[Illustration: Fig.21 - Design of leaves and buds of Red Clover.]
[Illustration: Fig.22 - Parts of leaf and bud design.]
Next the left-hand spray was pasted in place in the same way, then the right-hand spray, to which was given its bud that curves in to almost touch the bud on the other spray. Paste was also put half-way down on the under part of the long stems of each of the side sprays.
This completed the clover design and it was exceedingly pretty, but after it had been sufficiently admired it was placed between papers under several heavy books to press, that it might be more durable. It was after it had been pressed that it looked like a piece of silk embroidery.
Pasted designs can be made without pressing; but while they are more beautiful they will not last as long as the others. You can enjoy your fresh designs for a while and then press them. Do not make the mistake of covering the entire under part of a flower or leaf with paste as if it were made of paper; a drop is all that is needed, more will spoil it.
Flowers do not always grow exactly as you want them for your designs, but a too straight stem can be coaxed to curve by drawing it between your fingers, and leaves and sprays can be cut away or added as has been shown. All this changing about only makes it more fun to work out the design.
Fig. 18 is a running design of clovers which can be used for a border. The little arrows on Fig. 19 show where the different parts are joined.
The large red clover was used for the design Fig. 20 and the leaves and buds of the red clover for Fig. 21. Fig. 22 shows how the parts of Fig. 21 are put together. These drawings are all original from designs actually made of fresh clover-blossoms and their foliage.
ISN'T the design Fig. 23 what grown-ups call Japanesque? Doesn't it look as if it had been copied from a printed pattern on a piece of Japanese cotton cloth?
[Illustration: Fig.23 - Daisy Fleabane design.]
Well, it was not. It is from a design made especially for you of real wild flowers, freshly gathered. The name of the flower is the daisy fleabane which grows in almost all open grassy fields where daisies and buttercups and clovers are found.
The illustration Fig. 24 shows how the daisy fleabane looks when first gathered. Sometimes the blossom is entirely white, sometimes it is tinged with purple, and it has a bright-yellow centre. Its petals are as fine as a fringe, like those of the asters that blossom in the fall.