NATURE STUDY WITH TISSUE-PAPER
A natural flower, some tissue-paper, a pair of scissors, a spool of
thread, and nimble fingers are all you need.
There are no patterns, only circles and squares and strips of paper
which you gather here, spread out there, wrap and tie some place else
and, with deft fingers, model into almost exact reproductions of the
natural flower before you.
With its unfamiliar terms to be committed to memory and the many parts
of the flower to be distinguished, botany is apt to prove dry and
tiresome to the little child, but to study nature by copying the flowers
in this marvellously adaptable material is only a beautiful game which
every child, and indeed many grown people, will delight in. The form of
the flower, its name and color, may, by this means, be indelibly stamped
upon the memory, and a good foundation laid for further study.
The Best Models
Ordinary garden flowers and those most easily procured make the best
models. The carnation-pink, the morning-glory, and the rarer blossoms of
the hibiscus, are well adapted to the work, also the daffodil and some
of the wonderful orchids.
Even holly with its sharp-spiked leaves and scarlet berries and the
white-berried, pale-green mistletoe may be closely copied. All these and
many more are made on the same principle and in so simple a manner even
quite a little child may succeed in producing very good copies from
Nature.
Material
Buy a sheet of light pink tissue-paper, another of darker pink, and one
of the darkest red you can find. Then a sheet of light yellow-green and
one of dark green. Have a table "cleared for action" and place your
paper on the right-hand side, adding a pair of scissors and a spool of
coarse thread, or, better still, of soft darning-cotton.
[Illustration: Carnations modelled from tissue-paper.]
With all this you are to copy the
Carnation-pink
which someone has given you or you have growing in your own garden. Make
one of your light pink paper, one of the darker pink, and another of the
rich, deep red to have a variety.
Lay your natural flower down on the left-hand side of the table, away
from your material but quite within easy reach, for it must be consulted
frequently. Seat yourself comfortably and don't work hurriedly.
[Illustration: Fig. 113.--Fold the square diagonally through the
centre.]
The first thing necessary in this system of squares and circles is to
know
How to Cut a Circle Quickly,
easily and accurately, and always without a pattern. Here is a method
which never fails:
[Illustration: Fig. 114.--The first triangle.]
Cut a square the size you wish to make your circle. That is, if you want
a circle with a diameter of four inches cut a four-inch square (Fig.
113). Fold the square diagonally through the centre according to the
dotted line on Fig. 113, and you have the triangle (Fig. 114). Fold this
at the dotted line and it will make another triangle (Fig. 115). Again
fold through the middle and you have the third triangle (Fig. 116). Fold
once more and Fig. 117 is the result. Measure the distance from the
edge, B, to the centre A in Fig. 117 and mark the same distance on the
other side of the angle shown by the dot, C (Fig. 117). With your
scissors cut across from C to B, curving the edge slightly, as shown by
the dotted line from C to B (Fig. 118). Fig. 119 is the circle still in
its folds. Fig. 120 is the circle opened, the dotted lines indicating
where it has been folded.
[Illustration: Fig. 115.--Second triangle.]
[Illustration: Fig. 116.--Third triangle.]
Your eye will soon become sufficiently accurate to enable you to gauge
the distance from A to B, and you can then cut from C to B without
measuring.
[Illustration: Fig. 117.--Fold once more.]
[Illustration: Fig. 118.--Cut from C to B, curving the edge.]
[Illustration: Fig. 119.--The circle still in its folds.]
Before Beginning Your Flower
take up the natural one and examine it carefully. You will notice that
it has a great many petals crowded closely together and that their
edges are pointed like a saw. You will also see that the green calyx is
wrapped snugly around the lower part of the flower and that it, too, has
a pointed edge.
[Illustration: Fig. 120.--The circle opened.]
Now hold the pink off at arm's length. The separateness of the petals
disappears and you see them only as a mass; the points on the edges are
not noticeable except as they give the flower a crimped appearance, and
the edge of the calyx looks almost straight. It is this last appearance
or the impression of the flower that you are to produce rather than its
many and separate little parts. So now to work.
[Illustration: Fig. 121.--The petals.]
[Illustration: Fig. 122.--Crimp the edge with your fingers.]
[Illustration: Fig. 123.--Draw these through your hand to bring them
closely together.]
[Illustration: Fig. 124.--Make a slender lighter.]
Cut Two Squares for Each Pink,
one measuring five and one-quarter inches, the other four and
three-quarter inches, and turn them into circles (Fig. 121) by the
method just explained. Take one of the circles at the centre, where the
folding lines cross, with the tips of the fingers of your left hand and
pinch it together; then, while still holding it, crimp the edge with the
fingers of your right hand (Fig. 122). Do this always with every kind of
flower, whether it is made of circles or squares. Without loosening your
hold of the centre, draw the paper lightly through your right hand
several times, then crimp the edge again, this time with the blade of
your scissors. Treat all the circles alike, then place a small circle
inside a larger one and draw them through your hand to bring them
together, pinching them closely until within a little over an inch of
the edge (Fig. 123). Make a slender lighter of ordinary writing-paper
(Fig. 124), snip off the point of the flower (D, Fig. 123), open the
other end a little and push the lighter through until its head is
hidden. This forms the stem. Wrap and tie with thread at the bottom of
the flower (Fig. 125), and again where the petals spread. This last is
to be but temporary, as you will remove the thread when the flower is
sufficiently pressed together to hold its shape.
[Illustration: Fig. 126.--The calyx.]
[Illustration: Fig. 125.--Wrap and tie at the bottom and where the
petals spread.]
[Illustration: Fig. 127.--Wrap the paper spirally around the stem.]
From your light-green paper cut a circle measuring three and one-quarter
inches through its diameter and cut it in two to make the half circle
for the calyx (Fig. 126). Remove the thread that holds the flower just
below its petals and wrap the calyx closely around the lower part, tying
it at the bottom; then cut a narrow strip of dark-green paper and wrap
it spirally around the stem, beginning at the top (Fig. 127). Let the
wrapper extend a little below the lighter and twist the end to hold it
in place. Spread the petals of your flower as much like the natural
blossom as possible.
Leaves
[Illustration: Fig. 128.--The leaves.]
For the leaves cut a strip of dark-green paper six inches long and
three-quarters of an inch wide (Fig. 128). Find the centre by folding
the paper end to end and making the crease shown by dotted line in Fig.
128. Gather it along this line, not with needle and thread--we use no
needle in this work--but with your fingers, and pinch it together; then
twist each end into a point (Fig. 129). With the sharp point of your
scissors punch a hole directly through the centre (E, Fig. 129), and
push the point of the stem through the hole, bringing the leaves as far
up on the stem as you find them on the natural flower; then wrap and tie
them in place.
[Illustration: Fig. 129.--Twist each end into a point.]
The Bud
is made of a circle of dark-green paper the diameter of which is three
and one-quarter inches (Fig. 130). Gather this circle between your
fingers as you did the others and crimp the edge with the scissors. It
will then form a little bag or cup like Fig. 131. Slip the bag over the
head of a lighter and tie at the bottom as in Fig. 132. If the bud does
not take the proper shape at first, model it with your fingers until it
is correct. Start the wrapping of the stem just above where the bud is
tied and finish as you did the stem of the pink. Use small leaves on the
bud stem, having the strip of paper just as wide, but considerably
shorter than for the leaves on the stem of the open flower.
[Illustration: Fig. 130.--The bud.
Fig. 131.]
It is wonderful how very natural these blossoms appear. At a short
distance no one would think they are not the real, old and familiar
pinks. Only the fragrance is missing, and that may also be supplied and
a spicy odor given by enclosing a whole clove in the heart of each
flower.
The Morning-Glory
From your pale-pink paper you can make the delicately beautiful
morning-glory. Have the natural flower with its stem and leaves to copy
from, even if the blossom is not the color you want. As with the pink,
it is the general form and appearance we strive for in the
morning-glory, not the detail.
[Illustration: Fig. 132.--Slip the bag over the head of a lighter.]
Make your pink circles with a diameter of about seven inches. It is
always better to have your flowers a trifle larger than the natural
ones, rather than smaller.
But one circle is required for each morning-glory. Crimp this in your
fingers and draw through your hand as you did the circles for the pinks;
then, pinching it together to within one and one-half inches of the
edge, hold it in your left hand and flatten out the top as in Fig. 133.
See that the fulness is evenly distributed, and pull and straighten out
the edges until you are satisfied with its appearance.
[Illustration: Morning-glory modelled from tissue-paper.]
[Illustration: Fig. 133.--Flatten out the top of the flower.]
A piece of bonnet-wire makes the best stem if you wish to give the true
viney effect of the growth. If it is only the blossom you are making, a
paper lighter will answer. When you use the wire bend one end over to
form a small loop; this is to keep the stem from slipping through the
flower. Pass the straight end of the wire through the centre of the
flower and draw it down until the loop is hidden.
[Illustration: Fig. 134.--Green square for calyx.]
[Illustration: Fig. 135.--Draw the edges down.]
[Illustration: Fig. 136.--Form a leaf-shaped point.]
Make
The Calyx
of a square of light-green paper measuring about four and one-half
inches. Fold the square four times through the centre to form the
creases shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 134. Hold the square at the
centre and draw the edges down as in Fig. 135; then bring the two edges
together in gathers, just below one of the corners, to form a
leaf-shaped point as in Fig. 136. Gather below each corner, tie as in
Fig. 137, and twist each corner into a sharp point like F, Fig. 137.
Draw the calyx through your hand, bringing the points together (Fig.
138). Push the calyx up on the stem and tie just at the base of the
flower, then tie again about three-quarters of an inch below and wrap
the remainder of the calyx close to the stem. Wind the stem with
light-green tissue-paper and bend it as the natural one is bent and
curved.
[Illustration: Fig. 137.--Twist each corner into a point.]
Make several buds of the pink paper, following the directions given for
the green bud of the pink; then twist each bud at the point and add a
calyx.
The wilted flower shown in the illustration is made by taking one of the
morning-glories you have just finished and actually wilting it by
drawing the flower together and creasing and pressing it to resemble the
partially closed and drooping natural blossom.
Only a piece of dark-green paper six inches square is required to model
two almost perfectly shaped morning-glory leaves.
[Illustration: Fig. 138.--Bring the points together.]
[Illustration: Fig. 139.--Gather along one of the creases.]
[Illustration: Fig. 140.--The morning-glory leaves.]
Fold the square twice diagonally across from corner to corner to find
its centre; then begin at one corner and gather along one of the
creases until you reach the centre (Fig. 139). Start again at the
opposite corner, gather along the crease to the centre, then wrap and
tie (Fig. 140). Pinch each leaf from underneath along the crease in the
middle, to give the depression at the midrib. Straighten the leaf out a
little at its widest part and you will find you have made a pair of
leaves which are surprisingly natural. Wrap and tie these to the stem
and make as many more as you think are needed.
The Daffodil
is of such a different nature it hardly seems possible that it can be
made on the same principle as the other flowers, yet the work is
practically the same.
[Illustration: Daffodils modelled from tissue-paper.]
[Illustration: Fig. 141.--For the two extra petals.]
[Illustration: Fig. 142.--Pinch and tie in place.]
[Illustration: Fig. 144.--Cut off the ragged end.]
[Illustration: Fig. 145.--Fit each loose petal between two of the
others.]
[Illustration: Fig. 143.--Bring together the fan of paper below the
petal.]
Match the tint of your natural daffodil in yellow tissue-paper as nearly
as possible, and then cut two squares for each flower measuring about
five and one-half inches. Fold the squares crosswise and diagonally
through the centre as you did for the calyx of the morning-glory (Fig.
134), and cut one square in half along one of its diagonal folds (Fig.
141). Gather the square two and a quarter inches below each corner and
tie as in Fig. 137, but do not twist the points. This gives you four
petals, but as the daffodil has six, you must make two more from the
triangular halves of the square you have just cut. Gather each triangle
across from side to side, according to the dotted line in Fig. 141, and
pinch and tie in place as in Fig. 142, making sure the petal is of
exactly the same size as those on the square. Bring together the fan of
paper left below the petal and wrap and tie as in Fig. 143, then cut off
the ragged end (Fig. 144). Draw the petals of the square together as
you did the calyx, and insert the stem made of a paper lighter. Put in
place the two extra petals, pushing the wrapped ends down into the heart
of the flower; fit each loose petal between two of the others and tie
(Fig. 145).
[Illustration: Fig. 146.--Pinch the cup together.]
[Illustration: Fig. 147.--Slip the cup on your finger like a thimble.]
[Illustration: Fig. 148.--Insert the stem of the cup into the centre of
the flower.]
Turn back to the bud of the pink (Fig. 130), and from a circle of the
yellow paper, with a diameter of four inches, make the cup (Fig. 131),
using the scissors to give a fine crimp to the edges. Pinch the cup
together at the bottom almost half-way up and tie (Fig. 146); slip it on
your finger like a thimble and press it into shape like Fig. 147. Insert
the point or stem of the cup into the centre of the flower and tie in
place just below the petals (Fig. 148).
Cut a two and three-quarter-inch square from light-brown paper and
divide it diagonally in half for the calyx. Examine your natural
daffodil and notice how loosely the calyx seems to be wrapped around the
flower. Imitate this by leaving the point loose at the top, while you
wrap the bottom of the calyx closely around the stem. Allow the wrapping
for the stem to cover the lower part of the brown calyx. Make several
long, narrow leaves from strips of dark-green paper, two inches wide and
of varying lengths. Twist one end of each leaf into a point and,
gathering the other end, draw it through your hands until it stands up
stiffly. Wrap each leaf partly around the stem and tie in place,
following as closely as possible the natural growth of the leaf on the
stem. Bend the stem just below each flower, being careful not to break
the paper lighter which forms it.
If you use thread the color of the flowers for tying and green for the
stems the effect will be almost perfect.