A reprint of a gay nineties publication for young ladies instructing them in such hobbies as fancy needlework, handmade dolls, china painting, painting in oils, heraldic painting, preservation of wild flowers, and many others.

Offers advice on how to take charge and be confident when things get complicated, scary or just plain embarrassing.

Provides step-by-step instructions for making miniature crafts from items found around the house and includes a place to display the handicrafts on a fold-out room in back of book.

Through photographs, illustrations, and both factual and fictionalized anecdotes, shows what life was like in the United States during the Depression.