190 



HOME DECORATION. 



An almost endless variety of household decorations may 

 be made from autumn leaves, sucli as brackets, wreaths, 

 shields, etc. The bracket in the illustration on page 189 

 is made from leaves of the Balloon-tree {Koelreuteria) 

 and the fungus from an Oak. The back is of thin wood, 

 nailed to the fungus, and the mosses and leaves are added 

 and glued in position. The Balloon-tree is rare, and if its 

 leaves are not obtainable, those of Sumach may be used. 



All flat work is generally made by sewing or gluing 

 leaves on forms of pasteboard, or gluing on thin wood. 

 When one is afraid of defacing walls, designs of ferns, 

 leaves, etc., can be sewed on white tarlatan. The edges 

 can then be cut away, and the design fastened to the wall 

 by one or two small tacks being driven through the 

 tarlatan. 



For festooning, leaves should be tied on colored cords, 

 and graduated in size in accordance to the space they are 

 to occupy. For such decoration, long leaves, with abrupt 

 angles in their outlines, are the most graceful, such as 

 those from Oak and Sassafras trees. In making letters, 

 stars, diamonds, etc., leaves are shingled with narrow or 

 deep laps, to cover the required surface. An ingenious 

 person can originate patterns, and find easy and quick 

 ways of covering them. 



