The largest shells are better for baskets and heavier work, the middle size and smallest for flowers and leaves. Each kind should have its own box. Into one box cut some two or three hundred pieces of middle sized wire, about two and a half inches in length. You should collect for use various materials, such as floss silk, fine wire chenille, roman pearl beads, (the solid or grain-like bead is preferable,) coral beads, or turquoise, pink, green or yellow, red flower seeds, velvet, satin, or silver leaves and silver bullion. Having collected materials for a wreath and sprays of various flowers, commence your work by stringing your shells on your bits of wire. Turn the wire over the shell; hold the folded wire between thumb and finger of the right hand, and turn the shell round and round until the wires are firmly twisted together. Very soon you will be astonished at the rapidity with which you string and twist your shells. They look like this cut, when prepared. Much time will be saved by keeping your different sized shells separate. Having wired several hundred, you can proceed to prepare a leaf.
WIRED SHELLS.
The cut at the head of page 122 shows the leaf when made. It takes from five to fifteen or twenty shells to form a leaf; the number depends on the size of the leaf. The smallest shell forms the apex, the others graduated in size by pairs. Then take your shells and bind them together, one by one, with the finest wire or floss silk, leaving out a small portion of the twisted wire, gradually increasing the piece left out, as the plate indicates, leaving all the openings of the shell all one way; bind the stem firmly, leaving no ends of wire, as they catch in everything, besides looking untidy.
SHELL-LEAF.
To form a flower or bud, take one of the lengths of the wire, thread on a shell, and then a pearl bead, then a second shell, and twist the wire firm. The place of the bead is between the points of the two shells, and both openings meet and are not seen. The figure below shows a simple flower composed of five wired shells, firmly twisted together down to the extremity. A double flower is composed of eighteen shells, twelve small ones, and six of a middle size. These latter are arranged as in the single flower. The twelve are made into four leaflets. A few pearl beads in the center of the flower improves it. It is easy to shape them as you wish by bending the wires. A simple flower may be arranged like the spokes of a wheel.
SHELL-FLOWER.
Wheat ears (see cut on next page) may be made of any number of shells, from eight to thirty, one taken as an apex, then a pair set on either side of it and one in the center, and other pairs successively to the end, binding all firmly to the points of the shells, and putting in here and there three quarter inch length of middle sized wire to resemble the beards. Ornamental groups can be made by threading good sized shells on middle sized wires, twisting them together and winding them on a fine knitting needle. When drawn out they have a spiral form. Bind several thus formed together at the ends. Their dancing, wavy motion adds to the gracefulness of your spray or wreath. The white, round shells used as leaves are very pretty; even whole flowers are often made of them. Wire chenille and colored beads increase the effect.