ffu- |Lfti3ies’ If t ora l Hafiuiet anji -Pictorial Home sBampaniom 
ITALIAN CHROMOTYPE PAINTING. 
This kind of painting, or rather of transferring, 
pictures on to glass or wood, is clone by two different 
methods. The first was furnished me hy a “practical 
painter,” who often did it for amusement, and is the ; 
most simple; hut I will give both the methods known 
to me. 
Clean your glass very carefully, and dry it thorough¬ 
ly. Then, with a flat camel’s-hair brush lay a thin 
coat of the best copal varnish all over the surface. 
When it feels 
1 . e., 
a little sticky—which 
will he in an hour or two, according to the atmosphere 
—lay the engraving down evenly upon it, and smooth 
carefully with a soft cloth. Let it stand until next 
day. Then take some cold water, and with a sponge 
or soft cloth damp the paper thoroughly. When wet 
through it can he easily removed, and every particle 
of ink will he found adhering to the varnished sur¬ 
face. Fill in the picture with oil colors if you wish, 
hut if preferred plain, a coat of good white paint is all 
the “ hacking ” necessary. Should your varnish grow 7 
too thick at any time, thin it with a little spirits of 
turpentine. 
In transferring the pictures hy the second method, | 
you clean the glass and dry thoroughly as before; then 
lay it away in a place free from dust for several hours. 
Varnish the same side again, then, if your picture is 
an engraving, dip it into clear water, letting it remain ' 
until wet through; if colored, dip in a solution of one 
quart of water, one tablespoonful vinegar, and one 
half a tablespoonful of salt. Then lift the picture 
from the water and let the superfluous moisture dry i 
from its face. By the time this is all done the varnish 
has dried its requisite twenty or thirty minutes ; now 
lay the picture face down on the varnished glass, press 
it firmly and carefully, excluding every particle of air 
or water. Should air hubbies appear, place a sheet of 
thick smooth paper over it, and press from the centre 
outwardly until it is free from them and perfectly 
smooth. Bub the paper gently, from the centre 
towards the edges, until only a very thin film, of uni¬ 
form thickness, covers the surface, and the picture is 
plainly visible in all parts. Next apply a coat of 
“ finishing varnish.” Should any spots appear .vhile 
varnishing, saturate the paper and lay aside to dry. 
Then add three or four coats of the varnish, and your 
“Chromotype” is done. If you wish to color an en¬ 
graving yourself, paint on the hack in oil colors be¬ 
fore the finishing varnish is applied. The varnish used 
in the first stage of this painting is composed of one 
ounce of balsam fir, and one ounce spirits turpentine ; 
the finishing varnish, of one ounce balsam fir, one 
ounce spirits turpentine, and one ounce of alcohol. 
The pictures may he transferred on to light-colored 
and very smooth wood. The work is very pretty for 
decorating fancy box covers. 
Mrs. Mary I. Herron. 
Everlasting Flowers. —A word as to arranging 
Everlastings for winter adornment. The best way 
that I have ever tried is to cut pasteboard and make 
the shape that I desired, either crowns, crosses, or 
wreaths of it, then sew green moss on the edges, and 
fill in with the flowers hy sewing these on. It has 
proved the most satisfactory way that I have ever 
tried. Our common sumac berries are splendid to put 
with the flowers. They grow in tiny clusters, and hy 
breaking them off from the large clump, they can he 
woven in beautifully, as they retain their color for at 
least one year. I have some that were gathered last 
fall, and are as bright as new at the present time. 
M. C. A. 
Crystallizing Grasses.— To every quart of soft 
clear water, add eighteen ounces of pure alum. Boil 
it slowly in a close tin vessel, stirring occasionally with 
a clean stick, until the alum is all dissolved. When 
the liquor is almost cold, suspend the object to he 
crystallized hy a string from a stick laid across the 
mouth of a glass or earthen jar. into which pour the 
solution. The article should remain in the solution 
twenty-four hours, then he hung in the shade unti 
perfectly dry. If the solution is quite cold, the crys¬ 
tals will form too large; if too hot, they will he too 
small. The best temperature is ninety-five degrees 
Fahrenheit. M. M. Sage. 
New Way of Framing Pictures. —We see in your 
paper a great many directions for making home orna¬ 
ments, such as what-nots, picture frames, etc., and as 
we generally want a picture for a frame which we 
make, and as we have never seen the following direc¬ 
tions in any number of the Cabinet for obtaining one, 
we will give them, and if you deem them worthy a 
place in your paper you may give them to your read¬ 
ers : Take a pretty, showy picture from any paper, 
magazine, or hook; cut the form all out, and then cut 
a piece of thick black cloth in a circular oblong shape; 
lay your picture in the centre, .(the cloth must he 
larger than the picture of course,) and the whole on a 
piece of white paper the size of your glass, and you 
have a very showy picture. We placed “ Our Bessie” 
in a frame after having placed her on a piece of black 
cloth as a background, and she looks very beautiful 
indeed. S. R. V. Me. 
Bucyrus, Ohio. 
Statue Pictures. Often in the pictorial papers are 
pictures of statuary which are nice for this work. Cut 
carefully away all the paper close to the picture, which 
paste on to black velvet. Put it in a deep frame with 
an oval or arched mat next the glass, and you will 
have a picture which cannot fail to please you. If you 
have a talent for pencil drawing, a head or bouquet or 
wreath of flowers drawn on thin card-hoard, cut out, 
put on black cloth or velvet, makes a fine picture, 
.which, when framed, will well repay your labor. 
Mary I. Herron. 
Leaf and Flower Impressions. —Oil a piece of 
white paper on one side, and hold it over the smoke 
of a lamp until coated thickly with smoke. Place the 
leaf on this black surface, with the under side down, as 
it is most plainly marked and shows the veining more 
distinctly. Place under a press for a short time, then 
lift the leaf, and placing it on a piece of card-hoard or 
white paper press it down with the fingers; upon 
raising it the fern or other leaf will he found upon the 
paper in clear and perfect distinctness, every vein, 
mark. and fibre plainly outlined. Flowers may he 
impressed in the same manner, and a basket formed of 
strips of paper interlaced, smoked and impressed, then 
filled with leaves and flowers, forms an exquisite ob¬ 
ject when framed and hung. Mrs. C. S. J. 
Grecian Painting.— Mrs. C. S. J. furnishes a les¬ 
son on Grecian Painting in the February number, and 
she does not state what she does with the oils or what 
she mixes the paints with—varnish or oils. I painted 
some oil paintings and oriental, and the lady I took 
lessons from mixed her paints in Dernar varnish, and 
the cold freezing weather ruined them. Was it the 
cause of the paints being mixed in varnish ? Please 
give the names of the oils used. 
EMAf4 4- SCHENCK. 
All colors used for the hack of the picture must he 
opaque and thinned with oil (for Grecian painting). 
The opaque colors used are white, black, raw and 
burnt umber; the chromes, Naples yellow, Indian 
j red and Vermillion. The transparent colors are, both 
siennas, crimson lake, rose madder, Italian pink, Prus¬ 
sian or Antwerp blue, Yandyke brown and verdigris. 
As an ordinary rule the transparent color that is used 
with white for the hack color is the ope that must he 
used to touch up on the front, mixed with megilp to 
proper shade. This does not hold good with yellows, 
which must he mixed with burnt sienna and megilp. 
For foliage use Italian pink and a touch of Antwerp 
blue. When after standing a painting breaks into 
fissures or cracks, it is caused hy the varnish not being 
of good quality ; or that it has been put on so thickly 
or has not dried properly. To remedy it, coat over 
again at a later stage with fine varnish. The oils are 
drying and nut oils; the varnishes Grecian and 
mastic. How did your ruined pictures appear ? As if 
full of crystallized radiations ? or as if the colors had 
floated off or cracked away. Mrs. C. S. J. 
Morning Glory Mats. —These are similar in style 
to Pansy mats, hut more showy and less troublesome. 
Make the centre as large as you wish of single crochet; 
for toilet mats eleven rows are sufficient; for lamps, 
sixteen or eighteen. This can he either red, pink, or 
blue zephyr. Then with white zephyr (single) put 
three double crochets in each stitch for the first round, 
one double crochet of white in each stitch for the 
Second round, then two double crochets of red (or color 
of centre) for the last round. Catch every thirteen 
double stitches together with repeated stitches of white 
zephyr, making little white flakes of a quarter or third 
of an inch in size. You have then two rows of Con¬ 
volvulus, which appear as if they had been caught out 
in a snow storm. I think these flowers might he 
classed under the head of “bizarre;” doubtless some 
of our enterprising florists will imitate them in reality 
after awhile. I must add a word in favor of these 
“ old-fashioned flowers.” I have some of the finest I 
ever saw, every variety, from pure white with delicate 
pink veinings, to deep magenta, a royal purple; they 
are called blue, hut I think only the little wild ones 
are really blue. They have escaped from the borders 
and hedges, and lavish their beauty with prodigal 
splendor over everything which seems to need adorn¬ 
ment. Even the tall weeds put in an apology for 
their presence hy waving aloft tri-colored banners. 
But the only fault one can find with these radiant 
treasures is one which applies to all terrestrial beauty 
and delight. “You seize the flower, the bloom is 
shed,” or if not exactly shed, it doubles up its fist in a 
pugnacious and threatening manner; or, as the 
peasant poet continues to say : 
“Like tlie snow-fall in tlie river, 
A moment white, then lost forever; 
Or like the borealis race, 
Which flit ere you can point their place; 
Or like the rainbow’s lovely form, 
Evanishing amid the storm.” 
ISIDORA CONVOLVULINE. 
Bible Autograph Albums.— Every one has in 
store some sort of pictures, if only those which may 
he found in the illustrated papers now so common. 
And many of you are probably the happy owners of 
nice steel engravings. Procure a pretty scrap-hook, 
paste your pictures nicely in it, and get your friends to 
exercise their scriptural knowledge hy writing an ap¬ 
propriate verse under each, accompanied by their 
autograph. 
If gilt frames are varnished with copal varnish, they 
can he washed with cold water without the slightest 
injury, 
