HOME IDEAS.

Auckland Star, Volume XXX, Issue 8, 11 January 1899, Page 3

HOME IDEAS.

At one time ol_ my life I was haunted by large gilt frame mirrors belonging to a house that I had temporarily taken; they worried me exceedingly and yet I dared not tamper with their gilded scrollwork, for my tenancy was only for a year, and the damages I would have had to have paid would have been more than the rental. The mere twisting and turning of art muslin did not satisfy my aesthetic soul, for the gilt would show through and

the drapery would present nothing but the effect of fly-protecting earn vas, giving me the character of wishing to treat with fostering care rather than annihilate my enemy of gilded curves. I cut out, after the pattern you will see in this sketch, a yard and a quarter of moss-green velveteen lined out with linette edged with a ball fringe, and then painted upon it with metallic paints a conventional design of Itenaissance character; above this I festooned some light striped Algereen fabric, which met on one side a plain curtain of green Roman satin lined up with a pinky terra-cotta shade of silk, on the other side the drapery fell in fan revers, showing the lining of every fold. This was the most elaborate of all the lookingglass draperies, and was repeated in a mantel-border below, velveteen being again the foundation, the hard effect of which was softened by the little corner draperies which can be better noted in the sketch than I can describe them. I followed out this idea in all the rooms, using serge, cretonne, velveteen, apd Boman satin as best suited their acquirements and my pocket, but in every case I found that the framing of the top of the glass with these curves of heavy material had the most happy effect and did away with insignificant twists, and folds and that terrible fly-protective effect. In one room I cut these curves after the fashion of a Moorish doorway in bright red velveteen, and then braided it with gold and hung yellow satin draperies on either side. This was over a small fireplace .with a narrow, oblong glass, and the result of introducing a touch of Orientalism fell in well with the rest of the decoration of the room.

Not at all a bad way of raising money at a bazaar is to dress up a little girl as a gipsy, carrying a fortune telling doll in her. hand, and charging sixpence for all the peeps into futurity, given by the rustling paper skirts of the doll itself. And this is the way the doll should be made. Get any inexpensive doll which would stand about a foot high, 'darkhaired and complexioned /being preferable if it is 'to play the part of the gipsy, the legs must

be cut off (no doubt there are some boys in the household who would rejoice in this amputation, especially if they were told not to), and each of the paper sections which form the skirt must be firmly attached to the body. The number of sections required depends a good deal on the paper used, but something like pne hundred and fifty will certainly be needed, and as many colours as can be obtained should be pressed into service. A good size for each section is 8 inches by 4, and it should be cut after the shape shewn in Fig. 1. The next thing to be done is to mark the sections with suitable mottoes, not forgetting the stereotyped ones of 'Beware of a dark lady.' 'You will be taking a journey shortly!.' 'Money is coming to you frOm, over the sea.' 'Your self-conceit stands in your way.' 'Be frank, but do not be unreserved to people you do not know.' 'Be sure pou have not misplaced your confidence.' 'The persons who accompany you have not let you know their opinion of you,' and so forth and so forth.. Then fold the part of the paper on which these words of wisdom are written upwards until a half circle is made where, the dotted lines run in the drawing. The next thing is to fold the paper in half clown the* middle, which will produce the effect shown in Fig. 2; then a strong thread must be run through the top and again half way down, which will draw the various sections into the proper dimensions. At children's parties, as well as at charitable entertainments, these fortune-telling dolls give rise to a great deal of amusement, and at Christmas time they may even take the place of crackers at dessert. Forewarnings of a gloomy character should be avoided, as with nervous, imaginative people it is difficult to say what harm might be done.