Making Lamp Shades.

Making and decorating waxed parchment for use in the home is fascinating work that is always practical. Little wastepaper baskets, lamp shades, screens, and shields for wall sconces are some of the useful and attractive articles that can be made quite simply, and which add to the decoration of the home. Materials are inexpensive, and, other than an special qualifications.

First of all, buy at the stationery shop some ordinary parchment paper. Then purchase a cheap wastepaper basket or a wire lampshade frame and cover it with parchment paper. Two or three rolls of ordinary crepe paper should then be bought, and little decorations cut out from it. One of the most effective decorations consists of a number of small circles about the size of a penny cut out from crepe paper of different colours.

Next, the paper must be waxed or parchmentized. The whole article, including the paper decorations, must be coated with transparent sealing wax of the light amber colour, which has been dissolved in commercial alcohol (obtainable at any oil shop). This solution is put on like paint. The stick of sealing wax must be broken up into small pieces and covered with alcohol. A small camel's hair brush should be used for applying this solution, which gives an air of transparency to the paper and immensely improves the appearance of the crepe paper decorations.

The edge of the article can then be finished off with a binding of gold braid or any other suitable material—this gives a perfectly finished appearance which takes away the home-made air. A coating of rose-coloured sealing wax, or some other warm shade, applied to the inside of lamp shades or wall sconces, gives a rich, glowing light.

There is no limit to the number of designs which can be applied to these parchment articles, either by means of crepe paper or figures cut out of magazines and periodicals. Providing they are attractively coloured, the wax finish gives them the necessary artistic touch. Little shapes of Japanese lanterns, studies of children in charming poses, and animals, make excellent designs.

* * * *