December, 1910 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



471 



tic wax work can be employed is in the imitation of beaten 

 metal articles. Gold and silver bronze of exact tint suitable 

 can easily be obtained for this purpose. Any small boxes 

 or trays will do for covering, though if they be of tin or 

 some smooth material, the surface should be slightly 

 roughened by rubbing over with sand paper before putting 

 on the wax. Cardboard pill boxes will make pretty little 

 pin cases. The inside and the edges can be brushed over 



at the end. This is only one method of decoration. Land- 

 scapes or designs of flowers can be worked out with wooden 

 instruments shaped according to the requirement of the 

 various strokes. The boxes can be made to look as if they 

 were inset with precious stones, such as turquoise, by drop- 

 ping wax of the right shade in little lumps on the surface of 

 the' box before the metal is applied. Let these harden, and 

 then surround them with the gold or silver wax in such 



Covering a box with metal wax 



Stamping out the boxes m imitation of beaten Cuttmg the cork sections for the foundation 

 metal of beads 



with gold paint in order to hide all traces of the card. The 

 sealing wax is first dropped on the box, and before it 

 hardens, pressed with fingers previously dipped in cold 

 water, until it is thinly spread. Then another patch is 

 dropped and spread in like manner, and so on, until the 

 whole of the box is covered. The wax is softened again by 

 holding a lighted match or taper close to it. It is then 

 dented all over in little circles with a piece of wood rounded 



a manner that they stand up rather above the finished sur- 

 face of the box. 



Another rather novel method of ornamentation is carried 

 out with odd shaped pieces of colored glass. They are 

 placed at fairly regular intervals on the article to be 

 adorned. The spaces in between are then filled with 

 smooth strips of sealing wax, carefully laid so that the 

 edges of the glass are completely concealed. 



The Art of Ornamental Oijange Peeling 



{Conlinued from Page 462) 



:4'- 



pies in point. So far we have only dealt with what can be 

 evolved out of a single orange. By the employment of a 

 number, all kinds of elaborate table-center decorations may 

 be made. 



Naturally, here certain accessories are necessary. The 

 first essential is the formation of a suitable skeleton to 

 hold the fruit. This can either be built of wood or made 

 of wire. In the one shown, wood was used, principally 

 because it was the most convenient material. A base in the 

 form of a cross was first made. In the center was placed 

 a long piece of wood in a vertical position. Then at the 

 four corners of the cross were placed other pieces of wood, 

 which joined the center one at about one-third of its length. 



The next procedure was the covering of the framework 

 with the peeled oranges. This demanded some little time 

 and patience, there being no less than a hundred oranges in 

 the completed design. Fig. 13 shows this pyramid center- 

 piece in its first stage. The oranges have all been carved 



in one and the same design. In the first row they are 

 placed side by side in an 'oval, and form the base of the 

 pyramid. It is not necessary to place the "foundation" or 

 "staging" in the middle of the structure until at a later 

 stage. Fig. 15 shows the pyramid rapidly progressing. 

 The center support has been firmly fixed into its base, and 

 forms, as it were, the mainstay of the whole concern. 



It must not be forgotten that as the process of piling up 

 goes on, the various supports must be tied together by means 

 of tape, wire and strong thread, whichever, in fact, is most 

 handy, in order to give the whole structure its required 

 stability. In Fig. 16 we have the pyramid, certainly a 

 novel, artistic and effective decoration for any Christmas' 

 table, complete. Streams of smilax trail down its sides and 

 maiden-hair fern peep out here and there, as also do little 

 bunches of flowers which give the necessary touch of color. 

 Then at the four corners of this masterpiece of orange orna- 

 mentation, on glass receptacles, stand fancy peeled oranges. 



