Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1880-04-03
DECORATIVE ART.

FERN BASKETS. fern baskets
may be made with old corks, which are
broken into rough pieces and strung on
wire, which is nodded into the shape re-
quired. The corks sometimes are threaded
whole and then cut with sharp knife to
resemble carving The pieces of corks
threaded on wire may be wound around a
big wire basket, the handle being formed
in the same way.
SCRAPS. Picture scraps may often be
used with capital effect. Small rooms, and
nurseries especially, papered with them
and afterwards vanished, afford great en-
tertainment; cornices may be made of
them to run all around the wallpaper. with
about two inches of gold foil between
each and black bordering Wooden fire.
boards and Holland mats may also be COW
cred with them; these must, of course be
vanished.
wER-PoTs.-Common garden flower
pots can be made ornamental by giving
them coat of paint, and then painting on
them landscapes, flowers or figures. Cheap
wooden wardrobes and other articles of
furniture can be improved by painting
them black and ornamenting the panels
with flowers rather larger than life. Storks
and bulrushes, sunfowers, lilies, large
daisies and peoples all look well.
PHoToGRAPH FAN.-To make a photo
graph fan, cut out the shape of each Sec
ton of fan in moderately thick card
board; there are twenty-four, therefore
forty eight must be cut out, as, when each
side is done, the blank sections must be
gummed together. Select the larger pho
tographs for the top, and the smaller ones
to 90 on as it gets narrower. Of course
they must be taken off the cards Varnish
each slip, and string them together as
real fan is made. Remember, in arrang-
ing the photographs, that space must be
left for the cut where the ribbon passes
through, and let it be in some portion of
the dress or furniture, and not in any part
of the face or figure, which would spoil the
general effect.
SKELETON FERNs.-Bleached skeleton
ferns may be laid on photograph book COW
ers, wooden trays, and blotting- books, and
vanished. They look specially well on
black painted wood, when, if laid close to-
gether, they resemble an inlay of ivory.
A plain table with one drawer makes quite
pretty writing table by staining it black,
and then laying the ferns on border round
the top and around the drawers The
ferns can also be applied to velvet frames,
when the whole should be covered with
white tulle of the finest and most invisi-
BILE description A blue velvet-covered
board, for placing in a fireplace during
summer, may have a centre bouquet OF
skeleton ferns lightly covered with tulle,
and border of lace quite at the edge.
CURTAINS Lace or muslin drawing
room curtains are often in England draped
across the window, crossing each other
halfway up the window, rather high than
low, and the curtain which starts from the
right-hand side is draped or fastened back
at the left, and an enormous bow of silk
ribbon, either crimson or blue, or whatever
best harmonizes best with the furniture of
the room, is fastened on the curtains where
they are crossed in the center Others
have each curtain fastened back by some
what smaller bow. When lace curtains
are hung in the once-usual style-that is,
the lace edges meeting in the center
of the window, a third curtain is
now used, or rather blind of plain
book muslin; this is placed directly
over the window without any full
ness, and serves the purpose of muslin
blind, only that it reaches to the ground !;
it softens and tones down the glare with
out darkening the room. These muslin
blinds are not used in the country when
good view is obtainable from the windows,
but are very general in London drawing
rooms Some ladies use curtains entirely
of book muslin, instead of lace, with deep
pc ted frills at the edges these are
pretty and economical. Lace curtains
are now never draped over curtain
holders or raised from the ground, but
are tied back with bow. Again, when
expense is no object, border of quaint
Oriental embroidery or silk tapestry is
placed on or near the edge of lace curtains !;
when on the edge, frill of lace is added to
give a finish to the border, which has a
very good effect Curtains formed OF
strips OF lace insertion, alternate with
strips of Turkey red twill, finished with a
border of lace, are very pretty and much
adopted by ladies, when they contrast well
with the surrounding furniture they last
clean long time, and are not more expen-
sive than curtains entirely of lace; more
expensive materials than Turkey twill are
employed for these insertion curtains, as
strips of brocade, colored silks, or even
satin.