Those oft-quoted “ melancholy days ” are close at 
hand again. The time has rapidly come when No¬ 
vember’s chilly winds will strip the trees of all their 
lovely foliage, and leave them desolate; hut there will 
he a brief, bright season, ere yet they are despoiled, 
when they shall brighten into such a rainbow of glory 
that we shall hardly miss the vanished colors of our 
summer gardens. Every tree shall then be gorgeous 
in its most radiant robes; and again, as in the early 
spring-time, when we sought for the first wild flowers, 
we shall all “ away to the woods;” remembering that 
this also is a fleeting splendor, and that if we would 
secure a portion to adorn our homes for the coming 
winter, it behooves us to lose no time about it. 
There are few things more suitable for decorating 
our homes in winter than these bright leaves of 'autumn. 
With a little taste in arranging and disposing them 
about our rooms, they will add untold beauties even to 
what was beautiful without them; and those whb have 
not many lovely things can ill afford to dispense with 
this cheap and unsurpassed adornment. 
I will tell you a secret for turning an ugly thing into 
a “ thing of beauty.” If your parlor has a window 
with a disagreeable view, make it an ornamental win¬ 
dow, thus : Get autumn leaves and press them; I am 
very successful in merely ironing them with a hot flat¬ 
iron, exactly in the manner of smoothing a garment, 
until the moisture is dried out of them. I put the iron 
right upon the leaves, and though some will be spoiled, 
I get a plenty, so that there will ho good ones enough 
left; for this process, although a little “ risky,” is pref¬ 
erable to some more careful methods, as it gives the . 
leaves a most bi’illiant color, and a rich, glossy surface, ! 
and they keep it all the winter through, even in the 
case of the most delicate tints. Having prepared the 
leaves in this manner, glue them upon sheets of paper 
just the size of your window panes. Take white; 
paper, or any delicate tint, as best suits 
your taste, and arrange the leaves upon 
it in graceful designs; then glue the 
sheets upon the panes of glass, entirely 
covering the obnoxious window; cover 
the whole with a coat of white varnish, 
and then step hack and view the effect. 
You cannot imagine, until you try it, 
how pretty this will he. 
My neighbor, Mrs. B., whose parlor 
windows have a peculiarly unfortunate 
outlook, has thus converted the ugly 
blemish into an ornament. She has 
two of these beautiful windows, one of 
which has wreaths of American Ivy 
leaves, glowing scarlet and crimson 
and rose, upon a ground of delicate 
gray; another is arranged with bou¬ 
quets of brilliant maple, sumach, birch 
and other vari-colored leaves, and it 
is gorgeous. In this last hangs a 
basket of Ferns, and the softened light 
shines through the glowing window, 
and falls in many-colored rays upon 
the waving Fern plumes, making one 
of the loveliest sights I ever saw. 
It is worth a whole “suite” of “elegant 
furniture,” in the way of adorning a room, and has 
the merit of costing nothing hut a little time and taste 
for the beautiful. 
Maky F. Williams. 
EMBROIDERED FLOWER-STAND. 
This pretty jardiniere or flower-stand, is of Spanish 
reeds set with zinc. The medallions, which form 
the upper side of the stand, are embroidered on 
brown cashmere, with corn-colored silk in point 
Russe, with scenes from Reynard the Fox. ' The 
embroidery is mounted on pasteboard. 
HOW TO MARE ZEPHYR FLOWERS. 
Get the finest wire you can find at the hardware 
store; take a piece and wind it close around a pin, or 
large needle; then slip it off and stretch it out and 
form a leaf the shape of those in the flower you wish 
to make; then split your zephyr, and take one thread, 
beginning at the stem, close to the leaf, and wind 
through the centre around the wire. Make a number 
of leaves, if you wish to make a full flower, and tie 
them together, one by one, with thread. For the: cen¬ 
tre of the flower, take stamens or a little of the zephyr, 
white or yellow; place a row of leaves around that, 
making the leaves larger in each row. To make the 
green leaves, shape your wire in the form of a leaf, and 
mnd the zephyr across the leaf until you get to the 
end, and then bring it across the centre of the leaf hack 
to the place of commencement. 
HOW TO FRAME CHROMOS. 
As a general rule, the predominant colors in a 
picture should he taken as a guide. Black-walnut 
frames, or brown panels, will he suitable for bright 
pictures, while dark pictures, and especially those 
in which brown predominates, should always he 
framed in gold. Whenever you are unable to de¬ 
cide between the two, take a gold frame by all 
means, as gold will agree with every picture. 
Black walnut, especially when enriched hv delicate 
engraved and gilt lines, is likewise very beautiful. 
The width of the frame should also he determined by 
the character of the picture. The 
stronger the picture, the wider the 
frame should he. Width of frame adds 
to the importance and dignity of the pic¬ 
ture. The style of wall-paper should, 
in some degree, influence the selection 
of a frame, when the paper is figured, 
the frame should he wide, in order to 
separate the picture from the paper. 
Tho best background for pictures is a 
neutral gray or a dark maroon. 
parlor 
Wreath of Mosses and Grasses for 
Picture Frames. 
A pretty wreath for picture frames 
may he made of different grasses, 
mosses, and flowers, dried and pressed 
between blotting-paper, and gummed 
on a piece of pasteboard corresponding 
to the frame of the picture intended to 
he wreathed. Beginning at the mid¬ 
dle of the upper part, arrange, first, 
one half, and then the other, in such a 
manner that the stems of the grasses 
shall he covered. Care must he taken 
to arrange the colors harmoniously. 
The steins which come together in the middle of the 
under part must he covered with a large flower. The 
wreath may serve itself as the frame for a picture—in 
which case it must he glued on the edge of tho picture, 
which must he mounted and furnished with a glass. 
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