I discovered another random, fun purpose for my Japanese masking tape the other day. I decided to cover a frosted glass lighting shade with a piece of wallpaper. This built-in lighting fixture on our wall is the only light in our bedroom right now, and Dan and I both hated the glaringly-bright light it produced. We're talking shock bright (and the light uses one of those fancy lightbulbs you can only find at lighting stores, so I couldn't swap in a lower wattage lightbulb.)
Immediately, I thought wallpaper would be a great solution. I wanted to cover the glass shade with wallpaper — some pretty pattern that would dim the light. And frosted glass isn't really my style anyway, so I was happy to hide it under a square of wallpaper. I had a sample of Nama Rococo wallpaper (super expensive, so I've never bought a roll but you can buy samples or a sheet.) One wallpaper sample I had was just about the right size — snipped one end and it was perfect. I slid the wallpaper easily over the glass shade so it rested in front, on the metal hooks keeping the shade in place on the wall. But the wallpaper definitely needed to be stuck down to the shade or it looked unfinished and weird. The problem: we're renters so I couldn't attach the wallpaper to the shade with anything permanent — no glues or pastes. Japanese masking tape to the rescue.
I created a trim of Japanese tape around the entire shade. It not only attached the wallpaper to the frosted glass (in a non-permanent way) but it made the wallpaper look finished. When I covered a paper lampshade with wallpaper in our last apartment, I used the same concept. A grosgrain ribbon on the top and the bottom of the shade covered the wallpaper edges and created a trim — one of those details that makes the shade look stylish, rather than a quick cover-up fix.
And now? We love our bedroom light. It's the perfect subtle glow for evenings. And that gorgeous Nama Roccoco wallpaper adds a little pattern art to the walls, which makes me happy every time I look up at it.
p.s. Happy Tape is another amazing source of Japanese tape — so many options in patterns and colors!
