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ELLA’S IDEAS. 
I have visited Cousin Ella. 
The visit was both pleasant and profitable, so 1 
propose to “ share the profits” with the readers of 
A small wall-pocket for letters, cards, photographs, 
etc., looks well under a group of pictures, or under¬ 
neath a corner bracket. A lovely one of gray peb¬ 
bled board is made by cutting a graceful pocket and 
back in imitation of large ones; pink or scallop all 
our dear Cabinet. With such piles of treasures in ' the edges ; cut an oval piece from the centre of the 
the shape of new ideas as I carried home with me I • pocket part, and pink the remaining edges j insert a 
can afford to be generous, you know. photograph, gem cliromo, tasteful fruit or flower 
In the first place, the welcome I received to Ella’s 
nest of a home was perfection itself. Her style of 
entertaining, too, is delightful, making one feel per¬ 
fectly at home, at ease, and at rest. She is not 
wealthy, you must know; only exquisitely tasteful, 
wonderfully practical, and supremely unselfish. 
Her little parlor impresses one on first entrance as 
being extremely elegant, when in reality it is quite 
simply and very inexpensively furnished. I noted 
particularly the arrangement of her pictures, and as 
I am so many times puzzled as to the most effective 
method of effecting a change among my own brack¬ 
ets, pictures, etc., I began immediately on my ar¬ 
rival home to imitate some of Ella’s picturesque 
groupings. 
I first placed a large picture in the centre of one 
of the largest wall-spaces in my parlor. Then 
111111 "- smaller ones on each side of, and one directly 
above, it. The three smaller pictures were har¬ 
monious in coloring and exactly similar in size and 
style of framing. 
Next I grouped three gilt-framed landscapes in 
another space, and beneath them placed a bracket, 
on which was a snowy zephyr mat. On this I placed 
a vase of frosted grasses, made as follows : 
Arrange the feathery, plumy varieties of grasses 
into tasteful bouquets, then dip in a basin of water ; 
shake well, then whip lightly and evenly in a pan of 
flour. These directions sound common and “ cheap,” 
no doubt; but first try them, please, and be con¬ 
vinced that for once something exceedingly pretty 
can be made out of almost nothing. 
My third group was similar to the second, only it 
was a floral one, the pictures being of richly-tinted 
autumn leaves, vines, and gaily-flecked mosses, 
dainty sprays of drooping fuchsias, lilies, and rose¬ 
buds. Beneath was placed a vase of pressed leaves 
and vines on a moss bracket. 
I learned to make a number of dainty little articles 
piece, or an appropriate motto ; fasten the pocket to 
the back by means of balls and cord of soft-colored 
wool or ribbon bows, and hang up with the same. 
Ella’s home is small, so she utilizes every inch of 
space. For her books she has hanging corner 
shelves, trimmed with little pointed lambrequins. 
To make them, she first cut a quantity of rings of 
pasteboard with a “gun-wad cutter.” These she 
covered with scarlet wool, as you would work a but¬ 
ton-hole ; joined five of them in a row, then a row of 
four to it, then a row of three, then of two, then one; 
then fastened them to the shelves by driving a silver 
or fancy tack through the rings on to the edges. 
Her ottomans are goods boxes of neat size, on 
rollers, with hinged lids, covered with reps, and 
finished with heavy cord and fringe. They serve as 
seats, as shoe-boxes in bedrooms, or as receptacles 
for old magazines and papers. 
Her baby’s high chair was made comfortable by 
cushioning the round back and bottom, so its little 
head never bumped against the hard frame. 
That same little individual had its table-bib and 
mat of white rubber cloth, neatly bound, whereby 
many a grievous stain was saved its dainty dresses 
and Ella’s snowy linen. 
A number of Ella’s lady friends called during my 
stay, and in returning these courtesies I caught 
glimpses of lovely home life which I am incited to re- 
produce in my own. 
“Ella,” I remarked one day, “I never saw so 
many girlish married women as among your friends. 
They all are as young and cheery as if they didn’t 
have the regulation number of babies, housekeeping 
troubles, etc.” 
Her answer was, “ Yes, I do think we enjoy our¬ 
selves in II—. We make it a point to do so. We 
make and receive calls and visits with our babies or 
not as is convenient, and enjoy comparing house¬ 
keeping and baby-tending experiences as fully as we 
formerly did those of fun and flirtation. I always, 
of fancy work of Ella, whose home abounds in them, 
every one of which seems to be exactly in the right j too, go to church in the morning, and Harry in the 
place, and to have a, use and mission of its own. 
A pretty trifle to hang from a drop-lamp or be¬ 
neath a bracket is made as follows : 
Cut from the selvage of a sheet of cardboard two 
strips the entire length, ::::d fifty holes in width ; cut 
them exactly in two in the middle; now you have 
four oblong pieces ; point them at both ends by cut¬ 
ting along a row of holes from centre to outside, 
both ways ; work stars all round the edge of each 
piece, and join with worsted, closing only one end, 
which will be found to form a square, and from the 
centre of which is suspended balls and wax beads. 
Ornament each panel with an embossed picture 
or a worsted design, and suspend by a twisted cord 
evening, if we can't leave baby. 
Most of the other 
ladies do the same, so it is by these means we keep 
interested in all around and in each other.” 
Mrs. K. A. II. 
PICTURE-FRAMES AND FANCY WORK;. 
What music in the word Home ! and it is the 
duty of every housekeeper to try and make home a 
pleasant place; and how many ways there are to im¬ 
prove the looks of our room at very little cost! How it 
changes the looks of a room to have a few plants, pic¬ 
tures, and the fancy articles that any one with a lit¬ 
tle time and taste can have ! Most people that keep 
plants have slips to give away, and any one with a 
with balls and beads. Mine is of cream-colored card- love for plants will soon learn to take care of them, 
board, worked in cardinal zephyr, ornamented with , As this is not intended for a floral contribution, I 
delicatelv-shaded pink and white embossed wreaths, shall only speak ot plants as an ornament. For 
those who cannot afford to buy pots for their plants 
a few boxes nicely painted or papered, with green 
moss from the woods to put in the top of the boxes 
over the dirt, will look almost as well. 
What improves the looks of a room more than a 
few nice plants 1 And no house is well furnished 
without them. How many have plenty of pictures 
laid away very choice, year after year, that they 
would be glad to hang up if they were only framed. 
Of all such I would ask, Why not frame some of 
them yourselves ? 
Of all kinds of home-made frames perhaps none 
are prettier than burr frames, which are better by 
having the burrs sewed on than by fastening them 
on with glue. 
For preparing pine burrs for a frame put them in 
a pan of hot water and with an old knife scrape off 
the turpentine, and by having the scales soaked for 
a few minutes in warm water they can be sewed on 
and will not split. 
The burrs of spruce-trees can be sewed on by 
passing the thread over the burrs and under the 
scales so it will not be seen. The shells of walnuts 
can be split in two parts and holes drilled in the 
sides with an awl, so they can be fastened on by a 
thread. The foundation of the frames must be of 
pasteboard. 
Baskets can be made of burrs the same as frames, 
and are pretty lined with bright-colored silk and 
a plaiting of ribbon around the edge and on the 
under side of the handle. Spruce burrs fastened to 
a silk cord and suspended from each scallop at the 
top of the basket improves the looks. 
Burr frames and baskets want to be well varnish¬ 
ed, and mixing lampblack and varnish together 
and staining the rosettes at the corners of part of 
your frames will make a change. 
Another way for making frames is to make your 
frame of pasteboard; have it cross at the corners; 
take wrapping-paper of any color, cut it in squares 
about one inch each way, fold it corner ways first, 
then fold it again, and it makes nice points to sew 
round each edge of a frame. Make rosettes of paper 
for the corners and sides, and round off the points in 
the shape of leaves to fill in between the rosettes. 
Finish with a coat of lampblack and varnish and 
after it is dry put on a coat of varnish. 
If your picture is not too large yon can frame it 
yourself by using pasteboard for the back and sewing 
the frame to it. 
Baskets can be made of paper the same as burrs. 
Bice frames are made by making a, frame of paste¬ 
board and covering it with a good coat of glue, then 
sprinkle rice over it as thick as possible. 
They can be stained black with lampblack and 
varnished or painted any color you wish. 
Small brackets made in this way are pretty. 
A pretty hanging basket can be made by taking 
an old tin basin and making about four holes at the. 
top. Then make a cover of pasteboard large enough 
so your basin will just set in it, sew burrs to the 
pasteboard and varnish well, then fasten to the 
basin by putting cords through the holes at the top 
of the basin, and through the pasteboard and hang it 
up. Fill the basin with dirt and put in a plant, 
and your basket will be nice enough for any room. 
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