Part 14 (1/2)

=Lace Curtains= made out of sc.r.a.ps of lace. They should either be tacked above the windows or hung upon poles made out of No. 12 wire, cut in lengths to fit the windows. Screw small bra.s.s hooks into the top window-casings for the poles to hang upon.

=Handsome Portieres= for the doorways can be made with beads and with the small hollow straws sold for use in kindergartens. For the

=Bead Portieres=, cut threads as long as the height of the door and string the beads upon them, alternating the colors in such a way as to produce patterns. Then tie the strings together to a piece of wire the width of the doorway, and fasten the wire in the opening. The

=Straw Portieres= are made similarly.

From magazine ill.u.s.trations you can select

=Suitable Pictures= for each room, but if you are handy with brush and pencil you may prefer to make the pictures yourself. These may be mounted upon cardboard and have their edges bound with pa.s.se-partout paper to give the effect of frames, or frames may be cut out of cardboard and pasted to them. Hang the pictures to the picture molding with thread.

=A Cosey-corner= may be fitted up in the ball-room by fastening a strip of a cigar-box in one corner an inch and one-half above the floor for the seat, and hanging draperies on each side of it. Pillows may be made for it out of sc.r.a.ps of silk stuffed with cotton.

A doll-house properly proportioned in every detail, including the selection of its furniture, is pleasing to look at, and is to be desired much more than some of the specimens to be found in the stores. These very often have parlor chairs larger than the mantel, beds that either fill two-thirds of the bedroom s.p.a.ce or are so small they are hidden from view by the chairs, and other furniture accordingly, all having been selected without any thought as to size or fitness.

Care must be taken, in buying the furniture, to have the pieces suitable to the rooms. It will no doubt require more time than to purchase the first sets you come across, but when you have completed the selections, the result will be a much better appearing doll-house.

By carefully searching the toy-shops you are almost certain of finding what you want for the various rooms, as about everything imaginable in furniture has been manufactured. Porcelain bath-tubs, wash-basins with real faucets and running water, gilt furniture, chandeliers, and such articles are tempting to buy. But it is rather expensive to fit up a house in this way, for, though each piece may not amount to very much, they count up very quickly.

The suggestions for the making of cigar-box furniture in Chapter XVII, and spool and cardboard furniture in Chapter XIX, will give you plenty of material for furniture and save you the expense of buying this part of the furnis.h.i.+ngs for your house.

CHAPTER XV

A HOME-MADE TOY STABLE

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 238.--Exterior of Stable.]

The stable ill.u.s.trated in Figs. 238 and 239 is designed in keeping with the doll-house in Chapter XIII. It is shown in the background of the photograph of this doll-house (Fig. 220). If you prefer a garage instead of this stable, you may omit the stalls, and make one or two large windows in the rear wall in place of the small high windows shown. The building's construction is very simple. The dimensions are: width, twenty-four inches; depth, twelve inches; and height, twenty-two inches.

The barn contains five stalls on the ground floor and a hay-loft above.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 239.--Interior of Stable.]

To build the stable according to the drawings, a box ten by twelve by twenty-four inches should be procured for

=The First Story.= If you have a box of different proportions it will be a simple matter to make such alterations in the details as it will require.

=The Roof= is made in two sections, each fifteen by eighteen inches, and is fastened to the top of the box so that the peak is twenty-two inches above the bottom.

=The Gable-End= is made in four pieces, as shown in Fig. 240, _A_, _B_, and _C_, to be nailed in place, and _D_ to be movable as in the case of the doll-house. Make a three-by-five-inch window in the center of _D_, and fasten the gla.s.s in place with strips cut as described in Chapter XIII. Strips should be nailed to the roof just inside of the movable section to prevent the latter from setting in too far, and a spring catch fastened to _C_ and _D_ as shown, to hold the movable section in place.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 240.--Front Gable-End.]

Figure 241 gives the patterns and measurements for

=The Stall Part.i.tions=, four of which should be cut out and fastened to the floor of the stable four inches apart, or so they will divide the inside width into five equal stalls.