270 
RERAMIC STUDIO 
BIRTHDAY CUPS AND SAUCERS 
Fanny Roivcll 
HE jewel of the month, supposed by all 
heathen and some Christians to be the 
) lucky stone, should be used in the decora- 
tion, wrought out, cleverly, of course, by 
skillful handling of enamels with tiny 
gold settings on the china. Pearls and turquoise we have 
suggested in ornament times without number. Now try the 
emerald, the ruby, the garnet and the sapphire. Mix the 
color with hard enamel, so hard that it must be fired enormously 
hard to glaze. Then it will not snip off. The tendency to 
snip in enamels is brought on by too much oil, in conjunction 
with soft enamel powder. Mix a tube of Aufsetzweis with 
two bottles of powdered relief white. Use only clear turpen- 
tine, no more oil. The Aufsetzweis in tube is splendidly 
hard, but is oily enough for three times its size. Oil is not 
needed to make enamels hold together in the firing, but blisters 
them and makes them frail. The same proportions could be 
mixed in smaller amounts. 
The flower of the month should be used as the first 
scheme of the decoration. Let the body coloring of the cup 
and saucer be the favorite color of the owner of the birthday, 
who is to own the cup, or the color of the birthstone may be 
used. As there is no doubt about who is to own the cup, put 
on the monogram. In the monogram comes a fine opportu- 
nity to use the jewel effect. 
The combinations of jewels and flowers suggest a wealth 
of ideas. They go most exquisitely together and should 
make the least original people strike out strongly with strokes 
in a new direction. 
January, 
February, 
March, 
April, 
May, 
June, 
July, 
August, 
September, 
October, 
November, 
December, 
JEWEL. 
Garnet. 
Amethyst. 
Bloodstone. 
Diamond. 
Emerald. 
Pearl. 
Ruby. 
Moonstone. 
Sapphire. 
Opal. 
Topaz. 
Turquoise. 
FLOWER. 
Snowdrop. 
Primrose. 
Violet. 
Daisy. 
Hawthorne. 
Wildrose. 
Lily. 
Poppy. 
Convolvulus. 
Hops. 
Chrysanthemum. 
Holly. 
JUST A FEW IDEAS THAT MAY BE ELABORATED. 
F 'or January birthday cup and saucer, use the deep crim- 
son, garnet color for grounding, under a design of pure white 
snowdrops, painted naturally, with their surrounding leaves. 
The cream white snowdrop, with its tender gray shadings, is 
a very decorative idea, and conventionalizes well, very much 
as one could arrange the December Holly. The monogram 
could be at the side of the saucer in raised paste and enamel 
effect to imitate the garnet. 
For February. Paint the primrose against a white ground 
with jewelled chain work of raised gold and amethysts in the 
design, or a border on cup and saucer may be painted with 
primrose design, and the rest of the china decorated with vio- 
let lustre, afterwards partly or lightly colored with yellow 
lustre, which contains a great deal of the coloring of the ame- 
thyst stone. Violet lustre may be used without yellow, but 
intensified in parts by a second application of violet. Flat 
gold work is the best finish for body coloring of lustres. 
For March, use the violet. Hundreds of designs that 
have been published of this popular flower would be appropri- 
ate for this. Let the flowers blend towards the crimson color- 
ing of the bloodstone, and have a border of the jewels against 
gold. 
For the April lady, the daisies may be placed on the china 
in a conventional design that brings in the shape of diamond, 
and let them be surrounded by gold and paste as a precious 
jewel would be set. These birthday cups may be very elabo- 
rate, not every day affairs. The daisy is fine for conven- 
tional ornament. 
May abounds in ideas and possibilities. The hawthorne 
is such an exquisite flower for dainty decoration. The emerald 
as a jewel may be used, or for color (grounding or tinting) 
emerald green dusts on well, or it may be used in narrow bor- 
dering inside the cup, Besides painting the May Hawthorne, 
the shape of the flower in flat gold and silver and paste may 
be used as borders on outside of cup, and on the saucer or 
around panels of the painted hawthorne. 
For June, pearl color and pink is charming. Have a pearl 
cup or a pink one, with wild roses arranged in a design, and 
have a wealth of pearls around the edge of cup and saucer, so 
perfectly placed that they will last a life time of birthdays. 
In splendid contrast for a July birth gift is the lily, which 
may be painted in miniature against a ruby ground. Or the 
lily of the valley, prettily grouped against a light ground, and 
the ruby brought in only as a border. With all of these de- 
signs there is great opportunity for clever monograms. 
For August the moonstone could be set in heart shapes, 
and masks of the lion's head could hold the shapes together, 
for the lion is also the emblem of August. The poppy could 
intertwine and hold the shapes. Pink or crimson or yellow 
poppies suggest great variety to choose from for coloring. 
For September the convolvulus or morning glory sug- 
gests strength of colors, and delicacy, and the sapphire tones 
in well, either for a tint or for a jewel. Where the cup flares 
a great deal, follow the English custom of painting the inside 
of the cup and the saucer alike, giving a solid tinting or differ- 
ent decoration, paste on jewels to the outside of the cup. 
Rhymes, appropriate inscriptions, etc., may be placed on 
the base of the cup, or around the inside band of the cup, 
where the good wish or the toast is appropriate. It should be 
well lettered, not written, but in a style to suit the character 
of the decoration. 
October birthday is supposed to be the only lucky one for 
the opal stone, so try to give the idea by opalescent coloring 
in lustres, with a conventional design of hops as a border, a 
design three times repeated, with a centre space for mono- 
gram. 
The November chrysanthemum in miniature, as a paint- 
ing on the cup, or in spaces, with the topaz as an ornament, 
may be graceful, but we like the flower better as a border, 
with a chain of topaz stones to finish. 
Turquoise and holly for December should have some tur- 
quoise grounding, and some dainty holly berries in design. 
The leaves surrounding the berries could be of dark green 
lustre, and the berries of mineral colors. Dignity and sim- 
plicity should be regarded in large cups. Horns of plenty, 
garlands, and classic ornament are always appropriate. Per- 
sian designs could be best carried out with the chrysanthemum 
colors for November, with a topaz set in certain places. Many 
of the flowers and jewels suggest aFrench style of decoration. 
