Little Boxes....

That's what all of the cornices start out with. Basically a top, two sides and a front. That's all there is to it.

I drew up four on a page. They are all five inches wide. That's the width that I decided upon for the shadowboxes. I am not going to use all of them, but I thought that some of you might like to try it and these would be easy to enlarge and copy.

They are on quarter inch graph paper, so you will be able to tell if you are getting them right.

The sides and back are simply 1/2" by whatever length is called for. In this case, the top will be 5". The sides 1 1/2" or 1 1/4" for the second one down.

I am not going to do all of them, because I want to do some swag curtains in some of the boxes too.

Be aware that most of the cornices can be turned into lambrequins just by adding length to the side fronts. usually 3/4" will suffice.

This one is the one that I plan on using for the shadow box. It also has all of the measurements for you to copy if need be.

Tessie is already choosing fabric. I stick it in the box, folded lengthwise to see how the scale works. This one seems to be OK.

The boxes come with a black velvet lining. I keep looking at it and wondering if I should just leave that and let the curtains be the center of attention. I probably won't be able to leave well enough alone....

As I go along, I thought that you might like the information on more of the reference books that I use a lot. I like to rely on originals from that period that I am doing if I can.

These two are a couple of American photograph books that I use a lot. The photos in both are around or before 1900.

Both are books that I have had for at least 25 years and both well used.

The New York Interiors one is a Dover book.

The Tasteful Interlude is from Praeger Publishers, Inc.. I ordered this one from Alibris.com. I loaned out my first copy and it disappeared....You know how that is.

Dover may still be publishing the first one.

They are both full of wonderful photos. The first is all the New York area, but Tasteful Interlude is from all over the US.

I will be back tomorrow with instructions and the finished boxes for the first two...I hope.

Again, thanks for all of the support in the voting for mini blog of the year. I was even ahead for a while this morning. Tessie did a dance when she saw that! Keep up the good work. It keeps Tessie quiet and happy....

See you tomorrow.