Every kind of flower can be imitated. Oak leaves and acorns are easily made, and many prefer them to flowers. Take several sizes of natural oak leaves, and draw the pattern on pasteboard, and pencil them as the natural leaf is veined. These you can keep always ready to copy your leather from. The natural acorn can be used, by leaving a little of the stem on the cup, on which to glue a longer stem of leather; then glue the acorn into the cup, and varnish and stain. If you can obtain sprays of acorns, and glue each acorn to its cup and glue on a bit of leather to the end of the stem, to nail to your frame, they are the most desirable. The acorns gathered from the shrub oak are the prettiest.
Convolvulus is a vine most commonly imitated. The leaves and tendrils are very simple, and the flower is easily shaped over the top of a bottle. First, cut a round piece the size of a half dollar, and punch a hole in the centre after it is wet, then shape from the natural flower; the cup can be formed in the neck of the bottle, and the rest by rolling the edges over the rim of the top of the bottle.
Ivy is easily made. The berries can be formed from slack baked bread; take it and roll into little berries, then stick in each a piece of wire (that pulled from wire taste is the best, as it is wound with thread,) and in forming the branch wind the wires together with a strip of leather. When the berries have hardened, stain them.
Grapes are made of skiver, and either small clay marbles or dry peas. First, wet your skiver, then form your bunch of grapes, by pushing one after another firm into the pliant leather, and fasten around each a linen thread, and draw them with it close together, shaping your bunch according to the size you wish. They so perfectly imitate carved wood that persons familiar with carving may be deceived by them. By the exercise of ingenuity and your imitative qualities you can accomplish very satisfactory results. Parts of the work may be gilded, if you prefer. For instance, you may gild your acorns, grapes or ivyberries. Bronzing is pretty for some kinds of work. It is done by sprinkling or rubbing bronzing powder on the work before the last coat of varnish is dry.
SKELETON BRACKET.
Autumn leaves can be imitated by using finely powdered colors, and mixing them to the consistence of cream, with the following medium:—Mix the white of an egg with 2 oz. of pure distilled vinegar; put them into a bottle and shake them well together whenever you wish to mix your colors; or mix them with parchment size warmed, or a weak solution of gum-Arabic; in either case, varnish with a quick drying pale varnish. Oil colors will not answer.
Pieces of furniture easily ornamented by leather are book cases, etageres, brackets, picture frames, work boxes, screens, music and watch stands and fancy tables, &c., &c.
DESIGN FOR A BRACKET.