Folk Art Lamp 100% Paper

Inspired by my heritage, I made a lamp that is 100% made of paper. The sunflowers, calla lilies and colors are all frequently used in Mexican folk art.

• Corn starch
• Boiling water
• Blender
• Newspaper torn into strips
• Corrugated cardboard (19" x 19")
• deep tub
• Tape 
• Wood (a 6" round 1/2" thick circle)
• Drill 
• Paint brush 
• Paint 
• lacquer
• old lamp shade
• lamp hardware kit (found at hardware store for bout $15)

Roll the cardboard and use tape to secure it into a cardboard cylinder.  Create a 6” base with ½” plywood, using a jigsaw. Glue the cylinder around the wood base.

Put  cornstarch and water in a pot. Boil it until it becomes like glue.

Cut strips of paper and dip it in glue. Place strips of paper on the cylinder until it is covered and stronger.

Put shredded paper into the blender to make a pulp and use it to mold the desired shapes to decorate the base. Let the project dry (it will take about 2 days.) Use white paint to cover over everything. Let that dry. Choose colors and paint the flowers and base and let it dry overnight. Apply lacquer.

Oops, I had to take the wood base out again to do this, bc I forgot I had to bolt it from the inside and run the wire through the lamp. So then, glue the base back on again.

Make the lamp shade by shredding paper, then blend it. Using a deep tub, swish the screen into the mush, cover with another screen, squeegee it and press it onto some cotton fabric to squeeze out the rest of the water. Let it dry on a flat surface. This will take another day to dry.

Peel the dried paper off the fabric, select the best quality ones. Cut it to fit over an old lamp shade, glue paper to it and assemble the lamp.

Plug it in, add light bulb and turn it on!