Jars decorated by crazy china-work, or china patchwork, form useful and ornamental vases, pot-pourri jars, etc. Take an ordinary brown earthenware stew-pot, together with its lid, thoroughly wash them, and allow to dry- Cover the outsides of the jar and lid with putty to a thickness of i in. or so. This putty is the ordinary material, to be obtained at any oilshop, and may be made by well mixing 2 lb. of sifted whiting with 1/2 lb. of dry white lead, and then making into a stiff paste with raw linseed oil. After standing for a few hours, work it up in the hands, and then it is fit for use. The miscellany of olds and ends with which the jar is decorated includes broken china, bits of crockery, coloured glass, buttons, shells, little pieces of flint, etc., and all these must be washed thoroughly, and allowed to dry before being applied; they should be broken up so as to be not more than 3/4in. in diameter, and are embedded in the putty just as fancy dictates: it is not desirable to make any attempt at producing a pattern. If the putty is allowed to bulge out between each two pieces of china, it should be touched up with gold paint when dry. It is a matter of taste; but, in many opinions, gold paint does not improve china patchwork.

Instead of the ordinary putty, a cement made as follows may be used. .Stand a stone jam jar half filled with melted glue in hot water, and stir in whiting until the mixture is of the consistency of cream, and with this coat the article to be decorated, and allow to dry. Thicken the composition by adding whiting whilst hot, and apply the paste to the already coated, but dry, articles. The china fragments are then embedded; this ground is affected by water. Besides vases, such articles as drain-pipe umbrella stands, flower-pots, plaques (having a papier-mache or tinplate base), photograph frames, jardinieres, etc., may be decorated in crazy china-work. In cases where the base is a very porous one-, as, for example, an unglazed flower-pot, a coat of common varnish may precede the application of the putty.