There will be no difficulty in mounting the pictures; simply paste them on the card-board with good flour-paste, and press under a heavy weight, keeping them perfectly neat and free from smears of paste on the edges. When two or more are mounted at the same time, place clean pieces of blotting-paper between, pile one upon another, and put the heavy weight on top.
Such a scrap-book should be bound in a
Home-made Book-cover,
which is made in this way:
| Fig. 320.—One Side of Book-cover with Holes cut near the Edge. | Fig. 321.—Book-cover Tied with Ribbons. | Fig 322.—Book-cover Laced together with Silk Cord. |
Take two pieces of heavy card-board a trifle larger than the book you wish to cover, make three holes near the edge of each (Fig. 320) and corresponding holes in the edges of the book, which must not be too thick—that is, contain too many leaves; pass narrow ribbons through these holes and tie in bow-knots, as in Fig. 321. If the leaves of the book are thin, more holes can be made in the back and the covers laced together with silk cord (Fig. 322).
These book-covers may be beautifully decorated by anyone who can paint in water-colors, and tinted card-board can also be used for them. They are pretty, and suitable as covers for manuscript poems or stories, or for a collection of autographs.
In making any kind of scrap-book it is very necessary that the paste used should be good. If the paste is poor, the pictures will peel off or the paste turn sour. The recipe given below we can recommend as an excellent one for
Flour-paste.
Mix one-half cup of flour with enough cold water to make a very thin batter, which must be smooth and free from lumps; put the batter on top of the stove—not next to the fire—in a tin sauce-pan, and stir continually until it boils; then remove from the stove, add three drops of oil of cloves, and pour the paste into a cup or tumbler. This will keep for a long time and will not become sour.