Shaving Paper Holder

Shaving Paper Holder

A Useful Christmas Gift For a Bachelor Friend.

It is always difficult to think of an appropriate Christmas gift for a man, especially if one wishes to make the gift with one's own fingers. The accompanying sketch shows an amusing and useful little article, easy to construct and serviceable to any man who shaves himself. It is a holder for shaving paper, and the first requisite is a small doll, which should be jointed, or should have a cloth body, so that the legs may be taken off, as they would be in the way. The voluminous petticoats of the doll are the squares of shaving paper, and for these squares it is advisable to use Japanese paper napkins, of the kind which have a scalloped edge. The napkins, of which a number will be needed, are to be cut into quarters, each quarter being plaited diagonally from the plain corner to the scalloped corner. The pieces, which are thus compressed into very small compass, are fastened by the plain corner to the waist of the doll, so that they form a series of fluffy petticoats. They should be fastened very firmly, so that when each square is pulled out the paper will tear at the point of fastening instead of pulling the thread away. When a sufficient number of the Japanese squares have been secured in place, the doll should receive an outside skirt of colored crape paper, about enough to show the scalloped ends of the petticoats. Over the skirt is then put a pointed tunic of the same material, and the upper part of the doll is clothed in a little paper bodice with a ruche around the neck. A narrow ribbon, passed around the waist, is tied behind, and the ends of the ribbon are again tied, this time in a bowknot, so that the doll may be hung up by the sash.  A little 25 cent doll with real hair and obina arms will do nicely for the purpose White Japanese napkins are the prettiest, and the paper chosen for the dress, with the ribbon, should match the rest of the dressing room fittings in color.