Home For the Homicide (A Do-It-Yourself Mystery) (27 page)

Home-Renovation
and Design Tips

Make Your Own Tiffany-Style Glass Lampshade

The do-it-yourselfer can construct two types of glass lampshades: panel lampshades and curved or free-form lamp shades. The latter require molds as a base for construction, and take much, much smaller pieces of glass, as well as more patience. In other words, they’re difficult to make, especially for a beginner. Panel lamp shades are simpler to build, making them a good project for someone just starting out—like Avery, and most of us.

These instructions are for a simple panel lampshade, something most of us should be able to handle. However, to get used to the process and the tools, it’s not a bad idea to start with something even simpler—like a flat stained glass panel—to hang in the window to look pretty, and then move on to lampshades and other things from there.

MATERIALS

• 2 copies of the pattern
  

• Scissors or pattern shears
  

• Wood or metal strips with straightedge
  

• Glass cutter
  

• Glass pliers
  

• Glass grinder
  

• Copper foil
  

• Wood or plastic burnisher
  

• Electrical tape
  

• Wood blocks
  

• Flux
  

• Flux brush
  

• Solder
  

• Soldering iron
  

• Vase cap
  

• Glass cleaner
  

DIRECTIONS

1. Attach one copy of the pattern to the work surface with the wood or metal straightedges along each side. Cut the other pattern apart with the scissors or pattern shears.

2. Cut the glass to fit the pattern pieces with the glass cutter and glass pliers.

3. Grind each piece as needed to fit the pattern exactly and smooth sharp edges.

4. Apply the copper foil all around the edge so that it falls evenly on both sides. Smooth it firmly into place with the plastic or wood burnisher.

5. Apply flux with the brush and solder both sides of each panel separately with the soldering iron. Form the solder into a smooth, rounded line. Make sure no solder is along the sides of the panels so they fit snugly together when forming the lamp.

6. Clean each panel as soon as it is soldered on both sides so that the flux does not etch the glass.

7. Place the panels flat on the work surface in a semi-circle with the tops lined up as closely as possible.

8. Connect the panels together at the top and bottom with electrical tape.

9. Apply a thin layer of solder to the vase cap.

10. Pull the pieces carefully upright and fit them together as evenly as possible, making sure they are symmetrical.

11. Apply flux and tack the pieces together, dripping a bead of solder on each seam.

12. Draw a thin line of solder along all the seams to hold everything together. Support the lamp as needed with the wood blocks as you rotate it to get the best angle for soldering.

13. Place the vase cap on the top of the newly formed lampshade, apply flux along the seam, and solder it in place.

14. Solder the outside and inside seams of the lamp with a finishing bead of solder, using the wood blocks to support the lamp at the best angle for soldering.

15. Clean the lampshade thoroughly with glass cleaner to remove all traces of flux.

Color Washing

Color washing is a painting technique that gives a subtle, undulating, almost translucent effect on walls. Something almost like rippling sunlight—yellow—or water—blue. It’s perfect for anyone who doesn’t want flat walls, but at the same time are unsure about faux finishes. It’s a simple process that involves mixing latex paint with glaze and putting two layers together.

MATERIALS

• Satin interior latex paint (base coat, lightest shade)
  

• Satin interior latex paint (darker shade)
  

• Satin interior latex paint (darkest shade)
  

• Tintable glaze
  

• Paint roller
  

• Pan
  

• 4" brush
  

• Painters’ tape
  

• Brush or sponge for blending
  

 

DIRECTIONS

1. Choose your color palette: 3 shades of the same color in a gradient from light (#1) to medium (#2) to dark (#3).

2. Roll on base coat—lightest coat; coat #1—and let it dry.

3. Mix a bucket of the medium coat—#2—and the tintable glaze. Use a 3:1 or 4:1 glaze-to-paint ratio. (The more glaze, the more translucent the mixture. The more glaze, the longer your “open” time, too—the time you have before the mixture dries.)

4. Mix a bucket of the darkest coat—#3—with glaze in the same ratio—or not the same ratio, if you prefer a more or less opaque finish.

5. Start with mixture #2 in the pan, and roll it over a manageable section of the wall, on top of the base (#1) coat.

6. While the glaze is still wet, use the brush to apply mixture #3 in large X’s across the section of paint.

7. Use a cloth/sponge to blend the two shades of glaze together.

8. Repeat the process until the entire wall or room is complete. Let dry.

A Few Words on Solar Power

Solar powered lights are great for indoors, whether the aim is to cut down on electric bills or just to provide a softer mood lighting than lightbulbs can. The illumination from solar lights gives off a soft, warm glow, and there are many styles to choose from. The bulbs are available in a range of colors, too.

Consider placing a couple flat-bottomed lanterns on a night-table or shelf in a bedroom, maybe with amber bulbs inside, or hang them from hooks along a dark interior staircase to light the way. Garden bed lights—the ones shaped like flowers or bugs—look just as good inside, in a potted plant, as they do outside, too.

All you have to do is make sure your solar powered lights have plenty of opportunity to soak up sun during the day, either by being outside or sitting in a sunny window, and they’ll give you hours and hours of soft, ambient light in return. They’ll pay for themselves over time, and you can decorate with them without being tied to available electrical outlets, a definite plus in an older home, where there’s often a limited number of outlets.

Or do what Avery did, and use them in places where electrical wires can’t safely be used.

Mason Jar Pendant Lights

MATERIALS

• Mason jars
  

• Glass cutter
  

• Candle
  

• Diamond file
  

• Cutting oil
  

• Frosted spray paint
  

• Light fixture (solar powered or otherwise)
  

• Tools for hanging fixture, if needed
  

 

DIRECTIONS

1. Cut the bottom off the jar with the glass cutter. (You may find a designated bottle cutter easier than a pencil grip or fist grip cutter for this, but feel free to experiment.) Score the circumference of the jar several times to make sure the break will be clean.

2. Hold the jar with the score line directly above the lit candle and rotate it several times to heat and stress the glass.

3. Run cold water over the jar to crack the glass, or plunge it into a bucket of ice and water. The point here is to stress the glass by heating it and then quickly cooling it. If it doesn’t crack completely the first time, repeat the process from the top, starting with the cutter. Canning jars are made of thick glass, and sometimes it takes more than once to cut one.

4. When the bottom of the jar is gone, use the file and cutting oil to smooth the edge, to make sure it’s safe to touch.

5. Spray the inside of the jar with the frosted finish, from both top and bottom, and let dry.

6. Attach to the desired light fixture. The lid is useful for this. If it has a glass seal inside, you’ll have to get rid of that first. Either pry it loose, or break it with a hammer and remove the pieces.

7. Drill a hole in the lid sufficient for mounting over a standard light socket, or wherever you need it to fit. Add the wiring—easy to do with a prewired fixture—and then screw the jar onto the lid.

8. For a bit of added punch, you can paint on the jar with glass paint, to give it a stained glass look. If you don’t want to attempt freehand painting, this is somewhere else where small stencils come in handy and look great.

Scandinavian Christmas Heart Baskets

MATERIALS

• Scissors
  

• Glossy, scrapbooking, or construction paper; two different colors
  

• Glue
  

 

DIRECTIONS

1. Cut two rectangles 2
¹
/
₂
inches by 9 inches from the papers.

2. Fold the rectangles in half, to make folded sheets 2
¹
/
₂
inches by 4
¹
/
₂
inches.

3. From the folds, cut three slits each three inches long.

4. Round the edge on the opposite side of the fold.

5. Lay the halves in front of you with the round edges closest to you, and mark the flaps from the left: 6, 5, 4 on the first half, and 1, 2, 3 on the second.

6. Weave the two halves together like this:

• Flap 1 goes through Flap 4, over Flap 5, and through Flap 6.
  
• Flap 2 does the opposite: over Flap 4, through Flap 5, and over Flap 6.
  
• Flap 3 does what Flap 1 did: through Flap 4, over Flap 5, and through Flap 6.
  
• Flap 4 will be over Flap 1, through Flap 2, and over Flap 3.
  
• Flap 5 will be through Flap 1, over Flap 2, and through Flap 3.
  
• Flap 6 will be over Flap 1, through Flap 2, and over Flap 3.
  
• The result should look like a 3x3 checkerboard heart.
  

7. Cut a strip of either color paper and use the glue to fashion a handle. Hang it on a tree or on a string with others and fill with raisins, popcorn, or other small Christmas goodie.

Make Your Own Bookcase

MATERIALS

• ³
  /
  ₄
  inch birch plywood—enough for the project
  

• 1
  ¹
  /
  ₄
  inch poplar
  

• Wood glue
  

• Small decorative molding
  

• Finish nails
  

• Tape measure
  

• Table saw
  

• Miter saw
  

• Finish nailer/hammer
  

• Level
  

• T-square
  

• Router
  

 

DIRECTIONS

1. Measure the space where you want the bookcase to fit, and determine how much material you need.

2. Cut the plywood pieces to the right size.