February, 1921 
45 
to hold tightly the new coat. After two 
coats of paint have been applied, the furni¬ 
ture to be decorated is ready for the enamel 
finish. This should be eggshell enamel, and 
may consist of one or two coats, depending 
on the desired perfection of the finished 
work, and the appearance of the first coat 
when dry. After the final coat of enamel is 
dry, if its color is light it should be care¬ 
fully rubbed with powdered pumice and 
water, but if the color is dark, the powdered 
pumice should be moistened with oil instead. 
The furniture is then prepared to receive 
what flower-like ministrations you feel 
qualified to apply. 
Before the subject of preparing designs 
and stencils is gone into, and while still on 
that of the paint medium, the thought of the 
actual decorating will be enhanced fourfold 
if you know you may be allowed to use 
real artist colors squeezed out of tubes upon 
a palette. Such is the delightful case; and 
with them you should mix a drying oil; and 
for brushes you should select oxhair or 
sable, unless the surface to be decorated is 
of an extremely high polish, when the 
brushes should be camel’s hair. 
The Cut Stencil 
For one who has had little experience 
with the brush or no skill in drawing, the 
cut stencil provides a means to the end of 
decorating furniture which is not to be 
scorned; especially so since stencils are used 
by many professionals able to paint in any 
other way, but preferred when a certain 
effect is desired. The design to be used 
should be traced with care on a piece of 
heavy 7 manila or stencil paper, laid on a 
piece of smooth glass and the design cut out 
with a sharp knife. The edges should be 
clean and unroughened; the ties holding the 
design together should be as narrow as is 
practicable and of a uniform width. 
Applying the Paint 
After the stencil is cut and the colors 
mixed, the stencil is held on the piece of 
furniture at the desired point and the paint 
is applied through the holes. Great care 
should be exercised in lifting the stencil so 
that the design is not smeared. An apti¬ 
tude with the paint brush is now found 
useful, as some people treat the stencil mere¬ 
ly as a guide and touch up the design by 
hand after the stencil is removed. 
If you took first prize in drawing at 
school another possibility is yours to com¬ 
mand. You can copy freehand any design 
you happen to fancy, in which case you are 
not dependent on stencils, but may reduce 
or enlarge designs at will to fit your furni¬ 
ture. After you draw out your prospective 
design on manila paper, accurately follow 
its lines with the well-marked prick of a 
pin or needle, so that it is now a perforated 
pattern. Fill a small coarse cotton or linen 
bag with powdered chalk or charcoal, de¬ 
pending upon the light or dark color of the 
furniture to be decorated. Hold your perfo¬ 
rated pattern in place on the furniture and 
rub over it your pounce bag, as the filled 
bag is called. Lift up your pattern and 
you will find the design transferred be¬ 
neath. You may then proceed to paint the 
design on your furniture. 
A striping brush can be procured for 
(Continued on page 70) 
In its simpler applications paint is used in the following way 
on furniture—to give an all-over tone, to break surfaces with 
a contrasting stripe and to accent certain points with colorful 
decorations. It may be possible to make a stencil or copy 
the design from the curtain fabric. This is applied to the 
furniture either in a flat tone or in color. Courtesy of Danersk 
