The market basket will, from time to time, furnish the housekeeper with small circular boxes labeled: Electro-Silicon Silver Polish. These wooden boxes, measuring 8 inches in circumference and 12 inches in height, make, when prettily ornamented, very attractive drums.
Remove the cover of box, and place on its inner rim a coating of Spaulding's glue. Place the cover on the box again, and put aside until it is fastened. Place the box on a sheet of stiff white paper, and holding it firmly, draw a pencil line around its edge. Now remove the box, and you will see that you have outlined a circle. Using this circle as a model, draw a second circle. Cut out these circles, following the pencil very accurately. These two circles form the two heads of the drum, and are to be pasted on the top and the bottom of the box. Gild the circular surface of the box. Cut strips of red or blue paper, measuring 8½ inches in length and 1½ inches in width. Brush the under surface of these strips with paste, and place one strip at the top and one at the bottom of the drum, ¾ of an inch above the rim of the drum. These strips answer to the wooden bands which hold the drum heads in place. Red, white and blue baby ribbon may be carried from the upper to the lower edges of the drum if desired to represent the cords which hold the drum securely.
Little wooden sticks, gilded and tied at the side of the drum form the drumsticks.
The smaller Electro-Silicon boxes, measuring 2¾ inches in circumference and 1 ⅓ inches in height, may be used in the same way.
Rosettes (Red, white and blue tissue paper, a strong needle, white sewing silk, white library paste or well-made flour paste)
Lay nine sheets of tissue paper one upon another, alternating the colors, red, white and blue. Fold these sheets together very smoothly once, thus making 18 smaller sheets if they were cut apart, but do not cut. Lay a silver dollar or fifty-cent piece (depending upon the size required) at the upper left-hand corner of paper. Draw a pencil line around the rim of the silver piece. Move the piece of money to the right and draw another circle. Continue this drawing circles until you have covered the surface of the paper.
Thread a needle with the sewing silk, knot the end of the thread and take several firm stitches through the center of each circle in order to hold the sheets of paper together. With sharp scissors cut out each paper circle, and fringe by cutting, but not too finely, from the edge to within ⅛ of an inch of the center of the circle. Hold the knot on the under side of the circle between the thumb and forefinger of the left hand. Slightly moisten the forefinger of the right hand and brush gently over the fringed surface toward the center of the rosette. At the back of each rosette put a bit of paste, then lay rosettes on strips of paper one inch in width. Do not overlap the rosettes, but arrange to allow the edges to touch.
These strips of rosettes may be used as festoons. As decorations for cakes or dishes of fruit they can be used most effectively.
Shields for Luncheon Cards (Cardboard, red and blue paper, baby ribbon—red, white and blue, gold paint, water-color paints—red and blue)
Attractive luncheon or supper cards, suitable for patriotic occasions, may be made in the form of shields. Turn to the fourth page of Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, and find the shield used as the American Coat-of-Arms. This shield, enlarged to a size measuring 2½ inches in length and 2½ inches in width across the upper part, forms an excellent model. If one does not draw habitually, use tracing paper when tracing the pattern. If one uses watercolor paints successfully, paint the deep blue band across the upper part of the shield, and the twelve red stripes running from the band to the lower edge of the shield. For those who do not paint, dark red and blue paper may be substituted very successfully. A touch of gold paint on the edge of the shield adds greatly to the effect.