Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-08-08
FROM SEEDS AnuIPODS
Pretty Triles That May Be
Made From Them.
SUMMER KNICKKNACKS
NATURES STOREHoUSE WILL
SUPPLY THE AIDS.
How to Utilize the Ordinary Things
Familiar to Every
body.
Written for The Evening Star.

W|ltten Ior Inc Evening Star
| These are the days of the year when the
| ingenious sojourner in the country finds a
| perfect treasure store Of suggestion and
| material in the infinite variety of seeds
that nature fashions for tree, herb and
vine.
| To begin with there are the canteloupo
| seeds. Dried in the sun until they are
easily separable from the pulpy f1laments
| that hold them together, and then thor
| oughly washed and dried again, they are
pearly and pretty for decorative pur-
poses as any shell or coral a hundredfold
| the cost. These little buff-colored seeds
are especially nice for screen and portiere
work. in which they are used as If they
| we're beads shells WaXed thread. or
| silk, or, better still, extremely fine pliaDle
wire, may be used to string them on. 1t
| is a matter of taste whether the seeds be
used lengthwise, sidewise, or laid fatty,
one on top of the other until they point In
| all directions, like the strings of uncut
coral OF course, many more strings OF
| them are required when they are used
vertically, but this arrangement gives an
| extremely delicate and graceful effect.
| For stringtng, seeds should be used when
not thoroughly dried, as they are then
| less apt to crack. An extra pint of pre-
| pared seeds should be reserved by the
| lossessor of screen or portiere, as with
| the artificial heat in winter few may
| split and fall away from the wire The
| two halves may be replaced with the help
| of a drop of glue, or a whole new seed
| from the pint in reserve.
Watermelon seeds. with their onyx-like
| colorins and tracery. make attrachve les
| ICONS about mantel or doorway. One OF
| the latter, arranged with sort of lam
| brequin of these dark. fiat seeds and
| straight portieres to the floor Of the light
| pearly canteloupe strings, was most Ell
fective.
Stringing Seeds.
Tomato seeds are very difficult to han
| die on account of their size. but their color,
| a soft old gold or light bronze, and their
| fine velvety texture, make them exquisite
material for mats and small bits of drap-
| cry. They have to be strung with the
| finest needle obtninable on silk as near their
| own color as possible Of like quality Each
seed must be threaded to keep 1t in
| place in the design. They repay the trou-
| BILE, for when finished the fabric is very
durable as we'll as dainty.
| To make the silky, fairy-like puffballs
OF pompous of thistledown and milk-weed
| (.'wild cotton'O, the pod should be gathered
| while still closed, the outside husk or COW
| ering removed. and the silk separated from
| the central foundation to which 1t is join
ed by the seeds at the base, and the ends
| opposite the seeds tied evenly and firmly
| together. The ends of the silk to which
| the seeds are attached are Joined, and
| when thus turned outward, to form the
| surface of the puffball. they present a
| FUZZY. bfllowy appearance not secured when
| otherwise treated.
The immemorial "cat-tail needs little
| treatment to make it an artistic adjunct
! of den, cosy corner or library, but its rich
| tints are much enhanced by gliding the
! stem and a few of the long, sword-like
| leaves. When the down begins to fall as
| 1t always will after a season or two, 1t
will be found to make delightful pillows,
soft light and impregnable to moths.
| Heads of Oats.
The graceful seeded heads Of oats and
many kinds Of grass preserved and
made attractive ornaments by dipping
them in a strong solution of variously col
ored dyes or alum. either slightly tinted or
plain For Christmas decorations, alum
, dipped or frosted grasses are especially
artistic with the green's and holly berries
| Acorns may be gilded or silvered with
good effect If twig with several fine spec
| linens and two or three leaves is selected
| The nuts should be removed from the cups
| and replaced with a drop of glue, or they
| the cluster. The leaves should be caught
| to the stem with a very fine thread of wire
| as they, too are given to parting company
| with the twig at inopportune times. A
| broad, medium sized brush and some rather
! thickly mixed gold paint will then complete
| a most effective ornament for Christmas
tree use, or to tighten up lamp-shade OF
dark rich tones, or mass of somber
| drapery.
Another way of making use of the acorn
| cup is to remove the nut and substitute for
| it a velvet emory cushion of just its size
and shape, and of any color desired. A
drop of glue supplemented by stitch or
two with doubled buttonhole twist of the
color of the cup, taken directly from the
base of the little cushion through the cen
| ter of the cup with the ends tied firmly in a
tiny knot, will keep the emory in place till
| doOmsday Two three of these tied to-
| gether with narrow ribbon make a pretty
and useful item in work basket furnishing.
Sweet Gum Balls.
The seed balls of the sycamore and sweet
| gum are very ornamental when gilded or
| silvered and tied with bright ribbons in fes-
| toon-like clusters.
Pine cones, especially the small brown
seed repositories of the spruce, easily lend
| themselves to such an arrangement. With
| their ray-like tops cut off they are good for
rustic box making, the tops being set close
| together, and glued firmly all over the out
/ side surface of the box.