Twenty to Make: Sugar Fairies - Tapa blanda

Nov 10 We've all heard of the sugar plum fairy, but here are twenty sugar fairies to enliven your cakes and make your celebration tables look stunning. There are some truly lovely projects in this book, mostly suitable for those fairly new to sugarpaste modelling but with a few slightly more challenging ones as well. There is no recipe for sugarpaste in here, but you can buy it ready made and of course for a longer-lasting fairy there are lots of polymer and air-drying clays around as well. Most occasions are covered, including christening, wedding, Christmas, birthdays and, of course, lots of flower fairies. There is a tooth fairy complete with toothbrush, ballerina fairy, princess fairy and they don't all have to be white either - how about a chocolate fairy?! Photographs of the individual pieces are shown so you know what your shapes should look like prior to assembly, and all the materials and tools needed for each project are listed. As with all these Twenty to Make series books, the instructions are brief, but easy to follow and the finished item gives plenty of clues too as to what goes where and why. If you are a total tyro at sugarcraft you will need to invest in a few tools and cutters before tackling anything but you are warned about this at the beginning, and none of the items listed are too unusual or expensive. All in all, a delightful book that reminded me what fun this craft can be. * Myshelf.com *

Frances McNaughton shows how to make cute and beautiful sugar fairies for cake decorating using sugarpaste and a few simple tools and techniques. All the shapes needed to make each fairy are clearly shown, along with step by step instructions on how to assemble them, then each fairy is shown in all its splendour. Funny twists are given to familiar fairies such as the Tooth Fairy, a Fairy Godmother, and various flower fairies, and there are plenty of new ideas such as a Fairy Bride, a Dancing Fairy and a Baby Fairy. Lovers of fairies will be thrilled to see any of these appealing creatures on top of a celebratory cake.