Evening star., 1948-03-16
HANDMADE 1AMPsHADEs.

(FTOn MRS. /. b. r., w WGSntngEOn.J
For Mrs. L.W.: When I was first
out of art school I was employed
as artist for q studio that made
beautiful handmade, hand deco.
rated lampshades. The cutting ot
the paper and pasting it to the wire
frame requires a great deal of prac.
tice for a perfect result. Our studio
had one girl who did nothing else
but this work. So, I would not ad.
wise you. to attempt your first shade
from the frame to the finished job
and you won't have much of a saw
ing, either, by the time you gel
through buying all the necessary
equipment. So-why not purchase
q gold, silver, or colored metallic
paper shade, work out your design
and trace 1t onto the shade with
a dull pencil? Paint in few lines
of the design and then cut tht
edges with a very, very sharp instru-
ment-a surgeons scalpel Is JUS
right.
If you wish to make a shade with
floral decorations on non-metallit
paper, buy an inexpensive paper
shade in any color. Paint the entir,
shade on the outside only, with flat
black paint. Yes, that's right! Wher
dry paint over the black with any
fiat, light color you prefer, ever
white, 1t will take 8 to'5 coats tt
completely obliterate the BLACK
paint. Paint inside OF shade white
or very pale pink or yellow. Wher
all Is dry, paint on your design o1
flowers, or whatever, when dry, cut
the edges and bend the tips Of petals
or leaves inward. You will have ar
opaque shade, throwing out design
of light through the cut outs
They're very beautiful. I have q
silver one in my living room that
never fails to bring many obs and
abs from my guests.
X
TRACING CLOTH.
From Mrs. X. v. S., Washington. J
For Mrs. H.H., Riverdale::
I am going to make scarves,
luncheon cloths, etc., from tracing
cloth from which I have removed
the filler in the following manner
First I soaked the cloth overnight
and part Of the following day, in
cold salt water (plenty Of salD +;
then I squeezed out of it the best
part Of the water (the material is
very hard to handle at this point
as it is very slimy) and put in the
washing machine with very hot,
soapy water also containing plenty
of bleach. let the washer run quite
q while and then changed the water
and let the cloth swish in clear hot
water. then rinsed through several
clear warm rinse waters and hung
out in hot sunshine to dry. With
the exception of one small part OF
one piece of cloth, they turned out
beautifully. I am going to bleach
this cloth over again and am sure
it will turn out like the rest. !
bleached about 10 squares approxi-
mately by 4 inches and I think
I was very successful for the first
try.
This is only the second time
have contributed anything to the
Clearing House; but I cannot count
the times I have found useful items
and help through 1t. How about
having it in the paper Saturday and
Sunday, too.
X X X X
LAYETTE SUGGESTION;
CREAM CHEESE APPETIZER.
From Mrs. W. J. D., Washington. ]
Here's a layette suggestion for
B. G., Washington. Since she
wishes to keep her supplies at a
she can dispense with
crib sheets entirely, if she wishes.
I much prefer using diapers in
stead. One stretched lengthwise is
fine for q basket or bassinette; in
a crib, place the diapers crosswise
and tuck under the mattress at the
sides. It takes four to cover a
crib-sized mattress; I have a small
OS1O4 S4lCCV Wl1lS1l AG6 lllC
top three diapers and gives the mat
tress additional protection in the
space which the baby occupies. The
diapers are preferable to sheets. I
think, because they're easier to
change and much easier to wash. In
the crib, often have to change only
one diaper-usually the one under
the baby's head, and this is easier
than changing the whole sheet. After
my first baby started sitting up and
playing in the crib I used sheets in
stead, and I found it more work
keeping the bed clean than when
I'd been using the diapers. I
found the system added, on the
average. only two extra diapers to
the daily laundry, and OF course
eliminated sheets entirely.
For Mrs. v. r. NJ, Washington,
who inquired about . cream shssss