[Illustration:  CARTE-DE-VISITE RECEIVER.]

A PAIR OF BELLOWS.

There seems no end to the pretty devices which proficients in painting can accomplish.  We saw not long since a pair of wooden bellows which had been decorated with a painting of a tiny owl sitting on a bough, and the motto “Blow, blow, thou bitter wind.”  Why should not some of you try your hands at something similar?  Wood fires, thank heaven, are much more common than they used to be, and most of you must know a cozy chimney corner where a pretty pair of bellows would be valued.

A DOOR-PANEL.

A great bunch of field-flowers, or fruit-boughs, or Virginia-creeper, painted in water-paints on the panel of an ordinary door, is another nice thing for you young artists to attempt.  Perhaps you will object that a picture on a door can hardly be called a Christmas present; but we don’t know.

Anything which loving fingers can make, and loving hearts enjoy, is a gift worthy of Christmas or any other time.

A SACHET IN WATER-COLORS.

Another dainty idea for you who can paint is a small perfume-case of white or pale-colored silk or satin, on which is painted a bunch of flowers or a little motto.  The flowers must be small ones, such as forget-me-nots or purple and white violets.  A great deal of white paint—­body color, as it is called—­should be mixed with the color, to make it thick enough not to soak and stain the silk along the edges of the pattern.  Some people paint the whole design in solid white, let it dry, and then put on the color over the white.  Others mix a little ox-gall with the paint.

DECORATED CANDLES.

The large wax or composition candles, of a firm texture, are best for purposes of decoration.  Water-color paints can be used, or those powders which come for coloring wax flowers.  In either case it will be necessary to use a little ox-gall to give the paint consistency.  A band of solid tint—­crimson, black, blue or gold—­is usually put around the middle of the candle, with a pattern in flowers or small bright points above and below.  Spirals of blue forget-me-nots all over the candle are pretty, or sprays of leaves and berries set in a regular pattern.  These gay candles are considered ornamental for a writing-table, and look well in the brass candlesticks which are so much used just now, though we confess to a preference for unornamented candles of one solid tint.

A RUSTIC JARDINIERE.