Ingredients
- one after
- half shells of horse chestnuts glued on the box in rows
- one chestnut
Directions
Make a box six inches deep and long enough to fit the window. If the window has a ledge on the inside, the box had better be made the width of the ledge. If not, and you have many flowers, make it
102 FLO WERS.
twenty inches wide. Many ways are given for decorating the outside. Some take oilcloth of a pattern to imitate tiles. Some use cloth of a geometrical design, or of bright colors. Others use wall paper — that with storks, palm trees and tropical designs seeming to be the favorite. This can be pasted or glued on, or, if preferred, tacked on neatly, and a narrow molding put around the top, sides and bottom. Others are painted or made of rustic work ; some are covered with a mixture of acorns and shells. Cut the acorns lengthways, cover the box with thick furniture varnish ; lay the acorns flat side down along the edge and bottom of the sides, one after the other; on the open space affix them in any fantastic shape liked, then sift the powdered shell thickly all over the box between the acorns.
A pretty box for stone or gray houses is to paint them the same color as the house, then sift sand upon them in the same way ' hat imitation stone fences are made. The half shells of horse chestnuts glued on the box in rows, top, middle and bottom, with dry tendrils of grape vines fastened from one chestnut to another, so as to represent a vine, is very pretty. After this is done give the whole a coat of common var- nish, and then sift the sand over all. Prune seeds can be split in two, and glued on in fantastic shapes. Spread a coat of thick glue on inter- vening spaces, and sprinkle on rice v/hile the glue is yet soft. After all is thoroughly dry, paint the rice carefully with brown paint, and varnish the whole box.
Another one, made to imitate walnut, is made in this way • Stain the box, and put around the top and bottom wall paper bordering, the kind that is used to imitate walnut, or the same may be used to imitate the oak shades, with a darker shade for bordering. Give this several coats of varnish, and it will stand a whole season, even if placed out of doors. Those who live convenient to the woods can make handsome and durable ones by splitting small twigs, about an inch thick, in two, and nailing them on the box in perpendicular shape. If they have rough bark on so much the better. A grape vine can then be split in two, and nailed on over it in irregular shape, as a vine would grow. Then make leaves and berries out of putty, into which burnt umber has been worked to make it the color of walnut. Spread out the putty as you would dough, and take a natural leaf of some kind for a pattern. Cut out with a knife, and vein the leaves by slightly indenting them with a wood toothpick. Make the stems and tendrils of putty by rolling between the hands. Then nail all on with small brad nails. W'iien the putty is dry it will be as durable as wood.
Very pretty boxes can also be made by covering them with pine cones of gray lichens.
The inside of these boxes should be lined with zinc, tin, or painted, arid a thick covering of pounded charcoal and sand put in the bottom.
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Some plant the flowers in the boxes, but they grow better by placing the pots in the box. In this way they can be turned to the light as needed, and if any die they can be removed without disturbing the rest of the plants. The pots can all be made the same height by placing sand under the small ones. Put over the top a layer of green moss.
Where there is no window ledge on the inside, and the box is desired for indoors, legs, which can be had at a turning-mill, must be fastened to the box, and castors inserted, so that it can be easily moved.
A small table or stand will also do for this purpose, or a bench, the length and breadth of the box, may be made of pine wood, painted black and covered, not too thickly, with scrap-book pictures. If Japan- ese figures are used, it will be all the more fashionable and artistic looking.
Pretty boxes can be made of any common wood, by simply staining them with asphaltum varnish. Then varnish with several coats of copal. After they are well dried, take some pumice stone and polish them. If necessary, varnish carefully once again. Your common pine wood will then be turned into black walnut, highly polished.