Although generally considered girls’ work, many little boys delight in working upon perforated paper, and they can put this pleasure to good account in making a shaving-case for papa. Procure a piece of silver or gold gilt perforated cardboard, of the coarsest variety, and cut it into two similar pieces, five by seven inches in size. With double zephyr, work an initial or some simple design on one of the pieces only, as the other will form the back of the case. Then get half-a-dozen sheets of different colored tissue-paper, and cut them up into pieces the exact size of the case. When all are fitted, place them between the two covers, and ask some lady in the family to sew them together at the top; fasten a ribbon of the same color as the worsted to each top corner for a handle, and cover the points of juncture with tiny bows. A little boy in the writer’s family made one of these for a dear uncle, and it lasted him a year without replenishing, forming one of the most useful presents he received.
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LEATHER WORK.
How many of my young readers have seen the beautiful shoes, boxes, and saddle-cloths, made of leather or velvet, and appliquéd with thinner leather, in graceful traceries, which are occasionally brought over to this country from Russia? These are mostly the work of the women and children of the smaller Russian villages, and in many instances their only means of support.
In those cold, desolate regions, where summer is very short, and the long dreary winter extends over a greater part of their lives, their occupations necessarily must be such as can be carried on in-doors, and are in many instances executed in their own homes. Hence the children seeing the simple processes going on around them, soon learn to help, and long before they have reached the age when American boys begin to think of working, they are earning their own living, and frequently supporting others of the family by their industry.
Although leather work to a Russian boy is anything but play, to a bright American it will be a source of considerable pleasure, and will serve the same purpose of amusement and instruction, for which most of the things in this book are intended.
The materials for leather work are very simple, consisting of the waste scraps from the neighboring book-binders or shoe-makers; these can be chosen without regard to shape or size.
To do the kind of work spoken of above, and known as “Kasan work,” select the thinner kid pieces from your leather, and with a lead-pencil mark upon the wrong side any design you may fancy. Then with a pair of sharp-pointed scissors cut out the design, carefully following the lines, and making the edges smooth and even. Lastly, wet the back with a little glue or paste, and stick it upon the cloth. Care should be taken not to move the pattern after it touches the cloth, as the glue might besmear the material in the open places of the pattern, and thus ruin the effect. After this has partially dried, get your mother or sister to stitch the edges on the machine, and you will have a nice bit of material, suitable for a shoe-bag or any other useful object you may like.
Another kind of leather work which is better adapted for boys, and a much more fascinating process than the above, is called by the French name “Cuir Bouilli”—pronounced “queer bwea”—or boiled leather. The scraps already gathered are suitable for this work, as any kind of leather can be used, although the softer kinds, such as sheep or calf skin, work much more easily. Soak this in hot alum water until it is soft, remembering that thick, tough leather requires a much longer time, as well as a hotter and stronger solution to soften, than the thinner pieces you may have. After this leather has been reduced to mere pulp, press it into any mold you may have at hand, taking care that it is pressed into all the cavities. After it is partially dried, in two or three days, remove the mold, and you have your object in firm hard leather which can be painted or varnished as you like. Many toys for your younger brothers and sisters can be made in this way, and are quite indestructible. Should you chance to have a good-sized piece of skin, much prettier things could be made from it, although a good worker in leather will use his scraps as the boy in his papier-maché uses his bits of paper, pasting them so nicely that no one would guess the number of pieces used. The best paste for this work is made of dextrine, a cheap substance, easily procured at any apothecary’s.