PART II.

How to Decorate Furniture with Stencilling.

The idea of decorating your own furniture seems to be an extraordinary thing to many readers, and yet I hope to show you that this much to be desired consummation is quite within your reach. In the former article I gave as an illustration a portion of a chiffonier I decorated with stencilling, as can be seen by referring to it, which, by the way, is reproduced from a full-size design which was actually stencilled with the same stencils as I used on the chiffonier. Stencilling is a very simple business indeed if you will take ordinary care. Indeed the mere getting of an impression is a mechanical matter, as can be seen by the way packers mark boxes with stencils of letters. The art is seen in the way you colour the patterns and the use you make of your stencils, for with some four or five stencil plates, as I shall hope to show later, many combinations are possible; you can evolve new patterns as it were by taking a portion of one and combining it with a portion of another.

Fig. 1. Stencilled border of butterflies and sprigs with background, suggested by a spider's web. For details see Figs. 1B and 1C.

Fig. 1A. The right-hand half is white on black ground, the reverse of the left-hand half. For details see Figs. 1B and 1C.

Fig. 1B.

Fig. 1C.

Some years ago, I forget how many, I described in these pages how to cut a stencil, but I had better for the sake of the newer readers very briefly explain the method. Good drawing paper I generally use from which to cut my stencils. Draw out your design upon the paper, and with a sharp penknife cut on a sheet of glass, so that the knife travels over the smooth surface and enables you to cut a quite intricate design with ease. Have a small oil-stone at hand to keep the knife in condition, for you ought to be able to cut clean without pressure.

If you refer to the designs accompanying these articles you will notice that each form where it comes against another seems outlined in white. This effect is caused by the "ties" as they are termed. If we consider a moment we can realise that as our design is formed by the pieces we cut away an intricate design must be tied together, or the whole thing would fall to pieces. Take a simple case, the letter B. We must not cut out the letter without adopting some plan to keep the two pieces forming the loops in their place, so we tie them in so

We put a second tie in the lower loop to strengthen it as I have done in several cases among those designs given. Take another case, the flower in Fig. 1C. By cutting each petal separate and the centre as a circle we get a very effective stencil, for the "ties" give form to the design. Take them away, and instead of a daisy we should only have a circular open space of no interest. One of the arts of successful stencil cutting is to make the "ties" form part of the design, and by a little management this can be done. I don't wish to point to my own work more than to say you can learn the method of stencil cutting by referring to the designs I have given to illustrate the subject.

Peacock-feather border. The complete impression is given at 2, and requires the plates 2A and 2B to produce it.

"Ties" which are left to merely strengthen a design, and which therefore do not help the effect, can be put in with a brush while the colour is wet if it be thought desirable.

If by chance you cut through a "tie" while cutting your stencil or break one when using it mend it with gummed paper or stamp edging. By keeping your stencils in repair they will last you years and do any amount of work. When the stencils are cut give them a good coat of varnish back and front, and allow it to dry hard. This makes the paper waterproof and greatly toughens it. "Knotting," which you can procure at a good oil shop, does very well for this purpose, as it dries quickly.

Repeating stencil of fish and arrow-head, with insects and water lines. For cutting this stencil, see Figs. 4A and 4B.

Detail of Fig. 4.

Those readers who prefer it can enlarge some of my designs and cut them, but others may like to try and originate them for themselves, so a word or two to them. Make your designs simple, and you mustn't attempt foreshortening (that is, drawing in perspective), as you cannot render such an effect in a stencil. A flat treatment is necessary, as though the plant you take to found your design upon were pressed between blotting-paper, like a dried specimen. You must not attempt to be too natural. An ornamental treatment is more effective, and you want to develop the decorative features in the plant you take, for you must not think of drawing a flower or plant so much as making a design based upon the particular plant.

Detail of Fig. 4.

Birds, insects, fish, can all be cut as stencils if you attend to this ornamentalising which is necessary. The two flying birds, Figs. 5 and 6, are modelled on Japanese designs, and by a little management very excellent effects can be produced. Butterflies too can be made into very effective stencils, and in one case I have introduced a background suggested by a spider's web, Fig. 1. By only using the butterfly out of one plate and the web background out of the other we obtain a third combination as in Fig. 1A.

In the case of the large butterfly, Fig. 1A, it will be noticed that a pattern is stencilled on the wings, and to do this it is necessary to have a second stencil, Fig. 1B. I give impressions of these two stencils, Figs. 1A and 1B, so that you may see what is cut out in each plate and how the two fit together. You cut some one or two details out of both plates as a guide in placing them when in use, see Figs. 2, which requires the two Plates A and B to produce it.

Flying bird in stencil, after the Japanese.

Flying bird in stencil, after the Japanese.

In cases of stencils which repeat so that spaces of any length may be covered, it is necessary to cut a small portion of the next impression out of the stencil and put this in, so that when you shift the stencil on to take the next impression, the left side of your stencil is placed over the right-hand side of the impression first taken. In the butterfly referred to in Fig. 1, the tip of the left wing is cut on the right-hand side of stencil, which is a guide for placing the stencil when we shift it for our next impression. In Fig. 4 it will be noticed that the nose of the fish is stencilled on the right-hand side to show you, when you shift the stencil along, exactly where to place it. In stencils requiring two plates to produce them, you draw out the design and then arrange in your mind the portions you will cut out of the first plate. When you have cut them stencil them on to the piece of paper to form the second plate, and having drawn or transferred the rest of the design to this second piece of paper you cut out the rest of the pattern. By stencilling the first plate on to the second plate you see how far to cut, for it is obvious that the two plates should fit together like a puzzle and form one design. The object of having two plates is that you can obtain an impression in two or more colours. Thus in the butterfly design having stencilled the insects in the first colour you can put on the markings and web-background in much lighter colours. If the sprig is to be put in and you want it against the web-background, you stencil this latter in first, and when dry the sprigs upon it.

By cutting a design out of two plates you can get a much more elaborate design and scheme of colour. The water in the arrow-head and fish frieze, Fig. 4, is a case in point, for the water lines and flowers can be in light tones of colour, while the fish and foliage are in darker ones, and by this means relief is obtained.

Were the water lines cut out of the same plate as the foliage, it would be impossible to keep them in a distinct colour and the design would look confused. The stencil too would be very weak, as the "ties" would have to be so numerous. This is a practical disadvantage, for if a stencil is very weak it is apt to break all up while you are using it. By the use of the two plates, Figs. 4A and 4B, we get two fairly strong stencils.

(To be continued.)

[THINGS IN SEASON, IN MARKET AND KITCHEN.]

JANUARY.

By LE MÉNAGÈRE.

This is one of the coldest, if not the coldest, months of the year; the time when we most need to put on our thinking-cap in order to provide such things as will best supply that extra consumption of fuel that goes on in the human engine. Some starchy foods we must have and a goodly proportion of fats and oils—more than at any other time of the year. Now we find both these elements in grains and "pulse," peas, beans, lentils, etc., and we can supply the necessary amount of fats by good wholesome puddings that contain a little suet, and home-made cakes, also in eating a fair amount of nuts.

For breakfast every morning we might begin with a plateful of Quaker oats, "H. O.," or any other kind; these are splendid food, and however small the portion, everybody would be the better for having some. Some people like sugar with their porridge, but it is a fact that sugar does not help the digestion of oaten food—rather retards it in fact.

Coffee is better for breakfast on winter mornings than tea, for all who can take it: not because it is more nourishing, but because it possesses staying qualities, and so is more satisfying.

Eggs, bacon, fish, or a well-cooked sausage should be ready to tempt the appetite of the older members of the family, but a little stewed fruit and brown bread and butter would be better than these for children. Say stewed Peras, figs, or prunes, and a cupful of milk or coffee.

Cheese is a good and nourishing food for cold weather, perhaps because it contains so much of that essential oil that we need. Toasted cheese should never be given to anyone of weak digestion, however, for it is one of the most difficult of all things to deal with. As an experiment in the line of "savouries," I would recommend the trial of grated cheese with a plate of oats; it is by no means to be despised.

A typical menu for January would be the following—

Chestnut Soup.—Boil a pound of chestnuts until they seem tender, peel off the shell and brown skin; return the white part to the stewpan and cover with water, add a finely-minced onion, an ounce of butter, pepper and salt. Let this simmer for an hour or more, then rub all carefully through a sieve, add a pint or rather more of boiling milk and a dessertspoonful of cornflour previously mixed smooth with cold water, and stir this again over the fire until it boils. Serve fried croutons with this soup.

Lemon Soles should be filleted before frying them, and they should be dipped in beaten egg and fresh crumbs of bread and sprinkled with seasoning. Fry them to a golden brown in boiling lard or beef dripping, squeeze a little lemon juice over them and serve garnished with fried parsley.

Ragout of Mutton.—A piece of the middle neck, or the shank half of the shoulder, the meat taken from the bones and trimmed into neat pieces, is the best for this. Flour each piece lightly, lay in a stewpan with thinly-sliced onions, sliced turnip, a few sprigs of savoury herbs and seasoning. Pour over all a teacupful of water and cover tightly. Let this simmer in a corner of the oven for about two hours, and then arrange the meat on a dish, add a spoonful of mushroom ketchup to the gravy, with more water if it seems too thick, and pour over the meat.

Mash the potatoes and beat them up with milk till like thick cream; pile this up in a buttered pie-dish, and put the dish into a quick oven to brown the surface.

Mash the artichokes also and press them into a shallow dish, sprinkling breadcrumbs over the top and a bit of butter, and brown these also.

Snipe require a very quick hot oven for their roasting, and about fifteen minutes is long enough to allow. Place them on a strip of crisp toast, and some tiny frizzles of bacon with them, and sprinkle fried crumbs over. No sauce will be needed.

Chelsea Pudding.—Shred and chop very finely two ounces of suet, add to four ounces of flour into which a teaspoonful of baking powder has been rubbed, also a pinch of salt and two ounces of castor sugar, the grated rind of a fresh lemon or a pinch of spice, mix well, and make into a soft dough with a beaten egg and a teacupful of milk. Grease a shaped pudding-basin and sprinkle the inside with brown sugar, pour in the pudding-mixture and bake until it has risen well and is of a rich brown colour.

The sauce for this pudding is made by placing half-a-pound pot of plum or currant jam in a saucepan, with a few lumps of sugar and an equal amount of water. Let this boil for a little while, then strain it through a tamis and pour over and around the pudding when that has been turned out.

Suitable dishes for the dinner-table in cold weather are the following: Beefsteak pudding, Irish stew, stewed steak, sea pie, camp pie, haricot mutton, liver and bacon, etc.—very homely dishes, it is true, but good and nourishing for all that.

Avoid having large joints that would leave much cold meat on hand in cold weather. Not many families care much about cold meat when the thermometer is near freezing point, and twice-cooked meat is not nearly so nourishing as fresh, however savoury it may be made.

[OUR PUZZLE POEM REPORT: A PUZZLE-SOLVER.]