330 
THE LADIES’ FLORAL CABINET. 
plates as already described and cover the pieces on the 
outside with garnet plush; draw it smoothly over and 
glue it down on the inside. To get a pattern for the 
lining, lay one of the crescents on a piece of paper and 
draw a line around it; cut two pieces of pale pink satin 
to correspond with this diagram, and sew them together 
with the seam on the wrong side. With the hooks fasten 
together the two pieces covered with plush. Turn in the 
top edge of the lining and overhand it to the plush, using 
a gilt cord around the top to conceal the stitches. The 
words “ Merry Christmas ” can be painted or lettered 
with the liquid gilding. E. S. Welch. 
A Few Hints for Christmas. 
T O begin with the “ tiny baby,” which, if not in your 
house, may be in the home of some dear friend, get a 
little pair of soft-soled “ first ” shoes, either white or pearl- 
gray, and on the toes paint a tiny design of small flowers, 
either pink or blue ; as baby grows and needs a larger 
shoe these dainty little ones will be laid aside as precious 
souvenirs. 
If you wish to give a home-made doll to some older 
child, make first a rag body, well stuffed with cotton; 
then on a piece of white or cream-colored satin paint in 
oil-colors a little face (or, if not able to do this, a pretty 
silk decalcomanie face can be transferred). Sew this on 
the front of the head ; then make a little cap with a full 
border of narrow lace around the face; dress the body in 
a long white slip and add either a flannel or worsted 
sack, in pink or blue. Such dolls are really pretty and 
will stand any amount of rough play. 
Perhaps, however, you say, “ Not any more dolls, if 
you please, the house is overrun with them now ! ” And 
true enough it may be, but these very dolls are in such a 
forlorn and-dismembered state that the children hardly 
care to play with them. Is there among the ruins the 
remnants of a handsome doll, with, perhaps, a bisque 
head ? If so, why not remodel it in the following man¬ 
ner, and my word for it, the little girls will love it more 
dearly than a new and costly one. If the blonde, woolly 
hair is all moth-eaten and falling out, carefully trim it 
close to the sheepskin scalp and proceed to make a new 
wig. A discarded set of false frizzes make a very pretty 
wig ; rip carefully from the foundation, and after making 
a close-fitting cap of black net, sew on the frizzes neatly, 
and when done glue the wig on the head with strong 
glue. This finished, attach a suitable pair of arms and 
legs to the body and fasten on the head securely. Now, 
with a set of dolls’ paper patterns, costing ten cents, 
and sundry small bits of material, a very pretty outfit can 
be made. 
Do not forget a jersey, made from a cardinal or navy- 
blue stocking-leg, and a little fez cap crocheted from 
worsted to match. 
If at Christmas-time you have any illuminating or 
fancy lettering to do, either for church or home, a pack¬ 
age each of cardinal, blue, green or seal brown “ Dia¬ 
mond Dyes ” will give you as many pints of brilliant 
colors, which are easier to use and fully as effective as 
water or oil colors. 
Here is a pretty receptacle for scraps. Take an old 
paint-keg, scrape the outside smooth and paint it to har¬ 
monize with your room. Either gild the hoops or paint 
them black. Make a lining of scarlet silesia, slip it on 
the outside of the keg; tack it strongly around the edge 
of the keg with good-sized tacks ; then turn, gather the 
end, and push the lining down into the keg, just in the 
same way that you line the crown of a hat. 
If you are artistic, one of the prettiest gifts for a friend 
is a calendar, as then you are sure of being remembered 
nearly every day in the year. The loveliest one I have 
ever seen was simply twelve five-pointed stars hung up 
together by a ribbon. They were at least ten inches 
across from point to point, and exactly the same size, one 
being for each month of the year. They were made of 
stiff bristol-board, the background of each a different 
tint, the calendar neatly printed near the centre, and a 
spray of appropriate flowers painted at the left-hand 
corner. 
If you wish to ornament a table prettily at holiday or 
birthday time you can do so simply with paper and a pair 
of scissors. Get some paper, either white or tinted ; 
take a piece, say fifteen inches square, or about the size 
of a square doily; fold diagonally from point to point, 
then again, and again once more. Then with a pencil 
mark some deeply curving lines from one edge to another. 
Now follow the lines with the scissors, and when done 
cutting open out the paper and see what a pretty geo¬ 
metric pattern you have made. A little practice with 
pieces of newspaper will enable you to make some very 
pretty patterns. 
Put gay-colored ones under fruit dishes or vases, and 
the white ones over cake, bread, &c. 
Almost everyone has ornamented a screen with Christ¬ 
mas cards, and although not new it still continues to 
be one of the most pleasing ways, especially if you 
use black enameled cloth for the background. But a 
new idea entirely for screens is to use galvanized wire 
cloth. 
This material can be beautifully embroidered in wors¬ 
teds by using the ordinary cross-stitch patterns, taking 
care, however, while working to bind the edges with soft 
cloth, that the hands may not be scratched. When fin¬ 
ished tack securely to the frame, and line with cloth of a 
color that will throw out the embroidery well. 
A painted design also looks very beautiful executed 
on this fine netting, and there are many articles where 
canvas ana perforated board are often used that will 
be both novel and pleasing made of this odd mate¬ 
rial. 
I began with the babies and will end with the old 
ladies. Why not make a pair of “foot-muffs ” for grand¬ 
ma ? Get double chinchilla wool and a pair of wooden 
needles. Set up a strip a little wider than the length of 
a medium-sized foot, and knit backward and forward 
till the piece is about twenty inches long; cast off and 
sew the ends together, making a little bag; run an elastic 
in the top, so it will fit the ankle easily. Then make 
another strip in the same way to complete the pair, and 
many a cold night grandma will gratefully appreciate the 
simple gift. Louise. 
