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THE SHELF
To Judy Lake, a lampshade is a form of self-expression.
Lake, owner of a Vermont business called Lake’s Lampshades, is encouraging her readers to put a little personality into their lighting with “The Lampshade Lady’s Guide to Lighting Up Your Life: 50 Custom Lampshades and Lamps.”
Lake’s book teaches the basics of creating a lampshade with a wire frame and gives ideas for making shades from such unexpected materials as photos, antique postcards and vintage fabrics — even chenille and needlework. Her projects range from simple shades appropriate for beginners to elaborate designs. She also includes instructions for making lamp bases from boots, baby blocks and more.
“The Lampshade Lady’s Guide to Lighting Up Your Life” is for sale starting this week from Potter Craft. It’s priced at $27.50 in hardcover.
WHAT’S NEW
Midwest Gloves & Gear’s new gardening bench folds flat, so it won’t take up much storage space. The lightweight bench has a steel frame with a canvas sling seat, plus a canvas tote to hold your gardening tools. The tote can be detached and carried by its straps.
The Gardening Bench with Bag has a suggested retail price of $19.99 and is available at most True Value hardware stores and Gale’s Garden Centers. It also can be ordered for $31 from http://www.katzgardengloves.com. (Look in the new products section.)
Q&A
Q: Would putting plastic on windows help keep cool air inside in summer the way it does with warm air in winter? We have air conditioning and don’t open the windows.
A: If there are air leaks around the windows, plastic insulating film would seal them and help keep conditioned air from escaping, said Karl Balla, an energy auditor and green-building consultant who owns Energy Pros of Ohio in Richfield. The air space between the window and the film also would add some insulating value to slow the transfer of heat into the house, he said.
Most people in our area don’t use the film in summer, however, because they like to open the windows to let in fresh air.