Popular Pastimes for Field and Fireside, or Amusements for young and old

by Caroline L. Smith

Potichimanie is the art of imitating painting on glass or China. The most beautiful of the Chinese porcelain, Sevres, Japanese or Etruscan vases, can be so closely imitated, that none but connoisseurs can discover at first sight, the difference. The work is attractive, and very simple; the materials employed are few, and inexpensive.

First, select some plain glass vases, resembling in shape and size the particular style of China you wish to represent. You can have vases of any shape blown and fashioned for you at the glass houses.

Select your colored figures, representing the style of China you wish to imitate; let them be rich, and clear in their colors. You will need two or three small brushes, such as painters use, some strong gum water, and a bottle of varnish. Use paint for the groundwork of the color you wish to represent. The ground color of the Chinese porcelain is in general a greenish white; the Sevres a bluish white; while the Etruscan is a pale yellow. These three colors are generally all that are wanted. A delicate pink is sometimes used. For any one kind of vase, only one ground color is necessary. A pair of very fine pointed scissors will also be required.

Then proceed to cut out your figures with great care; if you can cut a trifle within your figures, all the better, for no white edges must be visible. When they are all cut, arrange them on a sheet of paper in the order in which they are to be placed in the vase, and gum them very evenly and carefully on the colored side; let them lay until the gum rather thickens and the paper on which they are colored softens; then take them up carefully and place them in their proper places on the inside of your vase; press them carefully with a bit of old linen tight to the glass, excluding all air between them and the glass, otherwise bubbles will be formed, and the work will be spoiled. When all the pictures are arranged, wipe the glass clean, except where it is covered by the pictures. After the work is dry and clean, varnish the back of the prints, and paint the inside of the vase with the ground color. Some persons pour it in the vase, and let it run around, and then carefully brush it on; some put it on near the pictures by gently tapping the glass with the brush. Great care must be taken not to let the paint run under the paintings. The antennae of butterflies and other minute objects may be imitated in gold, or by drawing them on the glass with gum water and sprinkling them with gold bronze powder. This must be done before the ground paint is laid. Gold stars scattered over some kinds of vases may improve them. You can buy sheets of appropriate designs already colored. If you prefer to color them yourself, you must be sure and have your colors clear and bright; the brighter they are the better they will appear. Where gold is introduced, it is better to use the shell or prepared gold. It is applied in the same manner as water colors, and may be used with good effect, in borders, single ornaments, flowers, insects, and to fill up when no other color is introduced. This work may be used in various ways to decorate your homes. The inside of your vase should be varnished, to give it the smoothness of China, and you can have the rim gilded. If several coats of sizing are applied, the vase may be filled with water without injury to the paint; but you can fit cups to the vases, in which to put water for flowers. Hall lamps, windows, &c., are decorated in the same manner, except that no ground color is used. Cabinet boxes, tables, and a great variety of other articles, both useful and ornamental, may, with a little ingenuity and taste, be rendered extremely elegant.

ORNAMENTS IN RICE SHELL-WORK.

The rice shells are brought from the West Indies, and are sold by measure, or by the box, at the conchological repositories. They can be bought already prepared for use, but are more expensive in that form. To prepare the rough shell for use, you must first take a long pin and free the interior of each shell from all grit or dirt; next with your scissors clip the extreme tip of the shell so as to leave a tiny hole like the eye of a needle. This must be carefully done or the shell will be spoiled, or your eyes may be seriously injured by the flying fragments. Practice soon enables one to clip them rapidly and evenly.

It is advisable to have at hand a number of small card boxes, to hold your articles. In clipping, it is well to sort the shells by the sizes, and lay them in separate boxes. Small, flat, white shells, nearly transparent, add to the beauty of the shell-work. These must be bored by a sharp needle near the stem. When all are clipped, pour over them cold water, with a little soda and castile soap. The latter should be shredded, and mixed in the proportion of half an ounce to each pint of water. Then cover your pan and place it near a good fire, or in an oven; let it remain till scalding hot, stirring now and then; then take it away, and rub the shells gently with your hands; then pour off the water and rinse the shells; add a fresh supply of water and soap only, and repeat the same process; after being again rinsed in clear water take a few shells, fold them in a soft towel to dry them, and afterwards rub them with a silk handkerchief; then place them in a dish near the fire and shake them occasionally till they are dry. Then place them in a box ready for use. They should appear polished and pearly white. Too much soap, soda, or heat will turn them yellow. Too great heat in drying will cause them to be brittle and crack, but they must be dry before using.

Next you must procure silver wire. This can be bought at gold and silver bullion makers, or at musical instrument makers. You need several sizes, the very finest thread wire to wind around the stems, a size to twist in the shell and another for stems.