10. All Through the House

Flower boxes at the window or on the porch are charming decorated for the holidays. They may be filled with sprays of evergreens and berries. If suet is added, birds will be attracted to the boxes and be a delight to watch from inside the house.

In the hallway, an old lantern of considerable size might occupy a table. If this is lighted by electricity, berries and greens can be placed inside the lantern as well as around the outside. (Drawing 20) If a candle has to be used, then the decorations should only be placed outside on the table. Very thick candles which will burn for hours are available.

From the tops of deep doorways or windows, stars may be hung from a sky of blue paper. Or this idea may be carried out in an entrance hall, under a small roof over the front door or in the ceiling of a bay window. The paper is fastened with Scotch tape and the star-like ornaments secured to the paper with tree hooks. These stars twinkle and sparkle when the air moves and people circulate through the rooms. Other gummed stars may be pasted flat on the surface to increase the effect. (Drawing 12, top).

Stars of all kinds are appropriate to Christmas. Homemade ones may be suspended in the hallway or from the moulding over the doorway. (Drawing 12) They may also be used to decorate a mantel and carry the star effect through an entire room. The stars in Drawing 12 were made by inserting cocktail toothpicks into corks. These toothpicks come in many colors. They are stronger than ordinary ones and have two pointed ends which make them easy to insert. A cork about three quarters of an inch thick and an inch wide is the right size. After the toothpicks have been inserted all around the cork, the finished star will be about 4½ inches in diameter. All should be brushed with glue and then shaken thoroughly in a paper bag of silver decorettes or glitter bought in a costume store. Silver dust may be substituted, but the effect is not so sparkling. A thin wire fastened in the cork or hooked around one toothpick makes the ornament easy to suspend. Marshmallows may be used instead of corks.

A few similar stars placed among evergreens will decorate a mantel. Wooden or glass star-like holders may be used for the greens with modeling clay to hold the stems in place. (Drawing 12).

No. 20

Christmas balls, evergreens and cellophane straws arranged on tray or balls in cellophane box make gay centerpieces. Old carriage house lantern, wired for safety, is attractive in hallway with greens and berries.

The fireplace offers great possibilities for decoration. In itself it is always a feature of the room and at Christmas more so than ever. For the mantel two tin cans of proper size are selected. Given a coat of red enamel and placed on a pair of black bases, they are filled with pine, yew, leucothoe, laurel and some red berries to add beauty and distinction to the mantel. The same principles apply to Christmas decorations, of course, as to flower arrangements. We must consider balance, proportion, harmony and other elements if we wish to be successful. (Drawing 22, center).

The yule log theme of the fireplace can be repeated on the mantel by the use of cork bark. It is light in weight, clean, and does not fall apart. Often a small curved piece is obtainable and can be used as a container for a simple and effective decoration. Wedge a white potato in the bark or a whole or a part of a loaf of bread. Then insert the stems of a few pieces of fir, pine, chamaecyparis and laurel. Add sprays of red berries to one side and white to the other. The effect of this yule log container is appropriate for the season. (Drawing 22, bottom).

If the log does not have a natural curve, it may be soaked in water, curved when soft, tied into the desired shape and left until thoroughly dry. It will then hold its shape permanently. If any weight is needed to keep the bark from rolling, a needle-point flower holder or piece of lead may be placed inside. The log can always be held in position with a piece of Scotch tape which will not mar the mantel or furniture.

Bark will keep indefinitely and should be stored for future use. Each year its decoration may be varied. A few greens and cones placed alone in a bark container are beautiful or artificial snowballs may be wired among them.

Angels are beautiful symbols of the season. They come in many colors and are made of wax, pottery, wood, china and glass. They may be used singly or grouped on a mantel, window sill or table center with greens, or placed on a side table around a small tree.

Cones, driftwood and fagots may be prepared for the fireplace with little effort after materials are assembled. Different treatments produce colored flames. A solution of chemicals can be used but dipping requires a wooden container and more time and space than sprinkling with chemicals. A large salt or flour shaker is convenient to scatter these over a surface which has been brushed with shellac or glue in order to make the chemicals adhere. Colored flames are produced as follows:

Yellow             Sodium chloride (salt) and Potassium nitrate

Red                  Lithium chloride and Strontium nitrate

Green               Copper nitrate

Blue                 Copper sulphate

Orange             Calcium chloride

Violet               Potassium chloride

No. 21

Decoration with reindeer, brush tree, cellophane pompons, is made on base similar to plate 19. Yarn and greens brighten fagots. Cranberries impaled on hawthorne twigs, and arrangements on tray are held in position in plaster of Paris.

Prepared driftwood crystals may also be bought for this purpose.

Many trees such as the plane and some of the birches in the East and eucalyptus in the West shed their bark. If curved pieces can be found, they make nice coverings for fagots. Sprinkled crystals or chemicals will also stick to these if they are first coated with glue or shellac. Then the bark can be tied on to cover all. Several such bundles secured with heavy yarn or twine and decorated with greens, cones and berries will ornament any fireplace. (Drawing 21).

Cones, similarly brushed with glue or shellac, sprinkled with chemicals and allowed to dry, can be packed in cellophane bags tied with gay ribbon. They look attractive even before they add their colored flames to the fire and they make delightful, inexpensive gifts.

Another decorative present for the living room is a pot of red, or perhaps pink or white Poinsettias. These popular Christmas plants do not tolerate drafts and lose their leaves quickly if exposed to them. The living room is preferable to a hallway where there is likely to be frequent change of air and cold drafts. Cut Poinsettias may be attractively arranged, but each time the stem is cut the end must be sealed by burning over a flame or dipping into boiling water to prevent escape of sap. If the stem is held horizontally, neither heat nor steam will injure foliage.

When there is an auditorium to decorate, on a limited budget, large guaranteed-to-last Poinsettias can be made from rhododendrons. The ends of the branches produce leaves close to the terminal bud. In form, they resemble the red bracts of the Poinsettia. Of course, if you cut these you sacrifice next year's bloom, but in some woods and gardens rhododendron is plentiful enough for a few branches not to be missed.

These branches should be placed indoors in water to keep them fresh. To make them into Poinsettias, paint the leaves around the center bud with a dead flat red lacquer. This paint gives a dull, flat finish and most natural effect. The paint adheres well, will not flake off, and the flowers will last a few weeks in water. To make a realistic flower center, cut the pointed rhododendron bud in half and paint with a dead flat yellow lacquer. The flowers in Drawing 22 were made this way.

In the library, or for the table at the top of the steps, there are many interesting possibilities. Attractive Christmas balls with broken hook ends need not be discarded. They may be inverted on hyacinth stakes or twigs and arranged in a flower holder. Evergreens tucked among them will create a pleasing effect.

No. 22

Poinsettias are made from branches of rhododendron leaves painted red. Painted tin can on base serves as container for greens and berries. Cork bark is light weight and effective as yule log container.

No. 23

Scotch broom, berries, leucothoe or other evergreens are attractive in Chinese pewter container. Red roses, twigs and begonia leaves make interesting arrangement for buffet party or any occasion.

An old tray or an inexpensive new one may support the plaster of Paris base of another amusing arrangement. (Drawing 21, bottom) To create a rough base surface, cinders or crumpled wet newspapers may be used. Either will reduce the amount of plaster needed. Whitened twigs may be set in the background, a reindeer or two placed in it and one or more candles inserted in the front at safe distance from the twigs. A thin mixture of plaster of Paris is poured over the cinder base to hold everything in place. While it is wet, it may be sprinkled with artificial snow. This makes an attractive hall decoration or centerpiece.

Small trays or red plates may be made up in the same way. Fasten a red glass in the center or at the side, fill it with water to keep the nicely arranged greens fresh, and then place small birds, ducks, reindeer or any other small animals. Santa Claus candles can also be inserted in the plaster of Paris. A steady decoration made this way can easily be transported to a neighbor or sick friend. With a long board as base a complete snow or skating scene may be set up depending on the figures available. Bits of evergreens make fine trees. Mirrors look like ponds. Rock candy resembles chunks of ice. Such decorations may occupy a whole window sill, the top of an upright piano or a mantel with red candle trees at the ends.

For the dining room table many decorations have been suggested of real and artificial materials. Some take a lot of time, others very little. The busy housewife, or the one who does not like to fashion her own trees and wreaths, may take Christmas balls and arrange them on a silver tray for a truly effective centerpiece. To prevent the balls from rolling about, a few pieces of some such evergreen as cedar or arborvitae may be added as well as bunches of cellophane straws. The difference in form adds interest to the piece. (Drawing 20).

A cellophane box in which an orchid corsage was received may be filled with balls of various size, tied with a red satin bow and placed on a foundation of greens and berries. (Drawing 20) The effect is excellent for so little effort. Both of these decorations may be elaborated upon.

Fresh cut flowers are always a delight. Red roses, red carnations and many others may be attractively arranged with bronzy pieces of leucothoe, begonia foliage, galax or other leaves. A few deciduous branches may be included for form and height. (Drawing 23) In order to insure their lasting, the flowers should be set in a cool place at night. Certain materials sold to prolong the life of cut flowers do help, as will a pinch of complete fertilizer added to the water. Fresh cuts should be made on the ends of the stems each time they are rearranged, and warm water used in preference to cold. This will expel air from stems and allow more moisture to be absorbed.

For those who do not care to buy fresh foliage through the winter, and yet like to use it during the holidays, there is a way of preserving fall leaves, especially those of the beech. While sap is still flowing, but leaves are turning yellow and brown, branches may be cut and the stems placed in a mixture of one-third water and two-thirds glycerin. Water may be added if some evaporates. This solution will keep beech leaves indefinitely. With their beautiful rich sheen they make pleasing backgrounds for nut and fruit arrangements and are a charming contrast to greens.

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