&fijB toadies’ S'loml Batiriet an3 Pictorial Home jSoRi|ianion 
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MY SLEEPING-ROOM. 
My sleeping-room lias received so many compli¬ 
ments, and so many have asked me how I made the 
many fancy articles which add so much to the beauty 
of a room, and which find a prominent place in the 
room in question, that I will endeavor to describe it 
in order that the readers of the Cabinet may have the 
benefit of the description. 
Blue and white are the predominating colors, but 
it may be copied in blue and drab, or any colors de¬ 
sired. I bought some turquoise blue paper and pa¬ 
pered the wall two and one-half feet above the mop- 
board ; separated it into panels, with strips of white 
satin paper one and one-half inches wide: I raised the 
bands with papier-mache, rounding with the finger. 
I then procured some embossed designs of flowers, 
pure white, and pasted them on the centre of each 
panel, raising as the bands. I had the wall above 
the panels tinted with blue, finished with border of 
blue and white, the panels being furnished with silver 
mouldings. 
My carpet is blue and white. I made curtains of 
white Swiss, taking two widths for each window, trim¬ 
ming with fluted ruffle; over these I have curtains of 
blue brocade. I made lambrequins by cutting a strip 
of the muslin fifteen inches wide, trimming with fluted 
ruffle; then I cut a strip of the brocade, the same 
width, cut in points three inches deep, fastened this 
over the white and finished with moulding. I fastened 
the curtains back with fastenings made to match the 
lambrequins. I fastened my curtains together about 
fifteen inches from the top, pinned on a small chromo, 
framed with a wreath of white leaves made by cut¬ 
ting them from white velvet in the shape of ivy leaves. 
I then cut leaves the same shape from crown muslin, 
Stiffening them with gum arabic; I pasted them to the 
under side of the other leaves, at the same time fas¬ 
tening a wire through the centre ; fastened them to a 
large wire wound with velvet, brushed the leaves 
lightly with liquid gum and dusted with glass-dust. 
I made a little stand, two and one-half feet high ;. 
covered the top with blue cambric, then with white 
muslin trimmed with fluted ruffle; the sides I covered 
with blue cambric, then with gathered muslin. I 
have hangings of white Swiss, fastened above the 
glass, and one either side of the stand. Under the 
glass I have a bracket made serviceable as a comb- 
case ; it is made of perforated paper, worked with blue 
worsted and silver paper placed underneath ; half the 
pasteboard cover is made to lift up; the whole cover 
is concealed by a moss mat of blue and white : the 
top and sides are trimmed with silvered bugles. On 
either side the glass I have a match receiver, one for 
used and the otherf or unnsed matches. These I made 
by cutting petals from blue and white velvet like those 
of a lily: brushed the wrong side of them with gum 
arabic; fastened together, using white petals for the 
inside and blue for the outside. For toilet set mats, 
I cut rounds of blue velvet two inches larger than the 
bottles, cut the edges in points ; made wreaths, as di¬ 
rected above, just large enough to allow the bottles to 
stand inside and fastened them to the mats. Made a 
pincushion of blue silk, put a side-plaited ruffle around 
the sides, and finished the top with white leaves, made 
same as before, with exception of the glass-dust. 
My handkerchief box I made by cutting two squares, 
for top and bottom, of pasteboard, also strips for the 
sides two inches wide; the inside I covered first with 
a layer of cotton batting, then with white silk quilted 
with blue; the outside I covered with blue velvet 
trimmed with a wreath of white leaves, shaped like 
maple. My glove-box is made to correspond with 
handkerchief-box. For hair-pin box I cut a large 
maple leaf from blue velvet, stiffening it the same as 
white leaves, brushed it lightly with liquid gum, and 
dusted it with glass-dust; I also fastened a small 
pasteboard box to the back of it; this makes a very 
pretty ornament, as the leaf lying carelessly on the 
side completely hides the box. 
I made a washstand the same height as toilet stand, 
covered the sides with blue cambric gathered under 
white Swiss, left, open through the centre, the opening 
being hidden by ruffles. The space under the stand 
will be found very convenient. The top is covered 
with white oilcloth, the edge cut in points ; a star cut 
out of each point and blue cambric pasted underneath ; 
for splash cloth I took a square of oilcloth pinked 
around the edge; covered this with paper, excepting 
two inches for border and an oval space in the centre 
in which was placed a .group of ferns, spattered with 
blue ink and removed the paper. I made mats to 
correspond for soap-dish, bowl, etc. T also made two 
barrel chairs. I need not give full directions for those, 
as they have probably been given many times ; one is 
upholstered with blue, the other with white over blue 
cambric ; made footstools to match. Also a tidy for 
blue chair of white canvas; worked a wreath of three 
shades of blue; worked around the edge and fringed 
out; tidies for the arms to match ; and a tidy for the 
white chair of blue worsted. 
I made my pillow-shams of Lonsdale cambric, 
trimmed with fluted ruffle; cut a piece of bobbinet 
fourteen inches long by seven wide, darned it with 
linen floss, and inserted it in the centre of the shams; 
darned a strip two and a half inches wide, which 1 
inserted in the shams two inches from centre piece; 
placed blue cambric under the bobbinet, with sheet- 
shams to match. 
Owing to the limited space, I must omit the descrip¬ 
tion of the remaining furniture, pictures, etc., which 
complete the arrangement of my room. 
Mrs. Nell C. Upham. 
AN OLD-FASHIONED ROOM MADE 
BEAUTIFUL. 
I want to tell the readers of the Cabinet how to 
make even an old-fashioned room pleasant; yes, I 
might say almost beautiful. I am a reader of the 
Cabinet, and as I glance over some of the titles, I 
see m many, 
How to Make Our Homes Pleasant.” 
I am one of the rather unfortunate ones, as far as 
Johns and Isaacs are concerned, having neither one 
nor the other. 1 also live in one of those old-fashioned 
houses, so what I write about will be from experience. 
I do not remember seeing anything about making 
straw brackets. I have just finished one, and those 
that see it say it is beautiful. Take two pieces of 
pasteboard six inches broad at the top and tapering to 
a point, for the sides, (this is for a corner) and sew 
them together at the back, then take another piece for 
the top, or shelf, five inches long in front or for face ; 
then sew on straws lengthwise, letting them come be¬ 
low the foundation ; after covering with straw, brush 
them over with black-walnut stain and varnish. It 
looks like ornamental carved work. 
We have two south windows filled with flowers, 
and they are things of beauty. I think you would 
laugh to see the dishes and pots that hold them, that 
is, if you saw 7 them as they were originally. They 
are wdiat used to be meat cans, neatly painted, and 
perhaps a picture now 7 and then to brighten them. 
When I have-tinfoil, I paste that on my rusty dishes 
and immediately they are transformed into silver ones. 
I had a plant given me one day, but could not find an 
empty dish to put it in. I searched for a long time, 
and found nothing but an old coffee pot. 
“ Oh, dear ! ” says sister Nettie, “ do for pity’s sake 
find something better than that.” 
But I already had an idea (‘ ; a bright idee,” as 
grandpa says). I took the pot—a tin one—made 
some holes in the bottom, filled it with earth, and then 
began w'ork in earnest. I painted it drab, with a rim 
or edge of red ; but still there was the spout to be 
seen sticking out on one side. It did not look right, 
so putting a small tunnel in the spout, I filled that 
with earth, and painted it to correspond; then taking 
an old tin cup, I wired that to the handle and finished 
with the others. I planted ivy and yellow 7 myrtle in 
the small dishes and a scarlet geranium in the centre. 
I have never been ashamed of my novel arrangement 
in regard to that dish. 
But I want to tell you how 7 I treat my ivy. I had 
one last winter that ran seventy-two feet, which I 
looped or festooned all around the room. I take hen 
manure, sand, and good rich earth in equal parts, mix 
thoroughly. I think there is nothing better. 
But I will return to my subject. Did any of my 
readers ever make husk-mats ? I have made two. 
Take the inner husks of Indian corn, then with a 
common table fork split the stiff ends as finely as con¬ 
venient; then braid, leaving the fringed edge out 
about-two inches to form a soft-looking surface. I 
colored mine blue and red, dipping the ends in dyes 
made as for ribbons, etc. I used aniline dyes. I have 
also made a hanging-basket of husks. I think it is 
quite equal to the phantom-basket. I have in my 
mind a pretty picture frame made from them. I have 
not made it yet, but think I can. I have been making 
some pretty frames of straw which I colored at the 
same time. 
I hope you have all tried the barrel chairs. 1 think 
every one ought to make one at least. I often read of 
some one that has made this thing, and that thing, 
but such almost always have a John to do the carpen¬ 
tering. Now 7 , I have to do all this myself. I have 
learned to saw 7 by a mark, and get it straight, too. I 
i have been making a table from a w-ooden box in the 
| garret. I have not had it on exhibition yet, but think 
I will for the benefit of the readers of the Cabinet. 
; I had a cunning little bracket given me to hold a vase 
of grasses. I prized my gift, but had no ornamental 
vase to put there. I did not have a chance to get one, 
so I had to make one. I took some pasteboard, wet 
it with warm water, and pressed it on to the sides of a 
wine glass, that is, so the sides would just meet nicely, 
and left them to dry. After this was perfectly dry, 
I covered it with tinfoil and made the standard stiff by 
pressing some putty on the inside. I have never been 
ashamed of it, although placed in a room wdth things 
of more value. When this is filled with pressed maple 
leaves, with a few 7 stalks of oats and grass, I think 
I you would say it was pretty enough for anyone. 
I found some green moss in a kind of spring or 
| shallow well. I spread it on paper and dried it, and 
it has kept its color for a whole year. I used mine for 
a mat for a fern basket. I took common shavings from 
pine or cedar and braided : then formed into a basket 
and sewed it. 
I hope the readers of this paper w'ill try these things. 
Homely though they may seem, I am sure they will be 
fully repaid. Aunt Sue. 
