Home-made Toys for Girls and Boys Part 15

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 245.--Plan of the Six-Room Doll Apartment.]

=The First Story Unit= is shown in Fig. 246, and diagrams of its two part.i.tions _A_ and _B_, are placed to the right of it; Fig. 247 shows

=The Second Story Unit=, with diagrams of its three part.i.tions _C_, _D_, and _E_, placed to the left and right of it, and Fig. 248 shows

=The Third Story Unit=, with diagrams of its two part.i.tions _F_ and _G_ placed to the left of it.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 244.--HOW THE THREE STORIES ARE ARRANGED SIDE BY SIDE TO FORM A SIX-ROOM APARTMENT.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 243.--THE MOST STYLISH APARTMENTS IN DOLL TOWN.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 246.--The First Story Unit and Diagram of Part.i.tions.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 247.--The Second Story Unit and Diagram of Part.i.tions.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 248.--The Third Story Unit and Diagram of Part.i.tions.]

=Mark the Door and Window Openings= carefully upon the sides of the box, making them as nearly as possible in the same proportion to the wall s.p.a.ce as is shown in the ill.u.s.trations. Then, in cutting the openings, bore a number of small holes a trifle inside of the lines, to make an opening large enough to insert a small keyhole-saw or bracket-saw, and the cutting will be easy to do.

=The Bay Windows= on the second and third stories are built of cigar-box wood. Instead of cutting away the entire width of the box at the points of attaching these bays, it is a better plan to leave a narrow strip over the opening, as shown in Fig. 249. This will hold the walls together, and will form a "beam" across the ceiling. The side edges of the pieces that form the front of the bay must be slanted off so as to fit at the proper angles, and the window openings must be cut carefully, because the margin of wood around them is narrow and will split easily.

Fasten together the members of the bays, also the inside part.i.tions, with glue and brads.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 249.--In Cutting the Opening for the Bay Windows, leave a Narrow Strip over the Opening, as above, for a "Beam."]

=The Joints between the Units=, when piled one upon another, are concealed by a band of wood 1/2 inch wide nailed around the front and two ends of the bottom of the second and third story units (Figs. 247 and 248). These bands should project about 1/4 inch below the bottoms of these boxes, so as to set down over the boxes beneath. They must not extend around the back of the boxes, and cannot be fastened to the first story box, because they would interfere with placing the boxes close together as in Fig. 244.

The first story unit must be raised to the same floor level as the other stories, however, and a thin board of the same thickness as the projection of the strips on the second and third story units must be nailed to its bottom to bring it to the same level (Fig. 246).

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIGS. 250 and 251.--How the Removable Roof is Constructed.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 252.--How the Chimney and Chimney Cap are Made.]

=The Roof Construction= is shown in Fig. 250. Boards _H_ (Figs. 250 and 251) should be cut of the right size to form a projection of 1-1/2 inches over the front and ends of the building, and the piece _I_ should be cut to the proper shape and size to form an equal projection over the bay windows. Strips _J_ and _K_ are 1 inch wide, and should be fastened to boards _H_ so they will come exactly over the front and end walls when the roof is set in place. Block _L_ should be cut of such a shape and size that when nailed to strip _K_ its front edges will come directly over the walls of the bay windows. A narrow strip nailed to the under side of the roof boards, close against the walls, will conceal the joint between the roof and top story and make a good finish molding.

=The Chimney= is made of two blocks (_M_ and _N_, Fig. 252). Notch the lower block to fit over strip _J_, and cut the cap block large enough to project 1/8 inch all around.

=The Windows.= Old photograph plates can be cut down to the proper sizes for the window openings, but it will not cost much to have the paint-shop man cut them out of new material, if you haven't any. The gla.s.s should be just a trifle smaller than the openings. Fasten it in place with narrow strips of cigar-box wood. Window sashes can be indicated by striping the gla.s.s with black paint.

=Make the Front Door= out of a piece of cigar-box wood, and set a piece of gla.s.s in an opening cut about the size shown in Fig. 243. This door may be hinged to open, but it is better to fasten it in the opening, because small pieces are easily broken off their hinges. Fasten a small block below the front door for a step (Fig. 243).

=The Inside Doorways=, in the ends of the first story unit and in the back of the second and third story units, may be fitted with pieces of board that can be set in when the units are piled up in the form of the building, but it is not necessary to make this provision.

=The Interior Trim.= The door and window casings, picture moldings, baseboards, and other tr.i.m.m.i.n.g should be made out of strips of cigar-box wood. Tack the strips in place with short brads.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 253.--The Living-Room Mantel.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 254.--Details of Mantel.]

=A Fireplace= must be provided for the living-room, and one easily constructed out of four pieces of wood is shown in Figs. 253 and 254.

Cut blocks _O_ and _P_ of the same thickness, and make the shelf piece _Q_ of the proper size to project an equal distance over the front and ends. Fasten the pieces together, then glue red paper to the wood, and when this has dried mark off brick courses with a pencil. The joints may be accentuated by striping with white or black paint.

=Lighting Fixtures=, simple to make, are shown in two splendid forms in Figures 255 and 257. Small bra.s.s screw-hooks such as are shown in Figure 256 can be purchased at any hardware store, and a couple of dozen of these, a lead pencil, and a number of large beads, will furnish you with enough material for making fixtures for every room in the apartment.

You will see by Fig. 256 that the lighting fixture shown in Fig. 255 consists of a screw-hook with its hooked end stuck through one of the little bra.s.s plates removed from another screw-hook, and then pushed into the hole in the end of a short piece of lead-pencil. Cut the pencil end about 1/2 inch long, push out the piece of lead, and if necessary enlarge the hole to accommodate the hook end. If the piece of pencil comes apart where glued, re-glue it. Glue the little bra.s.s cap to the top. Paint the pencil end white, to represent gla.s.s, and indicate metal division strips, or _leading_, with black paint or ink.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIGS. 255-258.--Two Lighting Fixtures and how to Make Them.]

The lighting fixture shown in Fig. 257 is made in the same way as the other one, except that a bead instead of the pencil end is used for a globe (Fig. 258).

The fixture in Fig. 255 is better suited to the living-room and dining-room, and for fastening each side of the front door; the fixture in Fig. 257 is better for the other rooms.

=Decorating.= Suggestions for decorating a doll-house are given in Chapter XIV, but here are some additional ideas to suit the conditions of the apartment. It is the modern practice to tint walls of apartments, and the best plan is to cover the walls of each room with plain paper, using a paper of a different color for each room.

The dining-room should have a plate-rail on which to stand plates (pictures of plates cut from advertis.e.m.e.nts and pasted upon cardboard), and the walls below the plate-rail should be paneled with strips of cigar-box wood for division strips (Fig. 244).

=The Outside Walls= of the apartment building are supposedly brick; therefore paint them a good red, brown, or yellow brick color, and paint the roof cornice, and the horizontal bands between stories, white, as a contrast.

CHAPTER XVII

HOME-MADE DOLL FURNITURE

The metal furniture which you can buy is very pretty when it is new, but this new appearance does not last long after it has come into a youngster's possession, for the pieces are very slender and delicate, and thus easily broken.

Wooden furniture is the most durable kind, and plain and simple pieces will generally outlast the fancy ones. The designs ill.u.s.trated in this chapter make very substantial pieces, as there are no spindle legs or fancy arms to break off. They follow the lines of the mission furniture, that simple style used in the early American mission schools, and which is to-day being extensively made in handsome pieces for the furnishings of modern homes. You will find the

=Miniature Mission Furniture=, ill.u.s.trated and described in this chapter, simple to make and something which is easy to sell, for there is nothing like it at present upon the market.

Cigar-boxes furnish the nicest material for making this furniture, and the various parts can be cut to the right shape and size with

=A Scroll-saw.= Procure small brads and glue with which to fasten the pieces together.

=To Prepare the Cigar-boxes= for use, place them in a tub of boiling water and let them remain there until the paper labels readily pull off.

Do not use a knife in removing the paper, as it is likely to roughen the wood. The paper will come off by allowing it to soak long enough. When the boxes are clean, set them in the sun to dry, after binding the covers to the backs to prevent them from warping. Pull the boxes apart when they are thoroughly dry, and throw out such pieces as have printing upon them, for these would spoil the appearance of the furniture if used.

In order to simplify the matter of cutting the parts that make the furniture, the curved pieces have been drawn out carefully on page 177, so that they can be laid off upon the strips of cigar-boxes without any trouble, by the process of

=Enlarging by Squares.= These drawings are shown one-quarter of their full size (half their width and half their height). To enlarge them procure a piece of cardboard nine by thirteen inches, or a little larger than twice the size of the drawing each way, and divide it into squares just twice the size of those on page 177. That will make sixteen squares in the width of the cardboard and twenty-four in the length, each half an inch square. In order to get the squares s.p.a.ced equally, it is best to lay off the points first with a ruler along the top, bottom, and two sides of the sheet of cardboard, and then connect the points with the ruler and a sharp lead-pencil. Then number the squares as in the ill.u.s.tration, using the figures along the sides and letters across the top and bottom of the sheet.

With the sheet of cardboard thus prepared it is a simple matter to

=Reproduce the Drawings= of Figs. 259 to 266 by locating the points of the curves and corners of the pieces, as shown in the ill.u.s.trations, in corresponding positions in the squares on your cardboard sheet. The curves may be drawn in by eye, after locating them with reference to their surrounding squares, but the surest way of enlarging them accurately is by laying off the points where the curve strikes each horizontal and vertical line in the ill.u.s.tration, upon the enlarged drawing. These points can then be connected with a curved line.

Make all of the lines heavy so they can be distinguished from your guide lines, and after carefully going over the drawing, comparing it with that on page 177 to see that no mistake has been made in locating the points in enlarging, cut the various pieces apart. These will give you