After joining the bag at the dotted lines on the sides, gather the bottom up tight and fasten to it a good-sized tassel; then sew on each side a heavy cord with tassels placed where the cord joins the bag, as seen in Fig. 221. The cord and tassels of the example were made of scarlet worsted.
For an ornament to be used on a pen-wiper, or simply as a pretty toy, the little turtle is appropriate. It is made of half an English walnut, which forms the turtle’s back or shell, glued on a piece of card-board cut after the diagram given in Fig. 222. Paint the card-board as nearly as possible the color of the shell, and the eyes black. When perfectly dry glue the shell securely to the card-board, bend down and out the feet a little, in order to make the turtle stand; bend the head up, and the tail down, as in Fig. 223.
[Illustration: Fig. 222.—Pattern of Turtle.]
[Illustration: Fig. 223.—Walnut-shell Turtle.]
Here are some home-made toys which the children can make to give to one another.
Miss Nancy (Fig. 226) is fashioned from a piece of pith taken out of a dried cornstalk. Cut away the stalk until the pith is reached; then take a piece of the pith, about six inches long and whittle out one end to resemble a head as in Fig. 224, draw a face on the head with pen and ink, and glue half of a lead bullet on the lower end of the pith (Fig. 225). Make Miss Nancy’s costume of a skirt, composed of some bright-colored Japanese paper, a shawl made of a piece of soft ribbon or silk, and a cap of white swiss. The peculiarity of the little lady is that she insists upon always standing upright, no matter in what position she is placed.
A very pretty and safe return ball for the little ones to play with may be made of paper (Fig. 227), which, being soft, precludes all danger of “thumps and bumps.”
Take a piece of newspaper, and, using both hands, roll it and fold it into something of the required shape. Then place it in the centre of a square piece of bright-colored tissue paper; take the four corners of the tissue-paper up to the centre of the top of the ball, fold them over, also fold and smooth down what fulness there may be; next place a small round piece of gold, silver, or some contrasting colored paper on the top of the ball. Secure all by winding a string around the ball, making six or eight divisions; tie a piece of elastic to the string where it crosses on the top of the ball, then paste over this a small artificial flower. In the other end of the elastic, make a loop to fit over the finger, or tie on it a small brass ring.