Evening star., 1945-12-17
Last>Minute Gifts to Make at Home

What do you collect? Menus 4. .
match folders Christmas cards
=. aviation prints :. 4. travel post
cards =. Valentines period pic
lures snap shots? The chances
are your collection is growing old in
cupboard or q drawer some place
when it might just as well be lead
ing q life Of usefulness. Now at the
holiday season, you might use your
collection as motif for last-minute
gifts you can make. 80.
Here are ideas to consider: Ar
range your collections into a de-
sign for a bridge table top, cement
ing them onto a piece of heavy
drawing board, then covering the
whole business with layer of trans
parent plastic film. Or if it isn't pos
sible to get just a plastic cover, you
could protect the surface with sew
eral coats of shellac. The same idea
would work for a tray or a coffee
table top. =.
Or use an interesting menu as a
mat for a photograph taken on the
same trip you collected the menu.
Or cover handy small or big box
with some of your collection prints.
Use them as the pattern for a screen
or an over-mantel panel. -.
Another favorite and quick-to-fin
iSh idea would be an album cover
patterned with items from a collec-
ton Of prints or clippings. This
would be an especially thoughtful
| gift for some one who also collects
oddments Of the same category.
Lamp shades for informal rooms
are amusing if decorated with items
from an interesting collection. Ce-
'ment them onto the lamp paper
shade. Old sheets of popular music
are fun for this purpose, as are old
newspaper clippings of special
events. Or sometimes drawings or
spelling and arithmetic papers that
the children bring back from school
are amusing to use for lamp
An illustrated county map is what
our 10-year old son is making for q
Christmas present to his grand
mother. And it's turning out to be
both interesting and decorative. We
happen to live in a very historic
county-where lots Of Revolutionary
leaders left landmarks (John Jays
old home, Washington's headquar-
ters during the Battle of White
Plains, Tom Paine's old home)-
with Henry Hudson's route following
our Hudson River boundary and the
Dutch and Indian traders leaving
their trail along the Long Island
Sound shores. In addition, there are
many literary landmarks, such a.
Sleepy Hollow where Washington
Irving wrote of Rip Van Winkle and
the headless horseman i. and the
old James Fennimore Cooper home
where 1.-The Spy" was written abou,
the legendary Harvey Birch. Not ts
mention a very early Friends Meet.
ing House. :. as well as Sing Sing
both of which Little Boy Blue ha.
drawn with gusto. -.
Why wouldn't this be a good ides
'tfor Christmas gift for the extra.
difficult name on your Christina,
list? Such map could be made BY
/ old or young artists, and great skill
isn't essential. In fact there,
| 10 charm in casual folk-art tech,
nique. Locate the interesting places
|, the historic points, the landmark
! in your county, the roads, the home
5 Of friends. Or you might make ,
: map Of your city or your State, 10
eating the points of personal, a
! well as historical, interest.
Map drawing isn't really hard
Get the correct outline from goo,
road map and locate the points o
interest, draw gay sketches, ad,
trees, mountains, rivers in colors
even flowers if yours is very flow
: cry country. You'll be surprised a
! ! how much pleasure such a map vii
I bring to the person who has every
) thing.
!. It sounds very obvious to speak G
e giving gifts for the home thi
oil Christmas. For, after all, aren
E more new homes being establishe
eI than perhaps in any year OF our his
Il tory? And doesn't home have q NOR
II than usually important meaning l
this f1rst Christmas Of peace2 !.