Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1897-05-19
SAVE THE BROKEN DISHES.
Using the Pieces for Decorative Pur-
poses-An Ornam entail Blower Box.

Il
| pOses-An Ornamental Flower Box.
A dish that is broken, or even cracked,
| is usually regarded as past help, but no
woman ever casts it into the garbage
box without sigh of regret, and long
/ ing to know some means OF putting 1t to
| USE With this idea in view the broken
| pieces have III many cases been saved
and decorated with sprays of flowers to
serve for pin trays and such like. But
| this is never satisfactory, because the
| raw, sharp edges are always hurting
somebody's hand, and besides, the pieces
| collect dust and are easily broken.
The best way to dispose of them is a
method that is not new, but one that is
being revived as fad by a certain set.
| The result is almost pretty enough to
| console a housewife for the loss of her
| cherished china, and that is putting it
strong, when one considers what a large
| corner that same china occupies in her
| heart. This means of disposing of them
requires a large number of pieces, the
more and the smaller they are, the better
Thus has come about the anomaly Of
housewife lamenting over a broken tea
cup of which she is secretly glad, be-
cause, fOrsooth, it was just what she
needed to complete her new, decorated
flower box.
The only accessories needed in the
process Of saving broken china are plen-
full supplies of putty, smooth surface
4
tie of gliding. There are two methods of
procedure. One is to cover the board
| or jar with putty and pat it down smooth
and even before beginning to stick OH
the broken pieces. This method is pre-
ferable, if one has enough pieces to finish
the whole surface at one sitting. If not,
it is better to take a small lump of putty
for each piece, fitting it down and put
ting the next one into place beside it, and
SO on until the surface is covered. The
putty which oozes up between the pieces
is then gilded, and the process, so far as
the broken pieces are concerned, is over.
So far only the bare material for arti-
cles of use has been manufactured, but
there is no end to the list of uses to
which 1T may be put. Some women use
it for picture frames, others for imitation
thing or mosaic on a bare wooden man
tel. If one has large supply of broken
dishes, an ugly mantel can be greatly
beautified in this manner. 1t would re-
qulre the savings of several families for
this, however, and unless the mantel is
very small it is rather too ambitious an
| undertaking for beginner.
One OF the prettiest things I have seen
decorated with dishes is a wooden flower
box filled with growing palms. 1t was
| made to sit on veranda this summer,
and at little distance looks like a piece
of solid porcelain of great beauty AS
an ornament to the house and the sur
| rounding lawn it has already excited the
greatest admiration. During very stormy
weather it may easily be brought in the
house and placed in a sunny window.
Ugly plant jars may also be treated in
this way to advantage.
In the manufacture of the china paste.
all sorts of crOckery are used. Pieces of
pink or blue glass-the relics of colored
water sets-old Delft ware, majolica
cups and saucers, may all be combined
with chips of the very finest china to
form the most exquisite effects 1t re-
quires some artistic sense to obtain a
good result, but nearly every woman has
enough of this quality to insure success.
1t often happens that ones broken
dishes run out before the article is fin
ished, and as even the most enthusiastic
decorator cannot quite bring herself to
breaking up her own china for such pur-
poses she must either wait until accident
favors her, or obtain the pieces else
where.
Dealers in porcelain have discovered
this and have developed quite a trade in
broken dishes. Go to any wholesale
china firm and ask for five cents worth
Of broken china, and you will get a bas-
ketful large enough to start you work
ing on the window side of a fower-box,
after which you can take your time
about finishing the other three sides. Tea
cups and plates are the choice articles Of
the set for this purpose, the handles of
the cups being extremely decorative.
When it is all done, the whole surface
may be covered with outdoor varnish
for articles that are to be exposed to the
weather.-Newark Evening News.