Cut a pasteboard frame three inches wide of the size you need, and sew thickly all over it little sprays of maiden-hair ferns, pressed and dried.  It is fastened to the wall with a pin at each corner, and of course does not support a glass.  The effect of the light fern shapes against the wall is very delicate and graceful, and unsubstantial as it may seem, the frame lasts a long time, especially if, when the maiden-hair first begins to curl, the whole is taken down and re-pressed for two or three days under a heavy book.

[Illustration:  VASE (AUTUMN-LEAF WORK).]

NOVELTIES IN FERN-WORK.

We hope some of you have collected a good supply of ferns of the different colors,—­deep brown, yellow, green and white,—­for by means of a new process you can make something really beautiful with them.  It requires deft fingers and good eyes, but with practice and patience any of you could manage it.  Supposing it to be a table-top which you wish to ornament, you proceed as follows:  Paint the wood all over with black or very dark brown; let it dry, and rub it smooth with pumice.  Next varnish.  And here comes the point of the process. While the varnish is wet, lay your ferns down upon it, following a design which you have arranged clearly in your head, or marked beforehand on a sheet of paper.  A pin’s point will aid you to move and place the fragile stems, which must not be much handled, and must lie perfectly flat, with no little projecting points to mar the effect, which when done should be like mosaic-work.  As soon as the pattern is in place, varnish again immediately.  The ferns, thus inclosed in a double wall of varnish, will keep their places perfectly.  Next day, when all is dry, varnish once more.  Small articles of white holly-wood decorated in this way are very pretty, and a thin china plate with an overlaying of these varnished ferns becomes a beautiful and ornamental card-receiver.

[Illustration:  CARD-RECEIVER (AUTUMN-LEAF WORK).]

A SHOE-CHAIR.

An old cane-seated chair will answer perfectly to make this, provided the frame-work is strong and good.  Cut away the cane and insert in its place a stout bag of twilled linen, the size of the seat and about ten inches deep.  Around this bag sew eight pockets, each large enough for a pair of shoes.  The round pocket left in the middle will serve to hold stockings.  Have a bit of thin wood cut to fit the seat of the chair; fasten on this a cushion covered with cretonne, with a deep frill all around (or a narrow frill, provided you prefer to fasten the deep ruffle around the chair itself, as shown in the picture), and a little loop in front by which the seat can be raised like the lid of a box, when the shoes are wanted.  This chair is really a most convenient piece of furniture for a bedroom.

[Illustration:  A SHOE-CHAIR, WITH COVER (OR SEAT) REMOVED.]