Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1879-07-17
inexpensive Household Decorations.
1rrom = nu,,srick = Co., pslinsa,or,


the word "homel" The weather beaten mar
liner, the weary traveller, the profiigate son.
all dwell upon it with "feeling Of sadness
and longing that is akin TO pain !" and
"The patriots boast. where'er we roam,
His frst, best country ever Is at home"
Al old but beautiful proverb says, "home is
home, though it be never so homely;" but
how attractive may net that iowly home be
made by the artistic taste and inventive mind
OF woman! II does not require riches to make
home beautiful, for the cosiest and prettiest
OF homes may be furnished with compare
lively slight expenditure of money. Neither
does beautiful home necessarily require
handsome furniture, rich drapings and grand
pictures. How many cheerful and cha rming
homes are there, which were il not for dain-
ty homemade articles effectively and grace
fully disposed in hooks and corners, would
indeed be cherries as habitations
When furnishing home, the first thought
should be in regard TO the appearance Of the
walls. Sleeping apartments and kitchens are
effective when painted, but if this be too ex-
penslve an undertaking, little coloring ma
terial, such as Prussian blue, ultra-marine
blue, chrono-y elbow or lake, according to
the tint required, may be mixed with the kali
somine, the effect of the latter when properly
applied being Just as satisfactory as paint.
SItting-rooms, parlors and dining-rooms are
very pretty when either painted or papered,
paper being the least expensive, unless il be
OF superior quality.
Tides for chairs and sofas covers for Ia.
bles, and mats for the various vases and mis-
ceilaneous ornaments TO stand upon, add
much to tn charm of room and their cost
is cut TITLE when made at home. Pretty
and inexpensive articles of this sort are
made OF Java canvas embroidered IN fancy
designs with woods of uniform or shaded
tints. This canvas can be purchased in sew
eral different shades OF red, yellow, drab and
brown and also in black and white. The
color of the worsted may either contrast or
harmonize with the canvas, one, two or
three contrasting shades being the most eff.
fective when tasteiully commingled in the
pattern. 'sDaisy" tides are dainty in effect
ard easy to make, and the material required
Tor them costs but mere trifle. They are
made of bleached muslin, white lawn or
Swiss muslin. cut in circles about two or
three inches in dia me ter and gathered close
" about the edges, which are by this means
drawn to the center of the circles on the up
per side where they are concealed under a
rosette of bright yellow wors;ed. These IL
Tie "daisies" which bear striking resem-
Nature, are Joined together in star, diamond
or other fanciful shapes, and are very pretty
when fastened to the back of the chair.
lounge or sofa. Sometimes red, blue, pink,
or violet worsteds are used, but the effect is
not so natural and consequently not so much
admired. A toilet-set always consists of a
bureau or dressing. case cover, pn-cushion
and two small mats, all of which may be
of embroidered Java canvas
An airy set may be made of paper muslin
or Silesia, overlaid with plain or dotted
white Swiss, bordered with deep lace or
lace-edged ruffles of the material. The paper
muslin should De Of some delicate shade of
blue, pink, gold or green, or else OF cardinal
red, and should be cut to fit the bureau or
dressing-case smoothly. The top is bordered
with ruiiles of the same neatly pinked out at
the edges, and after being fastened smoothly
to the bureau, is overlaid with the Swiss
cover. through whose delicate, transparent
texture the color of the under-cover is pref
tily displayed. The cushion and mats,
should be made to harmonic with the cover
Paper muslin is preferable to Silesia, as 1t
holds the lace out better, and when the I'M
glazed side is turned out, the difference is
not perceptibe unless closely examined.
Pretty corner-brackets may be made of
pieces Of common wood, cut TO fit snugly in
the corners, and covered with embroidered
canvass, or with ca shmere, flannel, merino
or silk, either painted, embroidered. or dec
GRATED with decalonaanie pictures. These
little articles very effectively decorate vacant
hooks, and may be made TO a tiny. statuette,
pretty shells, a vase of flowers or other taste
full ornament.
To keep house orderly, and to prevent
newspapers, journsls, etc., occupying every
table, chair and stand in the room and even
the floor, as the thrifty housewife too often
finds them so disposed of by her forgetful
better-half, there should be wall-pockets or
paper-receptacles of some kind. These arti
cles may be made of pasteboard covered with
colored or fancy paper of some kind, or with
cashmere, silk, embroidered canvas or any
other desirable fabric. Decalconaanie pic lures
silk or ribbon ruehings, gilt paper bordering.
hand embroidery or painting will decorate
them charmingly. A dainty wall pocket
can be shaped by model No. 6599, price sd.
Sterling or 10 cents; and one of the handiest
and.prettlest of paper holders by model No.
66oS which also costs Sd. Sterling or 10
cents.
Beautiful little receptacles for flowers and
miscellaneous articles can be made of splints
spirsls or straws and bright coloIed worsted
or narrow ribbon or chenille. Frames for
small pictures, dainty baskets, easels, sewing
baskets, hair-receivers ana many other USE
full and pretty articles are made of splints and
their cost is the merest trife.
For large pictures and small ones for
which frames cannot be conveniently pur-
chased, very effective frames Can be made of
paper muslin. No doubt but that pa
per-muslin picture holders will sound queer
10 hptc mill ~ fha IF
such a thing, but they are really pretty
when .astefully constructed, and the sugges-
ton will be readily siezed upon by the home
loving woman, who likes TO adorn her house
bnt is sometimes very much puzzled TO know
how to do so with a small sum of money.
The paper muslin may be either black or
very dark brown or a cardinal shade, as
these resemble most closely the coors of the
dark wood usually employed in ;he manufac-
ture of such articles; or it may be of any of
the gold shades to resemble gilt. II is cut in
strips of width to suit the size of the pic
ture-and joined together. One style of
frame has the edges pinked out, with the
strips laid in double box. plais made very
close together and tackled through the mid
die of the frame under soft tufts of bright
colored worsted. Another kind has the
strips shirred through the center and at each
end over thin wire. Both kinds are pretty
and may be used in the same room to
give variety. After the muslin is shirred or
plated, the picture is fastened at the edges
20 thin board or piece of thick paste
board, which should extend sufficiently be-
yond the margin of the picture to support
the frame. The plated or shirred muslin is
then fastened by tiny lacks to the board and
single bow of ribbon is placed at each cor
ner. The wired frame should bulge outward
at the center and the plated frame may be
left perfectly fiat, or the opposite ends of the
plaits may be caught together with charm.
ing effect.
The seovelest of all lovely things'' with
which to adorn a home. are the beautiful
flower and foliage garnitures of Natures EN-.
erald robe. Their bright looks and delicate
perfume are soothing TO the heart, and their
presence "makes sunshine in shady place."
There are many simple methods for COM
bining Towering and foliage plants so as to
be pretty and effective. One very ornamen-
tai receptacle for them is the window-box,
which may be of plain wood, painted and
vanished, and then decorated with decalco-
mamie pictures, hand-painting, vanished rus
tic sticks crossed over its surface, or in any
other way most pleasing TO the taste. Ultry
marine blue, carmine, vermillion, black and
very brown are the prettiest colors for such
boxes, which, after being PAINTED, are care.
fully vanished over, so as TO prevent the
paint from too rapidly wearing off
Very handsome boxes are made by dividing
the long sides into three equal sections, each
of which is of different color the first be-
ing black, the middle one carmine or vermil-
ion, and the third ore ultra marine blue. A
narrow piece of gilded molding or piece