Nature in Handcraft 49 



may be used if you prefer. The dark background tones down the color and 

 gives a definite pattern. Patterns cut from paper may be used instead of 

 plants. 



4. Outdoor tables for picnics can be decorated by covering them with' 

 either wrapping paper or white paper and pinning ferns, leaves, and 

 flowers so they form a design and spattering a background with color. A 

 large design in the middle of the table may be used for a center piece and 

 a small fern in front of each plate makes a good place card. 



5. The leaf or flower on a spatter print can be colored with crayon or 

 water colors, using the living specimen as a guide to the colors. 



Crayon Leaf Prints 



Nearly everyone, one time or another, has played with money made by 

 placing a penny or a nickel under a piece of paper and rubbing a lead pencil 

 back and forth over it. A picture of the coin appears on the paper; It is then 

 cut out to eliminate the marks that have gone past the coin and pasted on a 

 piece of cardboard, or another piece of paper. This same principle is used 

 in the making of crayon prints of leaves. 



Place the leaf you wish to print on a table with vein side up, and cover 

 it with a piece of typewriting paper. Rub over the surface with a green 

 crayon and an exact picture of the leaf will appear on the paper, showing 

 even the smallest veins. Cut the leaf out carefully with scissors and mount 

 on a sheet of paper or a leaf in your notebook. 



Crayon prints are probably the most satisfactory ones for keeping a 

 record of leaves as they show all their veins and indentations. It is possible 

 to gather leaves from twenty-five different trees or shrubs while on a hike 

 and make the crayon prints all in one day. They may be cut and mounted 

 at some future time. Especially beautiful ones can be made in the fall by 

 using different colors of crayons and copying the autumn colors. Such 

 prints, when cut out, make effective decorations for cabins, museums, or 

 school rooms when used as a frieze around the room, or mounted on 

 windows. 



