155 
3ies S?loral llafiuiet *mi 3 Suctorial Some iaompmioii* 
WORK-BOXES, PI3STCUSHIOWS, ETC. 
Of course, I, with every other neat housekeeper, 
have a work-basket large enough to hold any article 
of work that I have on hand, and 1 have also a trea¬ 
sure in the shape of a work-box, in which I keep 
scissors, buttons, needles, pins, tape-measure, and any 
and every other small article that I have occasion to 
use about my work. These boxes—there are a pair 
of them—were made from two cedar cigar boxes, care¬ 
fully selected, so as to have them smooth and perfect. 
If not entirely smooth, they were rubbed with sand¬ 
paper and then varnished on the outside with furniture 
varnish. I think I only gave them one coat, but any 
one could judge for themselves if more was needed. 
Then a strip of new muslin was pasted along on the 
inside, as a hinge for the lid. The inside of both was 
papered with light glazed paper, and in one, the cor¬ 
ners, edges, and the edge of the lid was trimmed with 
narrow strips of brown paper, and the other was 
trimmed with blue. A picture was pasted on the in¬ 
side of both lids. 
A small cushion, about an inch smaller each way 
than the lid, was made and staffed with wool and 
glued to the top 01 the lid. A piece of black cloth 
a little larger than the cushion was braided and bound 
with narrow ribbon and fastened over the cushion. It 
would be better to fasten the cloth to the cushion be¬ 
fore glueing it to the lid; but if this is done, great 
care must be taken not to touch or stain the cloth or 
ribbon with the glue. These boxes are easily made, 
and are both ornamental and useful, as we have found 
from several years’ constant use. 
When a pincushion is intended to stand on a large 
bureau or dressing-case, the most suitable ones are 
large, plain, substantial-looking ones. I have two in 
mind that I saw several years ago, and have ever since 
intended to imitate. They were the same size, about 
eight inches by twelve, made just like a small pillow, 
and stuffed with bran. One was covered, top and bot¬ 
tom, with scarlet merino and trimmed around the seam 
with a quilling that may be either scarlet skirt-braid 
or a satin ribbon. 
The other was covered with blue silk, and the trim¬ 
ming around it was thick blue chenille, with loops at 
the comers. Of course, such cushions must never he 
used for needles. If a cushion is used for needles at ail, 
it should be one small enough that if needles get drawn 
hito it, they can he worked out again. 
A pagoda-like pincushion, that I made some years 
ago, has been very much admired. It is curious, and 
not difficult to make. Cut twenty pieces of pasteboard 
in the shape of a triangle, with concave sides. The 
pasteboard must he stiff and strong, but not too thick, 
so as to he clumsy. Then cover one side of every piece 
carefully with a piece of silk, which must he cut half 
an inch larger all round than the pasteboard. Draw 
the threads across the wrong side tight enough to 
make the silk smooth, and secure the ends neatly and 
carefully. In mine every piece of silk is different. 
After the pieces are all covered so that they can he 
arranged with the proper colors together, begin join¬ 
ing them by sewing five pieces together, with an over 
and over seam, so as to have a point in the middle, 
somewhat the shape of a raised umbrella. Then join 
another five in the same way, taking care to contrast 
the colors well. The ten remaining pieces are sewed 
one to another, so as to make a straight strip, and the 
ends joined ; then the two fives are sewed one to each 
side. When ready to close the last seams, fill the 
cushion with bran. There will be twelve points, and 
to finish these off, you must get twelve large jet headed 
pins, and put one into each point. Then till every 
seam with common pins. It will hold three or four 
papers, and unless you are very lavish with them, you 
will probably have pins at hand for the toilet table all 
the rest of your life. 
We have a small bottle of black varnish that is a 
household treasure, though we have only lately learned 
its value. We have had it for several years, and it 
was originally bought and used for painting on glass, 
hut having occasion last winter to varnish some arti¬ 
cles that we wanted darker, we mixed a little of the 
black varnish in with the common furniture varnish, 
using less than a teaspoonful to a saucerful of the 
other, stirred it well and applied it, and found we had 
made a discovery. We could change any light plain 
wood into varnished walnut, and we have applied our 
discovery to the beautifying of stools, boxes, brackets, 
picture frames, work-boxes, bedsteads, the shelves of 
a library, and defaced spots on furniture. 
As it takes so little black varnish to darken the 
other sufficiently, our bottle will last for some time yet. 
When it fails we will try the suggestion of some writer 
in the Cabinet, and use lampblack for the same pur¬ 
pose. It may answer equally as well, hut we have 
never had need to try it yet. Since the advent of a 
bracket saw into the family, we have use for the varn¬ 
ish quite frequently. One of the first things I asked 
to have made was a card-basket, as there was a beau¬ 
tiful pattern for one on the sheet of designs. I think, 
when made, this will he something unique. It is in 
seven pieces, one six-sided piece for the bottom, and 
six pieces for the sides. I will select the thinnest and 
best pieces of cigar boxes to make it of, and will varn¬ 
ish it nicely. 
When dry, the sections will he joined with narrow 
scarlet ribbon. I think it would he prettier if I could 
get perfectly white wood to make it of, and join the 
pieces with blue ribbon, hut I do not suppose I could 
get any wood that would he as white as I should want 
it. And I want, if possible, to have a standing corner 
what-not made this winter. It will he made of half¬ 
inch stuff, sawed in some fanciful shape on the front 
edge, ai d extending hack into a right-angled triangle. 
It will have six shelves, and each shelf will he a little 
smaller than the one below it. The supports for the 
shelves will he made of spools, fastened in place with 
iron rods that have a large flat head at one end, and a 
burr screwed on at the other, and cut so as to he just 
the right length. The top ot the rods, where they come 
through on top of the shelves, will he ornamented with 
a pine cone on each, unless I find something I like 
better to use instead; but I think they would make a 
very nice finish, and he very durable, after they were 
securely glued on. The feet will he three of the largest 
spools, fastened with rods the same as the rest. I will 
want a fancifully sawed piece on each side of the top 
shelf, as a finish, and if the maker’s patience holds out 
to that extenj, I will have them at the hack of every 
shelf. When completed, it will all he varnished and 
will look like walnut. Then 1 will have to tax my 
ingenuity, or pocket, for enough pretty fancy articles 
to fill it, in addition to what I already have. 
I have a handsome little box in my bedroom that 
serves the double purpose of holding all my shoes, 
rubbers, etc., and for a footstool. It was made of a 
plain box, sixteen inches long, nine inches wide and 
eight high, such as could he got at any grocery store. 
The lid was put on with good hinges, and any rough 
places on the box were rubbed with sand-paper. Then 
it was varnished with the mixed varnish. I gave it 
two coats, letting it stand a day or two to dry. It was 
varnished outside and in, excepting the top and bot¬ 
tom. Then I took part of an old bed-quilt, and cut 
six pieces from it, each piece just the size of the top of 
the lid, and laid them carefully in place, tacking them 
in one or two places. Then having in readiness a 
piece of black cloth, that had once been part of a coat, 
but was now cut to fit the top of the lid, and an inch 
allowed all around, and braided with a pretty pattern 
with crimson braid, I tacked it carefully over the top, 
fitting the corners neatly, and then tacked a bright 
colored fringe around the edge with small furniture 
tacks. 
I thiuk the box would have been prettier to have 
been covered all over the outside with cloth, but I had 
nothing suitable for it, and did not care to buy; hut it 
is pretty as it is. Such a box, I think, is much neater 
than a shoe-hag, unless one has a closet to hang it in, 
as I have not. Then, as I said, the box serves a 
double purpose. 
I have been thinking, this dull, dreary autumn 
evening, of the long winter evenings to come, and 
wondering if other families enjoyed them as we do. 
They afford an excellent opportunity for doing fancy- 
work, patchwork, crocheting, etc., or for those whose 
school-days are not yet past, to work with books and 
pencil. But this is the smallest part of the enjoyment. 
The real pleasure is our evening readings, which are 
kept np all through the winter, whenever practicable. 
We have a good fire, good light, and a table set out 
so that all can gather round it. One of the family 
does the reading, and the rest listen, while their hands 
are busy with their work; and the stormier the weather 
is outside, the pleasanter will the evening pass in 
doors. The only danger is that it may he too pro¬ 
longed for early rising in the morning. 
We have had read in this way biographies, histo¬ 
ries, poems, novels, stories from newspapers and mag¬ 
azines—nothing ever comes amiss that ought to have 
a place in a family library. Of course, your reader 
must he a good reader, and it is better that they 
should he of the male persuasion, because women al¬ 
ways have work that they can he busy at, and men or 
hoys would he sitting idle. I fancy that I can both 
hear and work better when I do both at once. So 
far from dreading the long evenings as tedious, they 
are looked forward to with eagerness and pleasant an¬ 
ticipations. Not the smallest good that may result 
from this course is the interest that the younger mem¬ 
bers of the family will he led to take in histories and 
other good hooks. 
If any of these few suggestions that I have made, 
should be of service to other girls who have been led, 
as I have, to study the science of housekeeping and 
homekeeping, while they are yet in their fathers’ house, 
it will not he altogether in vain. Amaranth. 
What-not. — I wish to tell my friends how I made 
a what-not for the parlor. I procured three thin 
pieces of hoard ; these I sawed to fit the corners of a 
room, and after deciding how large to make the bot¬ 
tom shelf, I cut the front rounding, and then tacked 
on a scalloped piece of pasteboard. No two of the 
shelves are the same size. I fastened cones, shells, 
fruit-stones, etc., on the pasteboard with putty. After 
all became dry I varnished it, then strung the shelves, 
one above'; he other, on picture cord, the largest shelf 
at the bottom, the smallest at the top. 
