toadies’ iPtaral ftoiffiiet *m3 BPietaiml Some fiompawruaii. 
J[rl$ + 
pressed papa into their service, and the result was a 
cunning little stand, about a foot high, made of the 
rough harked willow so much used for rustic work, 
and varnished. One can scarcely conceive what a 
beautiful ornament this made placed before the win¬ 
dow, the vase tastefully filled with a bouquet of dried 
grasses, and some shells laid carelessly around on the 
rustic stand where it projected from the vase. 
Two corner brackets in the room were draped with 
beautiful and cheap lambrequins ; they were made of 
Turkey-red calico. The lambrequin was gathered 
in graceful folds about a foot above the shelf, and 
‘The New Organ.” 
tacked to the wall, and finished wren it bunch of au¬ 
tumn leaves ; the cloth extending thus up behind the 
Parian marble busts and vases made them stand out 
in bold relief. The lambrequin was then allowed to 
tall over the shelf and half-way down the bracket, 
where it was gathered in artistic folds, and finished 
with a neat wool tassel. 
A blue one in the sitting-room similarly made had 
sprays of Spanish Moss, Tillandsia usneoides, tacked 
on in place of the autumn leaves, and allowed to 
tall down around the ornament on the bracket; the 
deep blue delaine of the lambrequin, and the gray 
moss, with the marble statue, made a’very harmonious 
and beautiful combination. 
Also in the sitting-room was a durable and pretty 
sofa, upholstered by these ingenious nieces. The 
hair-cloth becoming worn through, making it an 
unsightly piece of furniture, they procured cheap 
cretonne, and proceeded to their unaccustomed task. 
After taking the seat out and covering it smoothly, 
stretching the cretonne very tight, they cut a piece 
of the cloth to fit the back, turning the piece wrong- 
side out over the back of the sofa. Then they cut 
strips of pasteboard half an inch 
wide, and tacked the cretonne all 
around the outside edge. It v-as 
then turned and stretched, and 
tacked underneath the framework. 
By this expedient no unsightly tacks 
could be seen. The arms were 
covered in like manner, and a neat 
cushion of the cretonne made to 
match. A chair was covered in the 
same way with seal-brown calico, 
and a strip of cretonne stitched on 
up the centre of the back of the 
chair and across the bottom. This 
was (quite pretty. 
For a more expensive chair, work 
on Penelope canvas a pattern in 
shaded zephyrs. Fill out with some 
suitable shade, and put it on the 
material with which you wish to up¬ 
holster your chair, with a cord on 
each side of the worked stripe either 
made of the cloth or of silk as you 
prefer. 
One of their bedrooms looked 
quite cheerful and comfortable. It 
was furnished in this manner: On 
the floor was very pretty drab and 
scarlet wool carpet. The windows 
were draped with curtains made 
of unbleached muslin, trimmed with 
a band of Turkey-red calico. They 
hung very gracefully. A small 
table had a cover on it to match 
the curtains, and a pin-cushion on 
the table was made of the Turkey- 
red calico, with a puffed tarlatan 
cover. Scarlet and white wool 
toilet-mats, some cunning little pic¬ 
tures framed with splints, and et¬ 
ceteras included the handiwork of 
the room. Aunt Eliza. 
Cold Coffee Cake. —Take of molasses 2 cups; 
Sugar, 1 cup; butter, 1 cup ; coffee, 1 cup ; currants, 
1 pound; citron, one-half pound; raisins, 1 pound; 
one nutmeg; 1 tablespoonful of cloves; 1 table¬ 
spoonful of cinnamon ; 1 heaped teaspoonful of soda; 
flour to make it stiff as pound-cake. 
Cocoanut Cake.— Sugar, 2 cups; milk, 1 cup ; 
butter, one-half cup; eggs, yelks of three; flour, 
one and one-half cups ; soda, one-half teaspoonful; 
cream tartar, 2 small teaspoonfuls. 
HINTS ON HOME ADORNMENT. 
There are quite a number of women who, not 
possessing the carte-blanclie to make their homes 
attractive like their more favored sisters, would fain 
sit down in an unadorned home, and spend their 
time in useless repining!—not so much from discon¬ 
tentment that they have not been so highly favored, 
but from the knowledge that they do not know how 
to make anything that will really 
add to their homes and suit their 
own fastidious tastes. Now, for the 
benefit of these, I will describe some 
things which I saw while on one of 
my not unfrequent visits to my 
nieces. 
In the parlor was a very pretty 
vase made in imitation of the Japan¬ 
ese ones now so fashionable, and 
this was the way it was made: 
First was selected a common four- 
gallon stone jar, one of those which 
are smaller at the bottom, gradually 
swelling out toward the middle of 
the jar, and growing smaller toward 
the top ; it also had small handles 
on the sides. Then it was painted 
two-thirds of the way up a light tint 
of green, the other third being paint¬ 
ed black. The rim around the top 
was also painted the light shade of 
green, and ornamented with gilt 
stars. Then, after procuring suit¬ 
able pictures for pottery decora¬ 
tions, these, with the aid of mucil¬ 
age, were stuck promiscuously all 
over the jar, after which it was 
thoroughly varnished with white 
varnish. It is quite a pleasing study 
to arrange the pictures effectively, 
and care should be taken not to get 
them too close, or several pictures 
of one kind together, and you should 
have as much variety as possible in 
your pictures ; reptiles especially 
can be used with effect. The vase 
I have just described had for a 
centrepiece on one side a large alli¬ 
gator, seemingly in the act of grab¬ 
bing a small fish, judiciously plac¬ 
ed just out of his reach. On the 
other side was a tortoise. Bugs, but¬ 
terflies, flowers, leaves, fruit, Japanese figures, and 
fish can all be used with artistic effect; they can 
be procured cheap at any picture house. Most 
every one can find some old jar, jug, or antique. 
pitcher about the house, that could be made very or¬ 
namental in this way. I have even seen teapots, by 
having the spouts knocked off and painted black and 
covered with pictures, metamorphosed into respec¬ 
table-looking Japanese pitchers. Now, as my nieces 
informed me that their vase did not show off half its 
charms when sitting in a corner on the floor, they 
X' 
V. 
