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HINTS ON THE ART OF MAKING WAX 
FLOWERS. 
Flowers are becoming indispensable as ornaments. 
No lady thinks her parlor complete without flowers ; 
and when we cannot have natural ones, wax flowers 
are a very pretty substitute. Handsome ones are 
costly, but may come within the reach of any lady of 
taste, with a trifling expense, by exercising patience 
and ingenuity. 
I do not propose to go into a detailed description of 
the art, but, as my title indicates, give a few hints to 
the lovers of fancy work, such as I think will give 
them an insight into the matter. 
As a preliminary let us enumerate the materials 
necessary. By experience I have learned with how 
few one may obtain satisfactory results. For instance, 
the number of colors. Dry powders are put up for 
this purpose by the dealers in artists’ materials. For 
any one having a good idea of the combination of 
colors the following list will suffice : Ivory Black, Zinc 
White, Carmine, Chrome Yellow and Prussian Blue; 
for from these one may procure any tint needed; white 
wax in sheets (both single and double, as they are 
styled, the latter being double the thickness of the 
former, and is used for flowers having thick petals); 
green wax is to he preferred for foliage, thus saving 
the trouble of coloring, hut for flowers it is better to 
color each petal separately; wire, of three sizes, very 
fine thread wire, some as coarse as bonnet wire, and a 
medium size; steel pins with glass heads, known as 
moulding pins, two sizes; some arrow-root or corn 
starch, a little dissolved Gum Arabic, and about a 
pound of good Plaster of Paris complete the list. 
The best way to imitate nature is to have two 
specimens of the blossom yon desire to copy; one to 
pick to pieces and cut paper patterns from the petals, 
the other for your model when putting your flower to¬ 
gether. If two cannot he obtained, remove very care¬ 
fully one petal of each size and shape, leaving the 
flower as nearly perfect as possible. Always have 
your stem prepared before you begin your flower. This 
is done by winding a narrow strip of green wax around 
a piece of wire and rolling it between the thumb and 
forefinger until smooth. Always fold over the end of 
the stem, otherwise your flower may slip off' just as 
you finish it. 
For the first attempt take a very simple flower, an 
orange blossom, for instance. This, you see, has five 
petals encircling a number of stamens. Cut a strip of 
double white wax three-fourtlis of an inch long and 
one-half an inch wide. With a small pair of scissors 
slit it like a fringe, wind it around the end of the stem, 
dip in Gum Arabic, then in Chrome Yellow powder, 
and with the point of the pin separate any that may 
stick together. Next cut five petals of double wax 
from your paper pattern ; rub these with com starch 
on both sides to remove the waxy appearance, always 
leaving the end clear which is to be fastened to the 
stem, otherwise it will not stick. Now, lay them one 
at a time in the hollow of the hand and roll the head 
of the pin over them lengthwise until they are moulded 
into shape like youi model. Now stick them around 
the stamens, keeping your natural blossom in view as 
a guide, and cut the calyx of green wax, arrange it in 
place and your flower is complete. 
For a full blown rose, make a tuft of white thread 
and fasten on your stem ; dip in the gum and then in 
yellow powder; cut your petals from the paper pat¬ 
terns, and color by rubbing on the dry powder with 
the thumb, and fingers. Some persons mix the powder 
with water and apply with a brush, hut I prefer the 
powder dry, except for fine flowers, such as Heliotrope 
and Mignonette, which I color after they are formed. 
The dry powder, of course, must he very thoroughly 
pulverized, and mixed with a pallette knife, else streaks 
will appear on your work. For a Salmon Bose use 
chrome yellow, white, and a few grains of carmine ; 
for a red rose, carmine ; and for the different shades of 
pink, carmine mixed with more or less of white. After 
all are colored, mould them into shape with the hall 
of the small pin, press your thumb into their centres 
and curl over the edges of some, until the whole re¬ 
minds you of a rose that has just dropped to pieces. 
Now arrange these on the wire; stick each one fast 
as you place it, occasionally giving one a pinch or curl, 
until your flower is as nearly perfect as the first at¬ 
tempt can he. Lastly, cut the calyx of green wax, 
and arrange it in place. 
If you desire a hud or half-blown rose, mould scraps 
of wax into the form of a small bud and place your 
petals around it. Of course you must cover the mould 
with one or more of the petals. 
In making the long stamens for such flowers as 
Lilies and Fuchsias, wind white wax around coarse 
thread, in the same manner as you prepare the wire 
for stems. If they are to he colored, use a brush 
dipped in wet paint. 
To make green leaves, mix Plaster of Paris into a 
smooth paste and into it press a well developed leaf; 
when dry, remove your leaf and you have a mould 
that will last for years. Lay on this mould a piece of 
green wax, and along the centre of this the end of the 
wire for the stem ; over this lay another piece of wax, 
press all firmly and gently into the mould; remove, 
and you have a perfect impression; cut out with small 
scissors, observing all the points, &c., then twist or 
curl it over to give it a natural shape. If the leaf is 
; shaded, the color is best applied with a brush, as to 
rub it with the finger would he apt to spoil the veins 
J moulded in it. 
Of course your first attempt will not entirely satisfy 
you,hut “practice makes perfect;” so do not he dis¬ 
couraged if you make half a dozen failures. With 
Nature for your model, patience and perseverance will 
bring you off victorious. C. II. P. 
Pretty Wall Pockets, or paper cases, may he 
made as follows: Take stiff pasteboard and cut two 
pieces for hack and front; the back should he consid¬ 
erably the highest; cut long, narrow, triangular pieces 
for-the sides. Now cover all the pieces with rap, vel¬ 
veteen, merino, or any nice, material; green or crim¬ 
son will he most likely to harmonize best with walls, 
furniture, etc. Green paper will do, which must he 
pasted smoothly on, with the edges all folded over. 
If the other materials are used they must he nicely 
fastened with needles and thread. For a border around 
all the edges, smooth leather cut in strips and pinked 
or scalloped. There will he a variety of ways to suggest 
themselves of elaborating upon the description here 
given, and really elegant articles may he formed. 
These paper cases may either he suspended by cords 
or hung upon a nail driven in the wall. 
To Make Straw Picture Frames.—Pick out from 
a bundle of straws those without flaws. It takes five 
for each part of the frame. Arrange them thus : Put 
one long straw in the centre, a short one on each side, 
and a shorter again on each side of these ; sew them 
together at the back with some strong cotton. When 
you have the top, bottom and sides ready, fasten them 
together at the corners in the form of an Oxford frame, 
placing the top and bottom ones in front of the sides. 
Then make four small pieces of three straws iu each, 
the centre one the longest, and fasten them crosswise 
to each corner by means of a piece of ribbon tied round; 
the ribbon is to hide where the parts of the frame are 
joined together. The picture is fastened in with nar¬ 
row ribbon, crossed over at the hack and brought 
through between the straws on each side of the frame, 
then passed over the centre straw through to the hack, 
and firmly sewn ; this ribbon has a very pretty effect. 
A loop of ribbon should he sewn on to the top, by 
which to hang the frame. 
A Method employed in Germany to keep rose¬ 
buds fresh consists in first covering the end of the re¬ 
cently cut stem with wax, and then placing each one 
in a closed paper cap or cone, so that the leaves do 
not touch the paper. The cap is then coated with 
glue to exclude air, dust and moisture, and when dry 
it is placed in a cool place. When wanted for use the 
hud is taken out of the cap and placed iu water, after 
cutting off the end, when the rose will bloom iu a few 
hours. 
Alum Baskets.—The framework of alum baskets 
is usually made of thin wire woven in and out, and 
wound over with worsted in every part, to produce a 
rough surface. Dissolve the alum in rather more than 
twice the quantity of water that will cover the basket, 
handle included. Put in as much alum as the water 
will dissolve, and when it will take no more, filter it 
through a. piece of brown paper into a saucepan. If 
you wish the basket to he colored, the dye must he 
added before the process of filtering. To produce 
crimson, use an infusion of cochineal and madder ; for 
bright yellow, boil gamboge, muriate of iron, or tur¬ 
meric in the solution. Blue crystals may he obtained 
by preparing sulphate of copper, commonly called blue 
vitriol, in the same manner that alum is prepared. For 
pale blue, equal portions of blue vitriol and alum; and 
for green, add to these last ingredients a few drops of 
muriate of iron. The solution being filtered, boil it 
gently until it is reduced to half the quantity; put it 
iu a vessel large enough to admit, of the basket; sus¬ 
pend the latter from a stick laid across the top, so that 
both basket and handle are entirely immersed. It must 
then he put in a cool place where there will not he the 
slightest motion to disturb the formation of the crystals. 
It is well to hear in mind that the colored baskets 
should he kept quite out of the reach of children, as 
they look very tempting, like sugar-candy, hut are 
decidedly poisonous. 
To Cover Small Tables.—Small, round tables of 
plain wood may he made very handsome by covering 
them with black cloth, velvet, velveteen or satin. A 
fall of yak lace, four or five inches deep, being an ex¬ 
ceedingly rich finish. A strip of the material used 
for covering the top of the table ought to he put 
around the edge as a lining to the lace, being careful 
not to stretch too tightly. If gilt nails are not easily 
procured, the lace may he simply stitched on. 
Monogram for Horse Cloth or Lap Robe.—Per¬ 
haps the neatest monograms are made of light blue 
kid, and should he cut out of the kid, and sewn on 
neatly by the saddler; or, if the preference he given 
to a monogram in worsted, the braid used for binding 
can he made into the design required, and sewn on by 
a handy woman. Those cut out in colored cloth are 
very neat, and can either he worked in applique of 
colored cloths worked round in chainstitcb, or he done 
iu outline only in chainstitcb, or braid. Gentlemen 
are so particular about their monograms that it is 
better to get one of the right size printed on paper 
for approval first, and if either of the letters can he 
formed by a whip, or a spur he introduced in some 
curve of another letter, they have a good effect for 
this purpose. 
