The Indiana State sentinel., 1880-12-29
Christmas Deoorntions.

until morning.
Christmas Decorations.
Christmas Is at hand, as the boys have
not been slow to remind us. Many Of our
readers have written to US within the last
few days, asking for few hints decora-
ton; and as boys could, perhaps, hardly de-
vote few hours during their holiday to a
better purpose than In seeking to brighten
and beautify their homes, we readily accede
to the requests that have reached u3.
Letters in holly-berries on a white ground
are Christmas-like, and peas dipped in a
solution of red sealing-wax are admirable
substitutes for berries where they run short.
The blooms of eolored everlasting flowers,
close-set, have by no means bad effect, but
they are rather too ecclesiastical for house
decorations. We have, however, seen them
used with pin stuck in each blossom,
showing the head, and giving a silver hue.
Permanent mottoes are not to be despised,
as they can be stored away and used for
successive years. Illuminated lettering and
gold and colored paper letters pasted on a
white ground come under this head. Ears
of wheat on red and blue backgrounds
make effective letters, as are those IN the
well-known paper-rosette work, which re-
quires a red or blue velvet background.
A simple plan for paper letters is to cover
the design of the words with paper norets,
made by cutting rounds Of tissue paper the
size of silver dollar, sewing FIVE, one in
side the other, creasing them together, and
setting them closely side by side.
A novelty in letters made of brown paper,
rolled and fattened into the form required,
then gummed and covered with tinfOil If
this is well crumpled first, it resembles
frosted silver
Holly strung has good effect 1t is
quickly done, and looks like rich cord when
finished. 1t is made by threading pack
ing needle with the requiredlength of twine,
and stringing upon it the largest and most
curly-looking holly leaves, taking care to
pass the needle through the exact center of
each leaf.
Rice decoration Is very effective, and looks
like carved ivory. The required shape
should be cut out on cartridge-paper, firmly
glued down to It's intended foundation, and
then covered with a coating of thick, warm
paste, or very strong white gum, into which
the rice grains must be dropped. The best
plan of applying the rice is, first, to take a
small quantity in, say, paper-funnel, and
scatter over the design till dry, then pour on
more gum, and repeat the process until the
proper thickness and evenness are obtained
When finished, a sharp pen-knife will readily
remove all superfuOus grains.
Monograms made in this way. if the
shadows are picked out with Indian ink
roughly put on, give very good effect,
while alternate letters of rice and sealing
wax berries looks very pretty.
Notices and monograms in white cotton
wool have the effect of snow. They are
produced by cutting out the letters in thick
white paper, and pssting over them an ever
piece of clean white cotton wool, which is
when dry, pulled out so as to give it a fluffy
or snowy appearance. The letters should
afterward be carefully trimmed with
sharp pair of scissors, and mounted on
ground of colored paper.
In the decoration of walls, it has been
suggested, by competent writer on, this
subject, that some changes of a novel char
acter may be introduced by plunging the
punches of ivy-berries-which are common
almost everyw where-into hot, but weak,
solution of starch, and then dipping them
into powdered blue. red, yellow, or even the
powder-bronze sold at the cOlor-shops.
Verditer, smalt, or what is known as limo
blue, are the best blues, as they do not lose
their colors by candlelight.
The sprays may be brushed with either
the starch or weak gum-water, and then
busted lightly with dry, powdered starch
mixed with glass frosts. Of which white and
green are the best and most effective. These
sprays, when judiciously added to the dining
room decorations, give a brilliant effect to
the warm paper. The white and green
frosts must alone be used in the few sprays
OF the holly admissible in the drawing-room.
The Christmas-tree will look, too, none
the worse if the gum water is brushed on its
prickly foliage hero and there, and common
salt sprinkled on it. This has the best effect
of frJst when seen close to, but it is not fit to
use in wall decoration. The way to make
the ordinary wreaths and pendants must be
too well understood TO need explaining.