white paper tied on with the piece of ribbon The arms and legs are
matches sharpened and well pressed in; it is best to have their
points glued. The head is a small cork covered with a piece of
white cotton material cut in a circle and tied tightly at the neck.
Draw in the eyes, nose, and mouth with a soft black pencil, or
paint them with rather dry water-color paint. Take dark wool and
make large loose stitches for the hair, and then run through, from
crown to neck, a large strong pin to fix the head to the body. The
frill of material below the place the head is tied on makes a neat
tucker when it is arranged nicely. For each foot lay a little piece
of match on the base of cork, where the leg is stuck into it, and
glue it down.
A CORK HORSE
MATERIALS REQUIRED:--
A flat cork, and one large and one small bottle cork, burnt
matches, black wool, a little black tape, a tiny piece of colored
paper, needle, scissors, penknife.
[Illustration: FIG. 33.]
Use a nice smooth cork for the body, and cut out a little saddle in
colored paper, and glue it into place, bind it round with a piece
of tape or ribbon for the girth, and you can make little stirrups
out of wire or silver paper and hang them on from this. The head is
a small cork out of a medicine bottle, with brown paper ears, cut
just like the rabbit's but much smaller and with only one fold. The
mane is of loops of black wool sewed on to tape, and bound firmly
down to the match that makes the neck. The tail is also of black
wool, and the stand or base can be either a cork or box lid; if it
is the latter the legs must be glued into holes carefully cut to
fit them.
AN ENGINE AND TENDER
MATERIALS REQUIRED:--
One large bottle cork and several small ones, one matchbox, large
strong pins, preferably "laundry" pins.
[Illustration: FIG. 34.]
Use a large cork for the engine and a portion of a small cork for
the funnel. The dome can be made of the remaining piece of the
latter and must be rounded at one end. Pin both onto the boiler
portion. The wheels are slices of cork set into place with pins.
The tender is a matchbox with the sides cut down at one place to
make the entrance, and another matchbox makes the windscreen. To
make the wheels of the tender hold steady, cut long slices of
cork the width of the matchbox, and run the pins into these after
piercing the sides of the box, as seen in the top view of the
engine.
A CHEST OF DRAWERS
MATERIALS REQUIRED:--
A number of empty matchboxes, a number of shoe buttons, colored or
brown paper, mucilage.
[Illustration: FIG. 35.]
This is a very neat chest of drawers, or writing-desk, made of
matchboxes; it also makes very good furniture for a toy grocer's
shop. Have all your matchboxes of one size and color, and fix them
all together in their outer cases with mucilage. Next get a piece
of pretty colored paper (pieces of flowered wall-paper look very
nice, or blue paper of a sugar bag), and glue this round the ends
and top of your chest of drawers. Now in the end of each box cut a
small hole and push through it the shank of a shoe button, and peg
this through with a tiny slip of wood or a roll of paper, so that
it holds quite firm. Glue on to the bottom of your chest of drawers
some buttons without shanks, or wooden button moulds, to form the
feet.
A CRADLE
MATERIALS REQUIRED:--
An empty matchbox, a cork, needle and thread, scissors, mucilage,
penknife.
[Illustration: FIG. 36.]
Use an empty matchbox, and on the bottom glue two halves of a
slice of cork for rockers. For the hood take the outer case of
the matchbox and unfasten it where it is joined, and cut off a
lengthwise strip about three-quarters of an inch wide, using one of
the corners of this for the peak of the hood. Take a needle with
strong thread, and with two large firm stitches fasten this strip
to each side of the box, taking care to make the hood a nice even
shape. Now you can take a little muslin and lace and sew it on for
little curtains and frills, to trim the cradle with, and roll some
scraps of material up to make a neat mattress and pillow.
A DOLL'S TABLE
MATERIALS REQUIRED:--
A small box lid of cardboard, large reel, mucilage.
[Illustration: FIG. 37.]
This table is made of a round box lid fixed with mucilage on to a
spool. A square lid will do equally well.
A DOLL'S BED
MATERIALS REQUIRED:--
Small cardboard box and lid, needle and thread, lace or ribbon,
small piece of wadding and muslin, or a piece of thin material,
scissors.
[Illustration: FIG. 38.]
First cover the bottom of the cardboard box with a layer of soft
material or wadding, with thin cotton over it, and take large
tacking stitches to fasten this down. Next fix on your canopy by
setting the lid upright on to the end of the box, and glue or fix
it into place with stationers' paper clips or large stitches. Trim
the canopy round the top with a little frill of lace or muslin, and
put the same, as a valance, round the bed portion. You can also add
curtains at each side of the canopy, and, if you want a footboard,
that also can be fixed across the bottom with big stitches or paper
clips before the valance frill is sewed on. You can make quite
large beds in this way, and if you have not a very pretty box you
can trim it up with pieces of wall-paper pasted inside the canopy.
A DOLL'S CHAIR
MATERIALS REQUIRED:--
Slice of cork or a chestnut, large strong pins, colored wool.
[Illustration: FIG. 39.]
The seat is a slice of cork or a chestnut, and the legs and back
are made of pins, the large ones called "laundry" pins are the
best. Wind pretty wool in and out between the pins to make the back
look like a nice cushion. You can cover the cork seat with a piece
of colored material if you wish.
ANOTHER DOLL'S CHAIR
MATERIALS REQUIRED:--
Small piece of thin cardboard or post card, small piece of pretty
material, a spool, needle and thread, scissors.
[Illustration: FIG. 40.]
This chair is harder to make than the last one. First cut a piece
of cardboard or two pieces of old post cards to the shape marked A.
It must be large enough to allow it to reach halfway round the top
of a reel at its widest part, where the corners are. Now tack on to
this a piece of velveteen or any other pretty material, so that the
edges turn over to the wrong side of the cardboard. On the second
piece of card take the material only down just a little below the
two corners of the cardboard, and you need not turn it in on the
straight edge between these corners. Tack both cards together with
the material outside, and overseam or topsew them as shown in
Figure 40 A. Next take your reel and bind tightly over each end
of it a round piece of material, and then take a narrow strip of
material or ribbon, and turn in the edges and wrap it round the
reel as in 40 B, and tack the strip into place very tight. Now fix
on the back as in 40 C with neat little stitches, and your chair is
finished.
NECKLACES
MATERIALS REQUIRED:--
Needles, strong thread of linen or silk, seeds, beads, acorn cups,
daisies.
[Illustration: FIGS. 41 TO 43.]
These are some of the necklaces you can make of things you find in
the country, or of seeds you come across.
Figure 41 is made of rose hips threaded together. If you want to
make the cross or pendant, you can use a few small beads so that
your radiating hips will hold more steadily. These will hold better
into place if you put a strong surrounding line of stitches into
them.
Figure 42 is of melon seeds or sunflower seeds, either will do.
Figure 43, of the same, but threaded twice through each seed, with
a tiny bead between and a pendant loop of seeds and beads below.
Figure 44 is a snake made of acorn cups. Begin at the head (with
is a large acorn with the shell cut to make eyes and mouth), and
thread through the mouth, then thread on your biggest acorn cups,
gradually choosing smaller and smaller ones till you get to the
tail, where it should be finished with a tassel.
[Illustration: FIG. 44.]
Figure 45 is the prettiest daisy chain. The stems are nipped off
and the daisies threaded through the center. This makes a very
beautiful wreath.
[Illustration: FIGS. 45 TO 47.]
A HATBAND
MATERIALS REQUIRED:--
Small autumn leaves, broad tape or carpet binding, needle and
thread.
Pick up the prettiest leaves which are nearly the same in size.
Use a thread of brown mending yarn and carefully sew the leaves
down on to a piece of broad tape or carpet binding. After you have
finished the sewing press the hatband for some days under a pile of
newspapers or heavy books, so that the leaves will dry flat.
A FAN
MATERIALS REQUIRED:--
Large leaves of Spanish chestnut, smaller leaves, thin cardboard,
needle and brown silk or wool.
This fan is made of the large leaves of the Spanish chestnut; you
can pick these up already beautifully dry and flat in the woods in
autumn. Get about twenty of the same size, and cut a semicircle of
firm cardboard and sew them on to it, so that the fan holds very
firm, then over your stitches sew on smaller leaves of varying
colors. You will find this makes a most beautiful ornament for your
mantelpiece.
* * * * *
Figures 48 to 55 are _windmills_, some very easy and some more
difficult, but all very interesting toys.
A PIN-WHEEL OR WHIRLIGIG
MATERIALS REQUIRED:--
A square of stiff writing paper, an old penholder, skewer, or a
straight twig, a strong pin or a slim upholstery nail with a large
head, scissors.
[Illustration: FIGS. 48 TO 50.]
This pinwheel is made of a piece of firm writing paper. Cut the
paper into a perfect square, and fold it diagonally from corner to
corner and smooth out again, then cut along your folds to within
an inch of the center. Now cut a tiny round of strong paper or a
piece of a postcard about half an inch across and take a strong
short pin and put it through the middle. Then push your pin through
each right-hand corner of your square of writing paper, and lastly
through the center of the square, and take a piece of stick or a
penholder and push the point of the pin in till it is halfway in.
You will find your windmill will turn as you run, if you hold it
out straight in front of you. If you can get two good sticks you
can use a long one as the upper part of a weather vane. Rut a nail
through, rather nearer your pinwheel than the middle of the stick.
At the other end make a long slit and put in a paper tail, so that
the pinwheel will keep its head to the wind. Fix your nail into the
end of the other stick, and set the stick upright in the ground as
in Figure 50.
A TIN WHEEL OR BUZZER
MATERIALS REQUIRED:--
A circle of thin tin or a tin lid, a stick of soft wood, an
upholsterer's nail, tin cutters.
[Illustration: FIG. 51.]
This windmill is made of tin; this is rather difficult to cut
unless your hands are strong, but sometimes you can get very thin
tin or brass from kindergarten stores, and it is quite easy to make
it of this. Draw a circle about four inches across on the tin,
round a jam pot or some such thing to give you a good even circle,
and cut this out with the scissors. Now take a ruler and scratch
lines across your circle, at right angles first, so that you have
your circle divided into quarters; now divide these quarters again
into three or four divisions, and draw a smaller circle on your
tin about three quarters of an inch, or less, from the outer edge.
Now make a clean cut with the scissors from the edge to the inner
circle along each line. The tin will always bend in one way as you
do this, and you must leave the little divisions bent very evenly.
Make a hole in the center of your wheel and fix it strongly with a
nail into a stick. You will find you can hardly hold your windmill
if you stand with it facing a steady wind. This windmill is a grand
one to go.
A WOODEN MILL
MATERIALS REQUIRED:--
Two narrow strips of thin, soft wood, a stick for a holder, a
screw, penknife, gimlet.
[Illustration: FIGS. 52 AND 53.]
This is a wooden mill and it requires some care and skill to make
it. It can easily be made with a penknife out of two pieces of
thin, soft wood. First you must cut a neat socket across each piece
of wood in the center, halfway through its thickness. The socket
must be exactly the same width as your piece of wood, so that when
you set each piece socket to socket they fit exactly. Now with an
awl or pricker make a neat hole in the center of the two pieces
when they are fitted together. Next you must shave away with your
penknife the right-hand edge of each of the "arms" or "sails" of
your windmill, graduating the shaving evenly from the left-hand
edge, where it is thick, to a fine blade at the right-hand edge.
Now fit together the two halves and put a nail through the hole and
fasten it into the end of a stick. If the nail is apt to split the
stick you can put a reel on to the end of it and fix the nail into
the stick through the hole of the reel. It is a very good thing to
put your nail through a large glass bead between the windmill and
the stick.
A FEATHER WHEEL
MATERIALS REQUIRED:--
Four large quills, a piece of firm cardboard, a cork, a box for a
gas mantle, a straight stick or old penholder, paper, mucilage,
needle and strong thread.
[Illustration: FIG. 54.]
This windmill is made of goose quills, or any other large strong
quill; these must be chosen with the wider webbing of the feather
all on the same side, and must be the same size. Cut a circle of
firm cardboard and lay each quill with its point in the middle of
this circle and stitch them firmly down at right angles to each
other. Glue the wrong side of the cardboard on to a reel or a piece
of cork, and fix this on the end of a small stick or penholder. Now
take a small cylindrical cardboard box--those used for gas mantles
are excellent--and bore holes through opposite sides of this,
about halfway down. Push the stick through and fix into a slit at
the end of it a "tail" of paper or cardboard. Take another piece of
cardboard and shape it into a cone, exactly as in Figure 27 for the
cup and ball. Cut a hole in the bottom of your box and fit it on to
the end of the cone, which must be cut down to allow the stick to
pass clear of the end of the cone.
MATERIALS REQUIRED:--
A narrow strip of soft wood, a cork, four luggage labels or post
cards, a penholder, strong glue, a penknife, an upholsterer's
nail, a gimlet.
[Illustration: FIG. 55.]
This is made of two pieces of wood socketed as in Figure 53, and
with slits made in each end into which a luggage label is inserted.
Use glue to hold these firm, and also to stick on to the center of
the cross of wood a slice of cork, pierce a hole through the cork
and the cross of wood, and through it run a nail with a fairly
large head. Now make a hole at each outer left-hand corner of each
label and, loop through this with a needle and a firm thread. Tie
the thread round the nail and run the nail into your stick.
AN AIR PROPELLER
MATERIALS REQUIRED:--
A piece of soft wood three-quarters of an inch thick and about
six or seven inches long, a gimlet, a soft wood skewer, penknife,
sandpaper.
[Illustration: FIG. 56.]
This is a little air propeller which is rapidly whirled between
both hands and released: if properly done it should return to the
hands. The propeller is cut out of wood on the same principle as
in Figure 52, but it may be of thicker wood with a greater amount
of angle to the blades. The stick must be carefully fitted to
the hole in the blades and must be thicker at the other end. Both
blades and stick should be well smoothed with sandpaper.
A REVERSING PROPELLER
MATERIALS REQUIRED:--
Two pieces of wood as above, also two larger round sticks, such as
are used to roll paper upon, a cork, two long nails, a piece of
thin tin or cardboard for the tail.
[Illustration: FIG. 57.]
This windmill is made of two propellers cut like Figure 56, but
with the bevelling of the blades of one reversed so that it will
turn in the opposite direction. A piece of wood or cork or a
bead may be put between each propeller. The tail may be made of
cardboard or tin.
A WATERWHEEL AND SHUTE
MATERIALS REQUIRED:--
Smooth straight twigs about half an inch thick, a thin wooden
sweet-box or other light wooden box, two small pieces of white
soft wood, about one-third of an inch thick and five inches long
and one inch broad, a piece of thick wire, small tacks, pliers, a
gimlet, small staples, strong thin string.
[Illustration: FIG. 58.]
This is a waterwheel with a watershute, and it turns a crank and
has a little man attached. The waterwheel has flat blades with no
bevelling, and a thick wire is inserted through its axis. This wire
should be bent with pliers to form the cranks. Set up crosswise
into the ground some strong twigs tied firmly into position with
strong twine. If there is a handy little stream it should be
diverted to run a channel into your watershute, which should be
of two flat pieces of wood nailed together at right angles; this
can also be supported on trestles. Set the shute so that the end
is above the blade of the waterwheel and allows the water to fall
on it with sufficient force to turn it round. The man may be cut
with a fret-saw in three ply wood, and small staples should be run
loosely through the holes at the ankles into a thicker piece of
wood which acts as a base, so that with the movement of the crank
he will appear to be turning the wheel. Fasten arms and legs to the
body with a thick wire which works loosely in the holes, or with a
thin nail which may be bent over at the point.
A POP-GUN
MATERIALS REQUIRED:--
A large goose quill, a small twig, a slice of raw potato, a
penknife.
[Illustration: FIG. 59.]
This is a most simple little toy and very easy to make. Get a large
quill feather with as wide and strong a quill as you can, and
cut it off where the quill is thickest. Then get a little stick
or branch, preferably a little bent at the thicker end, and peel
and smooth it, so that it will fit nicely into the quill with the
thicker bent end projecting. This makes the ramrod, but it must
be fitted into the quill so that it reaches only within half an
inch of the pointed or smaller end. Now take a slice of raw potato
about half an inch thick or a little more, and into it push the
wider end of the quill so that it takes out a neat round piece of
the potato. With the ramrod gently push this first "bullet" to the
smaller end of the quill and take out another slice from the potato
with the wide end. Now quickly and smartly push in your ramrod and
you will find your first bullet shoots off splendidly, leaving your
second one at the point of the quill ready for the next shot. Large
popguns can be made with a piece of tin tubing, or even cardboard
rollers and corks used as bullets. The ramrod must be padded with
cotton wrapping in order to fit the tube closely.
A WHISTLE
MATERIALS REQUIRED:--
A short piece of smooth sycamore, willow, cherry, or holly branch,
a pea, a penknife.
[Illustration: FIG. 60.]
This can be made of sycamore cherry, holly, or willow branches,
where there is a fairly thick coating of sappy bark outside the
firm woody fiber. Choose a piece about four inches long without
knots and as smooth as possible. Now by tapping patiently and
wetting the wood occasionally loosen the bark from the hard wood
so that it will at last slip off like a tube; this requires care
and gentle handling. Now take the hard wooden core and cut into it,
from the middle to within half an inch of one end, a deep curving
cavity, and from this to the other end cut off a shallow horizontal
slice. This core can now be slipped into the tube of bark again
and a neat semicircular hole cut in the latter above the cavity in
the core, and you will find this an excellent whistle. Scottish
children put a small pea into the cavity before replacing it into
the tube of bark to make it "birl" when blown--this is a great
improvement.
A LONG WHISTLE
MATERIALS REQUIRED:--
A piece of hollow bamboo about eight inches long, a cork, a
penknife.
[Illustration: FIG. 61.]
This is another whistle made of a short length of bamboo cane,
which is hollow, cut just below one of the "knots" or divisions
where the hollow tube is blocked by a solid wall of the wood. If
you cannot get this, block one open end of your hollow tube of
wood with a cork, and for the other cut a piece of cork or wood
to fit, with a slice off to leave an opening into the tube. Now
cut semicircular holes in your tube at intervals. These will
each produce a different note if the others are stopped with the
fingers, and with care a regular sequence of the notes of a scale
can be planned. This sequence will depend on the size of the
tube--its length, and the distance between the holes.
A SQUEAKER
MATERIALS REQUIRED:--
A large goose quill, a penknife.
[Illustration: FIG. 62.]
This squeaker is made from a piece of a quill. Make a neat cut
close to the small end of the quill about three quarters of an inch
long. When this is held well inside the mouth it will make a most
alarming squeak when blown into.
A BUZZER
MATERIALS REQUIRED:--
A large button or small round of leather or thin tin, a piece of
strong thin string, strong scissors.
[Illustration: FIG. 63.]
This can be simply made by threading a large button on a string,
so that when the ends are knotted together it makes a loop about
twelve to fifteen inches long. Keeping the button in the middle of
the doubled length of string insert the first and second fingers of
each hand into the looped ends, and rapidly whirl the button round
till the string gets a considerable twist on it. Now by alternately
slacking and tightening the string the button will whizz round
with a slight humming noise. If a piece of tin with notched edges
(as in Figure 51 of a windmill) is used, it will hum very loud. A
piece of heavy lead foil, or a piece of firm leather cut into a
round and notched at the edge can be used.
A CLAPPER
MATERIALS REQUIRED:--
A fowl's merrythought or wishbone, a small slip of thin wood, a
piece of strong string, penknife.
[Illustration: FIG. 64.]
This is made of a fowl's wishbone or merrythought. Tie across from
end to end of the bone a loop of string, and into this insert
the end of a thin piece of wood about four inches long and three
quarters of an inch wide. Slip this in till the string is about the
middle, then turn it round several times till the string is twisted
fairly tight without bending the ends of the bone too much. Now
slip the wooden strip along till the string is about an inch from
the end of it and let it go. The twisting of the string will bring
the wood down against the angle of the bone with a smart clap.
A TELEPHONE
MATERIALS REQUIRED:--
Two gas mantle boxes, a piece of thin bladder or greaseproof
paper, many yards of thin twine.
[Illustration: FIG. 65.]
This can be made of two of the boxes used for incandescent gas
mantles; the box for the larger inverted mantles is best. Remove
the lids from each end and cut off the rims carefully, so that you
have two neat rings of cardboard. Slip one of these on to one end
of each box and over each rim tightly tie a circle of greaseproof
paper--such as is used for covering jam pots or parcelling butter.
Better still, use a piece of bladder from the butcher's. Fasten
this down very tight and firm, and through the middle of each paper
or bladder insert and knot the end of a fine piece of string which
can be ten or more yards in length. If this is held taut without
touching anything between the two boxes, you can whisper from end
to end and the voice will be heard quite distinctly.
A DRUM
MATERIALS REQUIRED:--
A gas mantle box, strong greaseproof paper or a piece of bladder,
thin colored string.
[Illustration: FIG. 66.]
A little drum can be made of these gas mantle boxes in the same
way. Stretch the bladder or paper of oiled silk tightly across each
end, and lace strong threads from edge to edge of each piece of
bladder or paper or silk, so that each lies evenly, then bind the
edges down with twine above the stitches; the rims of the lids can
now be slipped on to make it look neat. For a drumstick, wind a
ball of cotton wool or tissue paper on the end of a stick and cover
with a round of silk or bladder also, and bind it tightly on to the
stick.
A MEGAPHONE
MATERIALS REQUIRED:--
A piece of thin cardboard fifteen or eighteen inches square,
gummed paper or thin tape, paste or mucilage, scissors.
[Illustration: FIG. 67.]