The American Girl's Handy Book

by Lina Beard

  The Fair.

  Fig. 336.—Framework for the Canopy of a Booth at a Fair.

  Fig. 337.—Block of Wood Fastened on the side of Table.

  Fig. 338.—Construction of Framework for the Canopy of a Table at a Fair.

  Try and have a variety of shapes and sizes in the booths, and avoid sombre dulness and monotony. Let the room fairly sparkle and shine with light and color.

  To make a tent-like covering, firmly bind a large-sized Japanese umbrella to a pole, and fasten the pole in the centre of the table. To hold it securely, make a bench of two pieces of board, with a hole through the centre of each, and join them together by a block of wood nailed in each end (Fig. 339). The bench can be made fast to the table by screws put through from the under side of the top of the table.

  Fig. 339.—Bench for Holding a Pole as a Support for a Canopy of a Booth.

  In erecting the canopy place the end of the pole in the bench and it will be steady and firm. Attach pieces of string to several ribs on each side of the umbrella, stretch the strings down and fasten the ends securely to the table; paste over the strings bright-colored tissue-paper fringe (Fig. 340). Cut the paper four or six thicknesses, and when pasted on turn the fringe part uppermost, so it will look fluffy and not hang down in a tame, fringe fashion. When a red umbrella is used, and the strings are covered with fringe of the same hue, it looks very pretty. Be extremely careful that no light comes dangerously near the tissue-paper, or any other inflammable material; all the decorations must be arranged with a view to perfect safety from contact with gas, lamp, or candle.

  In decorating the room remember to mass your color so the effect may be broad. If the colors are too much mingled the effect will be weakened, and in some cases lost entirely.

  Fig. 340.—Tissue-paper Fringe.

  Paper-flowers and plants in great abundance will be needed, and if you can persuade all your friends, as well as those actively interested in the fair, to make paper-flowers or plants, they will prove very acceptable, and after the fair is over the floral decorations can be safely stored away to do service again on like occasion. Large, showy flowers, like peonies, dog-wood, and magnolias, as well as large-leaved plants, are best to use, though the smaller ones look well in a few places.

  In making

  Flowers for Decorations

  we aim at general effect, with less regard to detail than if the blossoms were to be used in other ways. Fig. 341 is a pattern of the dog-wood. Cut the flowers of white writing paper and make them quite large. Use wire to fasten them to a natural branch, and imitate nature as nearly as possible in the arrangement of the blossoms.

  Fig. 341.—Dog-wood.

  If you fold the paper a number of times and then place your pattern over it, you can cut out six or eight flowers at once, and save both time and labor.

  Peonies are made of white, pink, or red tissue-paper, cut in squares of about eight inches each and pinked on the two opposite edges. Twelve squares are needed for one flower. With your fingers gather the squares up in the centre (Fig. 342); then fold over the pieces, as in Fig. 343; when all are ready string them on a wire and shape the bunch to resemble a peony; twist the wire up tight and fasten the petals together, leaving a length of wire for a stem.

  Fig. 342.—Peony Petal Gathered through the Centre.

  Make the cherry-blossoms (Fig. 344) in clusters of five or seven each, and attach green leaves (Fig. 345) cut in different sizes. Fig. 346 shows the method of giving the leaf a pretty, crimped appearance. By holding the point of the leaf firmly under the head of the pin with your left hand, and with the right hand pushing the leaf up toward the head of the pin, you can crimp the leaves very rapidly, and they look much more natural than when left plain.

  Fig. 343.—Peony Petal Folded over.

  All the materials necessary for the manufacture of flowers for fair decorations will be paper, wire, and paste. The buds of different flowers can be imitated by pinching together the petals of open blossoms. Figs. 347, 348, 349 are the petals of the magnolia; the inside petals are five and one-half inches long, the others in proportion. Cut three of each size. No. 347 forms the innermost petals, No. 348 the next, and No. 349 the outermost; these last should be double; make the outside of pink tissue-paper and the inside white, all the other petals are white; cut three, from Fig. 350, of green paper to form the calyx.

  Fig. 344.—Cherry Blossom.

  Fig. 345.—Green Leaf of Cherry Tree.

  Other ornamental flowers may be manufactured from these hints. Patterns can be cut from any natural flowers, and they may be made without the aid of further directions. When natural blossoms can be obtained, they are far preferable, though the paper plants make splendid substitutes and at a little distance cannot be distinguished from the natural ones.

  Fig. 346.—Method of Crimping Leaf.

  If the fair comes off in the season when the trees are leafless, bare branches with green paper leaves wired on will help very much where foliage is needed.

  Fig. 347.

  Fig. 348.

  Fig. 349.

  Fig. 350.

  An excellent scheme in the arrangement of a fair is to divide the tables into twelve separate booths and let each one represent one month in the year. They should contain articles appropriate only to the month represented, and when planned in this way each month should be of appropriate color. For example:

  December

  can be all white, with tufts of cotton scattered about for snow, and mica or isinglass sprinkled around and over places to represent frost and ice. Icicles, varying in size, depending from the arch or canopy, add to the effect. The icicles are made of strips of paper first rolled up like paper-lighters, then completely covered with tallow from the dripping of a lighted candle; the tallow being allowed to harden on in raised places makes the twisted paper resemble in form, a real icicle; the tallow icicle is next covered with a wash of mucilage, and powdered mica or isinglass is sprinkled all over it, so that it sparkles and shines.

  In place of the usual grab-bag at this booth, there should be a Christmas-tree without lights and burdened with little gifts tied up in colored tissue-paper. Santa Claus must have charge of the tree.

  July

  calls for flags and decorations of red, white, and blue, as well as flowers, fruits, and green foliage; the table should be presided over by Columbia.

  May.

  Deck this table in spring blossoms and make the canopy of a slender May-pole. Pass the pole through the holes in the bench (Fig. 339) and screw the bench tight on the centre of the table; fasten a wreath of flowers and the ends of a number of ribbons at the top of the pole; bring the ribbons down and tack them to the sides of the table. Give the Queen of May care of the booth.

  November

  may be gay with late fall leaves and berries, and a very large pumpkin, which has been previously scraped out and lined with paper, can serve as a receptacle for odds and ends. A little Puritan maid should be in charge of the booth.

  June

  is all rose color, with the queen of flowers, the rose, holding the post of honor. This month is very suitable for the flower-table, and Flora, the Goddess of Flowers, may preside over it.

  We have chosen these few months only as suggestions of the manner in which the idea can be carried out.

  Those in charge of the different booths might wear as a badge a conspicuous sign of the zodiac appropriate to the month represented.

  The Five Senses

  can be illustrated by five booths, each one bearing its proper symbol as a sign. To represent

  HEARING,

  make a large pasteboard ear-trumpet and cover it with silver paper; fasten this on the highest point of the booth and place the word Hearing in large letters under the trumpet; have these signs in plain sight, where none can fail to see and read. The articles on the table should consist of everything pertaining to the sense of hearing, such as sheet-music, musical instruments, telephones, and suitable toys.

  It wou
ld be a great addition if a phonograph could be rented or borrowed for the occasion, and a certain sum charged to each one speaking in the instrument and hearing the echo of his own words and tones ground out to him again.

  An oracle would be a capital thing at this table, each person consulting it paying so much a question.

  SEEING

  likewise must be labelled with a sign in the shape of a very large pair of spectacles cut out of stiff pasteboard and placed over the lettering.

  The goods offered here for sale should pertain to the sense of sight; and could be such articles as pictures, decorated candles, kaleidoscopes, and common blue glasses. All things pleasing to look upon may find place at the Seeing Table. Any kind of a peep-show can be used, five cents being required from every curious person wishing for a peep behind the curtain.

  FEELING

  is more difficult to portray. Perhaps an ordinary riding-whip will answer the purpose, with the word Feeling in large type under it.

  Sofa-cushions, quilts, mittens, canes, muffs, fancy toilet articles, and almost anything adding to our personal comfort, or pleasant to handle, are suitable for the Feeling booth.

  TASTING.

  As an emblem for this booth make a huge cornucopia for candy, with the sign “Tasting” beneath, and the booth can be the candy-table.

  SMELLING

  naturally suggests perfumes and sweet-scented flowers. This sense will most fitly be represented by an immense bouquet fastened up over the table. The booth, of course, must be the flower-table.

  If you have only a few tables, make four booths of them, and let each booth represent a season. They should be decorated in keeping with the time represented, and the idea fully carried out in all the details.

  When the booths stand for different nations there is a great field for variety and beautiful decoration. But in this, as in all cases where an attempt is made to carry out an idea, it must be faithfully adhered to, or the effect will not be that intended.

  When it is necessary to decorate the

  Walls

  use flags, bright, soft draping cloth, and large palm leaves; also branches of leaves, showy flowers, and anything that can be arranged to look well. As rooms differ so much in size and style, it is impossible to give any but general directions, leaving it to the taste of the decorator to carry out the details.

  Fig. 351.—Grabbag of a Sheet with Holes Cut for Face and Arms.

  Fig. 352.—Apron Skirt Sewed on Sheet.

  Grab-Bags.

  On a narrow sheet hung up in a door-way, and fastened securely at the sides, or attached to a frame, cut a hole large enough to allow of a false face being fitted in (Fig. 351 A). The flaps of the cloth are left for pasting inside the face; now cut two more holes for the arms to pass through (Fig. 351 B). In these holes sew sleeves of the same material as the skirt, which is made of bright-colored cambric in the form of an apron, and sewed on the sheet (Fig. 352). The sides of the skirt are basted down on the sheet. When pasting in the false face, first cover the flaps, left at the opening for the face with stiff paste; then paste these flaps down into the inside of the false face, which will bring it up close against the sheet. If small openings are left, or the sheet puckers a little after the face is fastened on, never mind, as all defects can be covered by sewing on a thin white frill all around the face, to form a cap, and making a collar of the same material (Fig. 353).

  Fig. 353.—Grab-bag.

  Fig. 354.—Inside of Sheet for Grab-bag.

  Leave an opening, or pocket-hole, through the sheet at one side of the dress, so that the hand can be slipped through to get the packages, which are placed within reach at the back of the curtain. Fig. 354 shows the inside of the sheet, and C the opening for the hand. Someone must stand or be seated behind this curtain, and slip her arms into the sleeves, then she can look out through the mask and see with whom she is talking. In one hand she may hold a package, while she receives the money with the other.

  On the sheet print these words: “Five cents for what is in my pocket.”

  The Lady of the Lake.

  You will need a tin bath-tub for the lake, the longest one you can find, and a toy boat which will not easily tip or turn over. Place tiny flags in the bow and stern, and in one end of the boat glue a doll dressed like the “Lady of the Lake” in Scott’s poem. Attach a pulley to each end of the tub, and fasten the string to the boat, as it must be run back and forth by means of the pulleys. Fill the tub nearly full of water, then cover the edges with moss and vines. The bath-tub must be completely disguised, and surrounded by plants and foliage, with an opening left at one end for purchasers, and another small one near the other end for the boat to pass through to those stationed behind the shrubbery, who have charge of the boat, and where the parcels are kept. At the store-room end the screen of vines or leaves should be so arranged that those in charge can see all that is going on outside without being seen themselves.

  The boat should be stationed at the farther end of the lake, and whoever wishes to make a purchase must give the doll five cents; then the boat may immediately leave, sail across the lake, and disappear behind the screen, only to emerge again laden with a parcel in place of the money, and lightly skimming over the water arrive at her destination, when the purchaser can relieve the “Lady of the Lake” of her package.

  The Bubble Range described on page 335 can be used in a fair with advantage. Unless the fair is very small, it is better to have two Bubble Ranges, to prevent the tiresome waiting for a turn, and give all who wish to try their skill the opportunity to enjoy the sport.

  Fortune’s Wheel.

  Fig. 355.—Circle for Fortune’s Wheel.

  Cut of stiff pasteboard a large circle (Fig. 355) with a point on the edge at the end of one of the spokes, for the circle must be painted to resemble a wheel. With a large round nail fasten the wheel through the centre to a board, which has previously had numbers painted on in a circle somewhat larger than the circumference of the wheel (Fig. 356); the wheel should Circle turn around easily on the nail. Hang the board up flat against the wall. The gypsy in charge of the Fortune’s Wheel should be stationed by its side, holding a basket filled with many envelopes numbered to correspond to the figures on the board, each envelope containing some appropriate fortune-telling lines; and when the people come to seek their fortunes the gypsy must allow each in turn to give the wheel a twirl, sending it around rapidly, and then hand to the fortune-seeker an envelope whose number corresponds with the figure at which the wheel pointed when it stopped turning.

  Fig. 356.—Fortune’s Wheel.

  Rag-Balls.

  Prepare a number of carpet-rag balls with a small gift in the centre of each one. These sell rapidly, and it is very amusing to see the buyers unwinding their balls to discover the contents, which may prove to be a thimble, a bundle of jackstraws, a grotesque Japanese toy, or any little comical conceit which can be hidden in the odd receptacle.

  The same idea might be applied to the always pleasing popcorn balls; then the knick-knacks must be first wrapped in soft paper to protect them from the candy used in making the balls.

  Pleasant mysteries and surprises are always popular at fairs, and the more that can be invented the better.

  Window Decorated with Imitation Stained Glass and Dutch Curtain.

  * If the uprights seem to need it, brace them with cross-sticks in place of wire.

  CHAPTER XXXVIII.

  WINDOW DECORATION.

  NOW, girls, we must have practicable ideas in regard to our decorations; they should consist of something which we know will be easy to make and at the same time look well; the materials employed must be within possible reach of all, and nothing expensive or difficult to obtain allowed to enter into their manufacture. What are commonly called Dutch curtains are very popular; they are short curtains of some thin, transparent fabric, fastened with rings to a slender rod of bamboo, and when drawn, cover the lower part of the window without intercepting the light. The curtains are
very useful, but, while they do not obstruct the light, they do obstruct the vision.

  We all know that the front window is just the place to sit when sewing or doing fancy-work, and although few ladies care to be seen by every passer-by, yet they all like to see what is going on outside, and while their deft fingers ply the needle their bright eyes take in the landscape out of doors and derive amusement and entertainment from the birds and flowers, if it be in the country, or the ever-moving throng, if in the city.

  An ornamental screen, therefore, that will shield one and yet not interfere with the view is desirable. What might be termed the

  Oriental Window-Shade

  not only comes up to the above requirements, but is inexpensive, and not difficult to construct.

  Make a small lawn-tennis net, long enough to reach across the width of the window and about eight inches deep; make loops of the rope on the ends for hanging the screen to knobs or hooks screwed in the framework of the window; spread the net out and fasten it up on a door, between two chairs, or any convenient place; then cut a number of pieces of fine twine, about them, a quarter of an inch apart, along the bottom rope (Fig. 357); A shows a loosened loop and B the tightened ones. The ends of the twine hang free. On each double strand string glass beads and slender pieces of bamboo, reeds, painted clay pipe-stems, or macaroni broken in pieces of equal length and used in their natural color, or painted with oil-paints to any desired tint. Have the reeds four inches long, and thread them on alternately with the beads (Fig. 358); or you can form a design by cutting the reeds into different lengths; at the end of each strand fasten a large bead or glass button. A very simple