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Such pretty card-receivers, with vases combined, as 
can he made in imitation of coral, every one who 
wishes something pretty and inexpensive should make 
one. 
The necessary materials are white bonnet-wire, a 
spool of strong white cotton, a little rosin, beeswax, 
a tiny bit of tallow, and some vermilion. To form the 
solution, place in a tin pan three parts rosin, one part 
beeswax, and a wee bit of tallow; let it melt slowly; 
then stir in enough vermilion to make it the color of 
coral. For white coral use the best plaster of Paris 
and white wax in proportion of live ounces of the plas¬ 
ter to one- half pound of the wax; melt the wax slowly, 
then mix the plaster well into it. The solution should 
not be made until the ornament is ready to dip. Take 
an iron spoon, and pour portions of this mixture over 
. every part, holding the ornament in every direction, so 
that it may ho well covered, and turning and twisting 
it so that the fluid may equalize itself. Before the wax 
is quite cold, bend the ends of the wires so as to rep¬ 
resent the various branchings of the coral. Articles 
done in this way closely imitate coral. For a card- 
receiver, cut the wire in various lengths, and then tie 
the pieces securely together to represent branches of 
coral of different sizes : form the standard of wire ac¬ 
cording to your fancy, taking care to have it strong and 
secure; then form a vase of wires, and tie securely in 
the centre of the basket form ; then wind the branches 
you have prepared on to this frame, taking care to 
place them in natural and graceful positions. When 
all is arranged to suit your taste, it is ready. to he 
dipped in the solution. A variety of articles can be 
made in this way; vases, goblets, crosses, harps, 
baskets, wall-pockets, picture-frames,'and many other 
articles which a tasteful person will devise. 
For imitation moss crosses, make a wooden or paste¬ 
board cross, cover with finely-fringed paper—tissue is 
best; cut the paper into strips about one and a half 
inches wide, then fringe with scissors as finely as possi¬ 
ble ; wrap closely round the cross, until the whole is 
covered like moss, none of the foundation being visible. 
They may he made either of pure white tissue, or sev¬ 
eral shades of green, or brown and drabs, to represent 
wood-moss. The effect is pretty if a few autumn 
leaves, or bright berries, are mingled among the 
mosses. A wreath of Windsor fern on a pure white 
cross is beautiful. 
Shaving-cases are easily and prettily made by 
taking pink and white tissue paper, drab pebbled 
paper. Use as follows: Take two pieces of pebbled 
paper, the size you wish to make the case—seven by 
nine is about right; cut a square or round piece out of 
the centre of one piece of the pebbled paper; pink the 
edges of this aperture; then take bristol board, the 
size of the paper, and in the centre put an initial or 
pretty picture; put this underneath the paper, and 
glue it on to it, taking care to have the picture come 
directly in the centre, oi the aperture; then pink 
the pebbled paper around the sides and ends, and in the 
ends designed for the top punch two holes, about one 
inch apart, half an inch trom the pinking—have them 
at equal distances from thd sides. Now cut the tissue 
paper half an inch smaller each way than the covers; 
take about a dozen sheets of pink, then as many of 
white, and alternate in this way until you have as 
many as you think necessary; then pink these all 
around, and punch holes in the top to correspond with 
those in the covers. Take the top cover, lay in the 
tissue sheets, then the under cover, draw a ribbon 
through the holes, and tie in a bow on the upper side ; 
hang up by the loop left by the ribbon on the under 
side and it is completed. 
A MEDLEY. 
I have a medley, size 32x36 inches, made mostly 
of fine engravings. It contains between one and 
two hundred figures. I have a matched hoard large 
enough to contain my canvas, which is firm, bleached 
cotton cloth, in size an inch larger each way than the 
frame for the picture. This I stretch each way, and 
tack firmly on my board. Having my plan ]>er- 
fected, with my figures all nicely cut, so as to present 
a clear and distinct outline of the figure only, with 
no white to he seen on the outline, I begin my work. 
I use with these frequently uncut engravings, upon 
which small figures can be placed to advantage. 
With my flour-paste-pot on hand I commence at the 
top after the size of the picture is marked off, and 
space for the margins left all around. Landscape with 
clouds and water, or a few objects with foliage, or a 
country view with hills in the distance, for the sun 
views at the top, and some central object in the centre, 
as some fine building in the distance. Then, as taste 
and judgment dictate, I proceed to paste on my smaller 
figures with vines or foliage, to aid in covering the 
lappings. Then larger ones as I ascend, being par¬ 
ticular to have the faces on the right look toward the 
centre of the picture*and those on the left look toward 
the centre also. 
Abraham Lincoln and Washington, pictures of 
medium size, are my central figures. Around these 
are grouped many important personages, not for¬ 
getting to mix in the little people with birds and 
kittens, and even the heads of fine horses and 
dogs in their appropriate places. And the wonder is, 
they all look as if they “ groXved ” there. I get large 
sheets of white paper from the paper mill, for the 
margin, which I paste on. Then let the whole stand 
tA thoroughly dry, and it will draw up from the 
board with a gentle effort, and can be then trimmed 
and put into the frame “athing of beauty and a joy 
forever.” E. A. Warner. 
LAMBKEaillNS. 
I have lambrequins of shell-work, which are very 
pretty. Throe, graduated in size, grace one corner of 
my parlor, where small ornaments and specimens of 
gold and silver quartz and mosses from Colorado and 
the Snowy Range are kept. I made my own patterns of 
fancy shape out of pasteboard, which I stiffened by 
sewing small wire around the edge. Then I oiled my 
pasteboard with linseed oil, and let it dry. Then I laid 
on my putty after it was well worked, and then laid on 
my shells, making a border of even sized ones, and 
arranging the larger ones according to taste—then let 
it lie till it was perfectly dry and hard. A shell can 
he left out when you want to nail it to the shelf, and 
the shell put on afterwards. The shelf should first he 
put up securely. E. A. Warner. 
excellent for this purpose. Gather a good assortment, 
which may comprise every tint, from crimson to scar¬ 
let, from scarlet to yellow, and from yellow to green. 
The red beech and the sumach are very useful, so are 
the oak and ferns. 
Smooth every leaf on the wrong side with a hot iron, 
holding it down a few seconds, not long enough to in¬ 
jure the color. Any leaves that are not flat must he 
soaked in water first, then oil them over on the right 
side. 
Next take a number of fine wire stems, and fix 
every leaf to a stem. Lay the leaf over the wire, 
which should extend the entire length of the leaf, to 
support it. The leaf is attached by its stalk to the 
artificial stem. Use the fine, green-covered reel wire 
necessary in wax flower making. Afterwards, cover the 
stems with green tissue paper or brown Berlin wool, 
and join them together in sprays. The individual 
leaves on each spray must he of the same kind and 
color. Afterwards mix and arrange the sprays accord¬ 
ing to taste. 
Oak leaves and acorns, gummed on a cardboard 
frame, make good brackets, boxes, and picture-frames. 
Acorns and berries used in this way ought first to he 
cut in half. 
FANCY WORK WITH LEAVES. 
Vases and dinner ornaments may he very prettily 
filled with leaves properly preserved. 
Brackets may he made to resemble carving, and also 
picture-frames. The bright tints of autumn leaves are j 
How to Keep Silk.—Silk articles should not be 
folded in white paper, as the chloride of lime used in 
bleaching the paper will probably impair the color of 
the silk. Brown or blue paper is better; the yellowish, 
smooth India is the best of all. Silk intended for dress 
should not be kept long in the house before it is made 
up, as laying in folds will have a tendency to impair 
its durability, by causing it to out or split, particularly 
if the silk has been thickened with gum. Thread lace 
veils are very easily cut; hut dresses of velvet should 
not he laid by with any weight above them; if the 
nap of a thin velvet is laid down, it is not possible to 
raise it up again. Hard silk should never he wrinkled, 
because the thread is easily broken in the crease, and 
it can never he rectified. The way to take wrinkles 
out ot silk scarfs and handkerchiefs, is to moisten the 
surface-evenly with a sponge and some weak glue, and 
then pin the silk with some toilet pins to a mattress or 
feather bed, taking pains to draw out the silk as tight 
as possible. When dry, the wrinkles will have disap¬ 
peared. The reason erf this is obvious to every person. 
Some silk articles should he moistened with weak glue 
o 
or gum water, and the wrinkles ironed out with a hot 
flat-iron on the wrong side. 
Daisy Tidy.—Materials: Three rolls of white tape, 
common width; half ounce of bright-yellow worsted. 
Measure off the tape into thirty-four pieces, each 
eighteen inches long; then take one piece, and make 
a dot with a pencil at every inch, on one edge, and 
on the other edge, make a dot every half inch. Next 
take two needles, threaded with very strong, coarse, 
white thread, and gather each edge, putting the needle 
in at every dot, sew both edges at the same time, and 
draw up just as tightly as possible, fasten on the other 
side. Do the same with all the other pieces. Make 
a little tuft of the worsted, by winding over your 
finger, and draw it through the centre of the Daisy on 
the right side, fastening on the under side by sewing. 
This will make thirty-four Daisies. Sew six together 
in a row, then another row of seven, then six again, 
then five, and soon, one less in each row; put together 
in the order they are sewn. Finally, make cord and 
tassels of the worsted, and suspend from the three cor¬ 
nels, two tassels to each corner. This makes a very 
handsome tidy. 
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