “break
joints,” which means that the clapboards, which resemble very long,
large shingles, are placed in rows in such a way that the centres of the
solid bottom edges of those in the upper rows overlap and cross the
spaces between the clapboards in the lower rows, just as ordinary
shingles are put on houses to-day.
=The Chimney=
must be at one end and on the outside of the house. Begin at the ground,
and in log-cabin fashion build the lower part up about an inch and a
half of logs. This portion in a real log-cabin opens on the inside of
the room and constitutes part of the framework of the fireplace, but in
this tiny house it will not be necessary to carry out the interior in
detail. Having securely glued the lower part of the chimney and
plastered it between the logs, get some burnt matches or split a number
of sticks into very slender lengths for the remainder of the chimney.
These are not to be notched. Use them to graduate the chimney up a short
distance until the opening is small enough for the chimney proper. Make
the rest uniform in size and extend it up an inch and a quarter higher
than the top of the house (Fig. 405). If the chimney was a real one it
would have to be plastered thick inside with mud, and between the logs
and sticks, but as it will not be used for fire or smoke, glue will
answer at the corners and putty or some other substitute for the cracks,
as in the illustration of A Fac-simile Miniature “Abe” Lincoln
Log-cabin.
[Illustration: A Fac-simile Miniature “Abe” Lincoln Log-cabin.]
The different materials needed for the cabin and grounds can be readily
obtained. Almost any kind of fairly smooth twigs will make line logs,
but try to have them uniform in size.
=You Can Find Plenty of Moss=
for foliage in the woods or swamps, on old stumps of trees and
weather-beaten fences, and a few varieties are to be had in the open
fields; that growing in pine woods or rocky places is generally
satisfactory. Gather the moss wherever you can find it and obtain as
many varieties as possible. Look also for the beautiful lichens, varying
in color and form; detach them carefully and bring the curious little
plants home in a box separate from the moss. The dainty lichens do not
need preparation for use, but the moss does. Place it top down on paper
near the fire and dry quickly without scorching. After it is dry shake
off all impurities, such as dead leaves, grass, sand, and rotten wood.
Moss that grows in swamps should be carefully washed soon after being
obtained, as the roots are difficult to clean when they become dry. As
soon as the moss has been thoroughly dried, put it away in a dark place
until you are ready to use it.
To obtain
=The Bark for Roof and Canoe,=
hunt up a birch-tree—one that has been dead a short time is best—and
with a sharp knife peel off the pieces needed. The bark should be of a
rich dark reddish-brown on the inside. Cut it with an old pair of
scissors into the desired shape and size; then place the pieces between
two smooth boards to dry. Put weights or stones of convenient size upon
the upper board, and very soon the bark will be flattened out and ready
for use.
The trees are small, branching twigs. Search for those which resemble
most closely little trees. Examine carefully the structure of real
trees, stand under the branches and gaze up into the foliage; in most
varieties, you can see exactly how the tree grows. Try to remember its
appearance; where and how the limbs stand out and the manner in which
they branch off; then select your twigs accordingly.
Little “Abe” was obliged to take a long walk to the spring for drinking
water, but since the size of our lot does not permit placing a spring at
sufficient distance from the cabin to copy exactly the environment of
the Lincoln homestead, we will introduce
=A Pretty Little Lake or Pond=
and an old-fashioned country well-sweep as water supplies. Hunt up a
piece of broken looking-glass. This will make [Illustration: Fig. 406.]
an excellent substitute for a miniature lake of real water, reflecting
the beautiful green shore, the overhanging trees, and the graceful
little craft which we will moor to its shore. If the mirror is the
requisite size, its shape does not matter. Place the glass near the
front of the board at the left-hand side. Move it further back, then
forward, a little to this side and that, until you find the precise spot
best suited for the lake. Experimenting in this way, you will gain
unconsciously a slight insight into the art of landscape gardening, and
when you have an opportunity you will find yourself studying the
arrangement and beauty of grounds laid out by professional landscape
gardeners. You will notice in what direction the water lies from the
house, the arrangement of the trees, if they are many or few, in groups
or scattered, the surface of the land, and various other details that
appeal to the close observer.
Having located the place for the lake, lay the broken mirror on it and
glue a strip of paper, half of it to the edge of the glass and half to
the board. Fig. 406 shows the method, the dotted line giving the extreme
edge of the glass under the paper. Cover the paper with a light coat of
glue and sprinkle clean, fine, dry sand over it while the glue is wet
that the sand may stick fast and conceal the paper. With a lead-pencil
draw two parallel lines as a boundary for
=The Walk=
from the house to the front edge of the board and, recollecting the old
saying, “A curved line for beauty, a straight line for duty,” make the
path curve in some such way as seen in Fig. 407. Extend the walk almost
diagonally across to the right hand of the board. If the first lines do
not give a satisfactory path, try again and again until you have the
walk to suit; then, if possible, obtain sand of a yellowish color and
with the aid of glue make a sandy walk.
[Illustration: Fig. 407.]
[Illustration: Fig. 408.]
[Illustration: Fig. 409.]
The best place for
=A Well=
is toward the right hand of the land beyond the house, between it and
the front edge of the board. Decide upon the exact location and over
this draw a square measuring one and three-quarters inches each way as a
guide in building the wall. You will need some small stones for the
well, but real stones are not necessary and you may use instead
irregular broken pieces of cork. These can be made to resemble
[Illustration: Fig. 410.] hard stones by being first coated all over
with glue, then covered with sand of a dark reddish hue.
Build the square according to and immediately outside the lines in order
to keep the inside space of the well large enough to allow the free
lowering of the bucket. Make the walls even and straight, gluing the
foundation stones securely to the ground. When the first layer of stones
is in place fit in others for a second row on top of the first, breaking
joints; cement the two rows together with putty. Keep on building until
the walls are an inch and a half high, reserving the flattest stones for
the top (Fig. 408).
[Illustration: Fig. 411.]
Cut a forked stick five inches long and push the end in a button-mould
(Fig. 409); glue the button-mould down tight to the board at the
right-hand side six inches from the well; then make a straight, slender
pole five inches long from a twig, and a well-sweep from a heavier twig.
The well-sweep should be fourteen inches long and much heavier at one
end than at the other. On the light end of the sweep attach the slender
pole, which has previously had a hole burned through the lower end with
the red-hot end of a hairpin. Glue a small strip of brown muslin from
one stick to the other, not allowing the ends of the stick to meet (Fig.
410). Wrap and glue the sides of the cloth around the two poles, forming
in this way a hinge, which will allow the slender pole to hang straight
down from the sweep (Fig. 411).
Tie an
=Acorn Bucket=
[Illustration: Fig. 412.] (Fig. 412) on the end of the pole, pass a
string under the handle of the bucket and through the hole in the poles
then fasten securely. Pierce one of the forked ends of the stick (Fig.
409), with a pin, measure seven and a half inches from the smaller,
light end of the sweep, and insert the pole sweep at this point between
the forked ends shown in Fig. 413. Push the pin entirely through the
sweep and the second fork of the support, where it will act as a hinge.
Try moving the sweep up and down to see if it works all right.
Should the bucket drop into the well and remain there when your hand is
removed from the pole, it shows that the heavy end of the sweep is too
light. Remedy this by increasing the weight. Tack and glue a small box
on the end (Fig. 414), resting the pole exactly on the centre of the
inside bottom of the box. Fill the box with small stones until the
weight is sufficient to keep that end on the ground, glue the stones in
tight (Fig. 413). Now try the sweep again; pull the pendant pole down,
bringing the bucket into the well just as the real ones are worked. You
can pretend that the well is very deep, containing the clearest and
coldest of drinking water, and that the acorn bucket is in reality the
original “Old Oaken Bucket.” That famous bucket actually hung from just
such a sweep as you have made, only, of course, a very much larger and
stronger one.
[Illustration: Fig. 413.]
Let some of
=The Trees=
be nearly as tall again as the cabin; others may be smaller.
[Illustration: Fig. 414.] Select your twigs and push the end of each
into a large-sized button-mould. If the hole in the mould is too small,
enlarge it. Have a few very small twigs for shrubs; stand the trees and
shrubs around the grounds as you think they will look best. Try placing
them in different parts of the grounds—perhaps a large tree partially
back of the house would look well. When all are satisfactorily arranged
mark the different spots, then take each tree and bush separately and
cause the bare branches to burst forth into beautiful green foliage. To
do this, bring out your box of moss and carefully select the variety
which most nearly resembles foliage. Use different kinds of moss for
different trees, if you have a variety. Pick the dainty moss apart fibre
by fibre and glue the pieces one at a time on the branches, making the
foliage thicker in some places than in others; place the
lightest-colored moss on the outside limbs of the trees, leaving the
darker for the inner branches. Fig. 415 shows a bare tree and Fig. 416
the same in full leaf. When the trees and shrubs are ready glue them by
their button-mould stands to the board.
[Illustration: Fig. 415.]
Next the
=Grass-seed Must be Sown=
or the sod planted that the ground may be clothed in emerald green.
Select a quantity of fine short moss and glue it down all over the
entire bare land; then step back a short distance and view the work. You
will be surprised at the realistic effect produced. Bring the grass well
down, but unevenly, around the shores of the lake and scatter stones of
various size here and there near its edge. Take a few pieces of the
vine-like moss and trail it up the side of the cabin, running the vine
high under the eaves.
[Illustration: Fig. 416.]
=The Fence=
must be one of the picturesque zigzag rail enclosures sometimes called
“Old Virginia” fences and again “snake” fences. [Illustration: Fig.
417.] They are peculiar to America and are made of split logs. When
Lincoln was a boy he excelled in splitting rails and made more and cut
them faster than any of the other boys. The rails you require, however,
are so small that a girl as well as a boy can easily make them. Cut the
logs four and one-half inches long and split each one lengthwise (Fig.
417). Make enough rails to lay a fence around three sides of the
grounds. The back edge of the land can be hedged in with bushes and
trees. Build the fence by first placing stones—one or more, according to
the size—in two rows, those in each being about four inches apart. The
circles in Fig. 418 give the position of the stones, and the dotted line
that of the rails. Begin the fence by laying the first rail on two of
the stones, the next rail across to the third stone, and so on. Make the
fence several rails high; then cross two upright rails at each corner
and build on the top rails (Fig. 419). Glue the stones to the ground and
the rails one on top of the other as you build.
[Illustration: Fig. 418.]
[Illustration: Fig. 419.]
Leave an open space at the path for a gateway, but instead of an
ordinary gate you can make
=A Little Turnstile=
which will twist around just like a real one. Choose a thick short log
and shave it off level on the top; then take two thin flat sticks about
two and one-half inches long; round off the corners and, crossing them
at the centres, glue the two together (Fig. 420). When dry work a pin
through [Illustration: Fig. 420.] [Illustration: Fig. 421.] both at the
centre and push the pin down, not too tight, in the top of the log (Fig.
421). Enlarge the hole in a good-sized button-mould and fasten in the
turnstile. Scrape away enough sand at the centre of the gateway to allow
the button-mould to be glued to the bare board; then brush a little glue
over the mould and around its edges and sprinkle with sand.
The bright-colored lichens come in well as flowers to give the
=Finishing Touches.=
Little tufts can be glued at the base of the cabin and chimney. The
variety with the coral-red tops might be planted here and there along
the edge of the walk, and other kinds could be fastened sparingly on a
few rocks at the base of the well-sweep and wherever they would add to
the beauty and effect of the whole. But be careful about using too many
simply because you happen to have them. Study the effect of the entire
scene and do not overcrowd it.
=The Birch-bark Canoe.=
Cut the boat from the pattern (Fig. 422); sew up the two ends and, if
necessary, bend out the sides until the canoe is of the desired shape
(Fig. 423). Moor the craft to the edge of the shore with the aid of a
little glue. [Illustration: Fig. 422.] Or you might put the canoe out on
the water; glue it in place and seat two little jointed dolls in the
boat, one dressed as a girl and the other as a boy. The boy should have
glued to his hands a little wooden paddle whittled from a piece of thin,
flat wood.
[Illustration: Fig. 423.]
When people lived in log-cabins they burned wood in the great fireplaces
and always kept a generous
=Wood-pile=
near at hand. A tiny one at the side toward the back of the grounds
will, therefore, be in keeping with the cabin. Burn two holes through
each end of a short flat piece of wood and stick a slender pole in each
hole, fasten them in tight with glue, then burn two holes in another
piece of wood for two similar poles. Place the two pairs of stakes about
three inches apart, and cut your wood and pile it up evenly between
them. The stakes are to hold the wood in place (Fig. 424).
=A Sawbuck=
can be made of four flat pieces of wood and one round piece. Shut your
eyes, think hard, and you will remember how a real sawbuck looks; how
the cross-piece is nearer the top than the bottom and how each
side-piece forms an awkward-looking X, the cross of the letter being
above the centre. You can make it without diagrams. Look at the sawbuck
near the wood-pile in Fig. 424 and try.
[Illustration: Fig. 424.]
Find a tiny doll, dress it like a child and glue it in an upright
position on the walk. Have another doll (neither of these should be
jointed) dressed in a way to represent the little one’s mother, standing
by the well drawing water, and your charming old-fashioned log-cabin
home will be finished. See illustration of An “Abe” Lincoln Log-cabin.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration: You might be drawing the simple designs.]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHAPTER XVIII
QUEER THINGS ON PAPER AND BLACKBOARD
AND HOW TO PUT THEM THERE
Look at a piece of blank paper or, better still, stand before an
unmarked blackboard and try to imagine pictured on its surface whatever
you would like to see there. It might be a comical little turtle, a
rose, or perhaps a graceful swan. If you knew exactly the true shape and
proportion of the objects you could draw them, but as soon as you
attempt the sketch you realize that you cannot remember just how these
creatures are formed, and consequently you are unable to depict them. Do
not be discouraged, for there is a way in which you may do the work
easily and that is by reducing the realistic drawing to a few leading
lines, and the girls who are able to sketch even a small number of
simple objects in this way have resources within themselves both for
diversion and development, worth much more than they are apt to
understand.
If you would like to put on paper or board
=A Funny Little Pig=
as it stands with its ears bent forward and nose in air, draw a
horizontal line (Fig. 425). On the right-hand end of this extend down a
short vertical line (Fig. 426); on the left draw another vertical line
parallel to but longer than the first (Fig. 427). Draw a bottom
horizontal line not quite as long as the top one (Fig. 428); then
connect the two loose ends by a slanting line (Fig. 429). Make the
letter V inverted and slightly tipped for the ear (Fig. 430); put a dash
in front of the ear parallel with the top line for the eye, and a little
loop at the back for a tail (Fig. 431). Add two short straight lines to
serve as legs on the far side of the pig, making them touch but not pass
the bottom line (Fig. 432). Next put in the other two legs on the near
side of the animal, extending them up a trifle beyond the bottom line
and down a little lower than those on the far side (Fig. 433).
[Illustration: Fig. 425.]
[Illustration: Fig. 427.]
[Illustration: Fig. 429.]
[Illustration: Fig. 426.]
[Illustration: Fig. 428.]
[Illustration: Fig. 430.]
[Illustration: Fig. 431.]
There! the pig is all attention, listening to the welcome sound of the
children’s call and ready to start for his dinner! Now make the little
animal as he appears when satisfied and trotting off contentedly. Draw
the body as for the first pig, but turn it upside down (Fig. 434), then
add the eye, ear, tail, and legs. Slant the eye with the head line and
point the ear downward toward the left (Fig. 435). In [Illustration:
Fig. 432.] these lines forming the two animals you have produced
expressions; in the first, expectation; in the second, contentment, and
you have also suggested character, by giving the principal distinctive
lines of the pig.
When you see a picture of a pig, or the live creature, try to find the
lines which you have drawn. To do this, first [Illustration: Fig. 433.]
get an idea of the general line forming the back, omitting all the
little ups and downs and curves—in other words, all detail. Then proceed
in the same way with lines forming the rest of the animal. Do not allow
yourself to be confused by the amount of detail; keep to the principal
parts and you will gain some idea of the form of the object.
[Illustration: Fig. 434.]
[Illustration: Fig. 435.]
In the same way look at the governing lines of
=A Hen=
and you will discover that if a triangle be drawn with the straight
line, or base, uppermost and the point down at the bottom, it will give
the characteristic outline of the hen by adding simple outlines of head,
tail, and feet. But the leading lines are not necessarily straight and
angular; they are often entirely of curves—the kind of curves boys and
girls delight to cut in the ice while skating, and which Old Ocean marks
upon the sand in summer, using brushes [Illustration: Fig. 436.]
[Illustration: Fig. 437.] made of waves.
[Illustration: Fig. 438. Fig. 439. Fig. 440. Fig.
441. Fig. 442.]
Did you ever notice how many beautiful curves exist in
=The Queen of Flowers, the Rose,=
the national flower of England? Examine the blossom and endeavor to take
in its beauty. A question often asked in one of the games of children is
this: “Which would you rather have, a gold rose or a gold lily?” and the
bewildered young prisoner scarce can choose, so impressed is she with
the desirability of possessing, if only in imagination, both rose and
lily, little dreaming that once a year a rose of the purest gold is
actually made and given by the Pope to an Empress, Queen or royal
princess belonging to the Roman Catholic Church. The rose you can make
will not be of the precious metal, but of chalk or lead from a pencil,
and you need not wait to present it to a royal personage, but may give
it to whom you please. Begin with a circle (Fig. 436). Draw it as
perfect as possible, and within its border place one curved petal (Fig.
437), another (Fig. 438), a third (Fig. 439), a fourth (Fig. 440), and
two more (Fig. 441). Fill the circle up with petals as in Fig. 442, then
on the outside of the circle make six more (Fig. 443); to these add four
on the outer edge (Fig. 444). Now you may go over all the lines, making
them somewhat irregular, as in Fig. 444. Draw a stem to [Illustration:
Fig. 444] the rose, add a few thorns and on the right-hand side of the
stem attach a branch of green [Illustration: Fig. 443.] leaves according
to the copy. The easiest way to sketch in the leaves is to first draw
the mid rib or central line which reaches from the point of the topmost
leaf to its juncture with the stem of the rose. When that line is made
draw two more, branching out on each side of it. These lines form the
skeleton of the leaves, and all one has to do to finish them is to
commence at the tip of each line and draw a curve to its base, first on
one side, then on the other, to form the leaf.
Is not that easy? Should the work be incorrect the first time, do it
over again and again. Only little animals are born with a knowledge of
all they are required to know; people must learn everything, even how to
walk. Remember that the women and men who seem so skilled and wise had
to learn by repeated trials, just as you are doing now.
[Illustration: Fig. 445.]
[Illustration: Fig. 447.]
[Illustration: Fig. 449.]
[Illustration: Fig. 446.]
[Illustration: Fig. 448.]
[Illustration: Fig. 450.]
Rub the marks off the blackboard or get a fresh piece of paper and we
will put a face on it—one that, after you have once drawn it, you can
almost sketch with your eyes shut, so simple is the work. Possibly you
do not know that the general outline of
=A Head=
is egg-shaped. Make an egg-shaped outline, using the large part for the
top like a balloon (Fig. 445). Draw two curves on the egg for the
eyebrows just above the centre of the face (Fig. 446); make two smaller
curves under the eyebrows and exactly in the centre of the face for eyes
(Fig. 447); another curve midway down between the eyes and the bottom of
the chin for the nose (Fig. 448), and a last one below the nose to form
the mouth. See how supplicating the face looks! You know how he
feels—the boy wants to go to the circus (Fig. 449).
Reverse the order of the lines and the expression will be entirely
different. Turn the curves which form the features the other way by
bending them downward instead of upward (Fig. 450). The boy is now
thinking of the lesson he did not learn.
[Illustration: Fig. 451.]
[Illustration: Fig. 452.]
[Illustration: Fig. 453.]
[Illustration: Fig. 454.]
[Illustration: Fig. 455.]
[Illustration: Fig. 456.]
=The Three Blind Mice=
who ran so fast when the butcher’s wife went after them can also be
drawn in a simple manner. Make a curve (Fig. 451) and draw a straight
line from end to end (Fig. 452); add ears (Fig. 453), eye and whiskers
(Fig. 454), a tail (Fig. 455), and the legs and feet (Fig. 456). Draw
three mice all alike in a row. Again, make Fig. 452 to form the body of
=A Fish.=
Sketch in the gills (Fig. 457), the eye and pectoral fin (Fig. 458), the
dorsal fin (Fig. 459), and tail (Fig. 460); then make the scales by
first drawing parallel curved slanting lines over the body of the fish
(Fig. 461) and crossing them with others (Fig. 462). Indicate the water
with a few short lines (Fig. 462).
[Illustration: Fig. 457.]
[Illustration: Fig. 458.]
[Illustration: Fig. 459.]
[Illustration: Fig. 460.]
[Illustration: Fig. 461.]
[Illustration: Fig. 462.]
=Turtles=
are slow creatures, but they are interesting travelling about with their
houses on their backs. Did you ever have one for a pet? They are very
quiet, not at all troublesome, and make fine pets for girls. It may be
that you have never seen a geographic turtle. We will draw one, and that
will impress it on your mind. Take the same Fig. 452 to form its back,
mark as in Fig. 463, then give the turtle a head, in form something like
that of a snake. Draw the eyes and mouth distinctly and add the feet and
tail (Fig. 464).
[Illustration: Fig. 463.]
[Illustration: Fig. 464.]
Here is something easier to draw than any of the other objects.
=Make a Duck=
without raising the pencil from the paper. Commence at the left-hand
starting-point and draw a line sidewise, running [Illustration: Fig.
465.] [Illustration: Fig. 466.] it slightly downward (Fig. 465). Turn
the line up and cross it over, making a loop at the right-hand end (Fig.
466). Continue the line to the other side and turn it up into another
loop under the starting-point (Fig. 467). Keep on crossing from side to
side, looping the line each time [Illustration: Fig. 467.]
[Illustration: Fig. 468.] until you have made Fig. 468; then draw the
line up and around the loops as in Fig. 469 to form the wing. Next make
similar loops, according to Fig. 470, for the tail. At the last loop
draw the line across under the duck’s wing, stretching it up in front
(Fig. 471). This [Illustration: Fig. 469.] [Illustration: Fig. 470.]
gives the lower portion of the head and beak. Continue the line to make
the upper part of the head (Fig. 472). One more trial and you will
probably be able to draw the bird rapidly without once raising the
pencil or chalk from the surface of the paper or blackboard. Let the
duck swim in the water by drawing a few swirling lines around it as in
Fig. 473.
Young people often have an intense enthusiasm at different seasons for
different sports. At one time it may be hoop rolling, when every girl
must have a hoop, even if it [Illustration: Fig. 471.] [Illustration:
Fig. 472.] be one from a barrel. Again, pin-wheels claim attention, and
the stores are besieged for bright-hued paper and all the girls and boys
work hard over the pretty whirling toys, talking of the many colors,
sizes, and number of their [Illustration: Fig. 473.] special designs.
Somewhat after this fashion the grown people in Holland had at one time
a craze, not for a toy but a flower—the brilliantly colored tulip—and
these older girls and boys often spent many dollars for one plant, vying
with each other in their endeavors to obtain rare varieties.
Though often gorgeous in color
=The Tulip=
is very simple in outline. In one stroke draw Fig. 474, make a
corresponding curve on the other side (Fig. 475), [Illustration: Fig.
474.] [Illustration: Fig. 475.] forming an oval standing on end; this is
one petal. At the right-hand side, from near the top of the petal, run a
short, slanting curved line upward and outward (Fig. 476) and connect
the end of this line with the bottom of the oval by a reverse curve,
making the petal point outward at the top (Fig. 477). Duplicate the
petal on the left-hand side, making three visible petals (Fig. 478),
most of the other three being hidden on the far side of the flower. Form
the tops of the back petals by drawing three [Illustration: Fig. 476.]
[Illustration: Fig. 477.] little tent-like points, one on each side and
one back of the central petal (Fig. 479, A, B, C). Add the stem by
drawing two straight lines down from the bottom of the oval (Fig. 480).
A short distance from the flower add two long, pointed leaves on the
stem, curving them somewhat after the manner of the side petals (Fig.
481).
[Illustration: Fig. 478.]
[Illustration: Fig. 479.]
[Illustration: Fig. 480.]
[Illustration: Fig. 481.]
There are other flowers whose outlines may be drawn in this simple
manner. Try the
=Common White Field Daisy=
with its golden centre. First draw a small circle to represent the
centre, and as the texture of its surface is slightly rough or velvety,
differing in this respect from the surface of the white petals, indicate
the difference by covering the centre with tiny dots. From the edge of
the centre sketch in the petals of the flower by drawing, for the sides
of each one, two long, curved lines which start from the round dotted
centre and end by meeting at the outermost tips. Make a number of petals
extending entirely around the circumference of the centre. Let them
radiate out in all directions as the spokes stand out from the hub of a
wheel, being careful to have the petals about the same length, that the
daisy may be circular in form and not uneven.
Always make the designs large in size, drawing the lines in with free,
easy sweeps of the wrist and arm. Never allow your work to become
cramped; move the pencil or chalk deliberately and think what you are
going to do before starting. Satisfy yourself as to where you are to
begin and where you are going to stop; then do your best.
The duck of fancy loops (Fig. 473) does not portray the characteristic
lines of the bird. Such was not the intention; it is merely given for
the fun of twisting the lines into the form of a duck, so that you may
be able to say, “I can draw a duck without taking the pencil from the
paper. Watch me!” Then you draw it for the benefit of your friends.
If you can get a blackboard or a piece of blackboard cloth and tack it
over layers of paper on the wall, you might give
=A Little Parlor Entertainment=
by drawing the simple designs you have learned, and perhaps others you
can work out for yourself as you stand before your friends. There is a
certain fascination in watching anyone sketch and seeing lines which
appear to be without meaning develop into familiar objects. Try the idea
with a few friends or the members of your family. As you sketch the
objects tell in an easy, natural manner anything and everything you know
about them. And before you are aware of the fact you will be giving
others a delightful half-hour, besides enjoying it yourself.
CHAPTER XIX
HOME-MADE MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
Girls, do you know that music lies hidden all around you, needing only
the right touch to bring it forth? That everything is said to have its
keynote, from a big bridge to a little wooden bench, and that when the
keynote is struck the object will vibrate perceptibly? A
=Blank Piece of Paper=
does not suggest music in any form, and yet [Illustration: Fig. 482.]
you can draw many and various notes from it. Cut a strip of
writing-paper like Fig. 482 and whittle two pieces of wood according to
[Illustration: Fig. 483.] [Illustration: Fig. 484.] Figs. 483 and 484;
make the wood a trifle wider than the paper. Place the paper between the
bits of wood (Fig. 485) and, holding the instrument tight between your
teeth, blow through it; keep on [Illustration: Fig. 485.] blowing until
it whistles like the wind.
Of course you should have a number of different instruments in the
orchestra you intend to organize, so that each girl may play on her own
special instrument. For the next one, try
=A Harp.=
Harps were valued highly in ancient Egypt, and later in other countries,
some of which still retain them. Modern [Illustration: Fig. 486.]
musicians, like Meyerbeer, Gounod, Berlioz, Liszt, and Wagner,
understanding the worth of the harp, introduced it in their music. Our
instrument may not be as graceful in form, but you can have more real
fun with it than you could with any of the big, costly affairs. Get some
elastic bands and a deep, empty cigar-box; drive slender nails at
intervals along the front and back edges of the box; then take ordinary
elastic bands (Fig. 486), and stretch them across the box by slipping
each one over two back and two front nails. The elastics must be of
various widths; place the heaviest at one end of the box and graduate up
to the lightest at the other (Fig. 487). With a quill (Fig. 488) test
the instrument. You can tighten the elastics by looping them around and
around one or more of the four pins; in this way the strings may to a
great extent be keyed as you wish. Practise on the musical box with the
quill toothpick until you can make the elastics sing a tune, then put
the harp carefully aside where it will not be broken, and hunt up a
piece of wood for a modern