Origami Zoo: An Amazing Collection of Folded Paper Animals
by Robert J. Lang
from St. Martin's Griffin
Choose among the dolphin, penguin, swan, owl, goose, kangaroo, praying mantis, or even the mythical Pegasus or extinct wooly mammoth. Each of these thirty-seven new projects is true origami-folded from a single piece of paper with no cutting or gluing-and is complete with clear step-by-step diagrams, instructions, and a photograph of the finished model.
Origami Zoo will challenge and delight anyone with a penchant for creating something wonderful out of (almost) nothing.
Making Candles & Soaps For Dummies (For Dummies (Sports & Hobbies))
by Kelly Ewing
from For Dummies
Make floating candles, herbal soaps, and even a home spa
Discover the secrets of color, shape, and scent the fun and easy way?
Whether you're a beginner or seasoned craftperson, this fun book offers everything you need to make beautiful, professional-looking candles and soaps at home. You get practical tips on dyeing and scenting wax, using unusual molds, adding embellishments to candles, working with soap ingredients, and even turning your hobby into a business!
Discover How To:
* Stock a safe & efficient work area
* Work with all types of wax
* Add color and scent to your projects
* Make melt-and-pour soaps
* Turn a hobby into a business
The Everything Candlemaking Book: Create Homemade Candles in House-Warming Colors, Interesting Shapes, and Appealing Scents (Everything Series)
by Marie-Jeanne Abadie
from Adams Media
Easy-to-Make Candles
by Gary V. Guy
from Dover Publications
Encyclopedia Of Candlemaking Techniques: A Step-by-step Visual Directory
by Sandie Lea
from Running Press
Candle Making Made Easy (Crafts Made Easy)
from David & Charles Publishers
Though quite brief, this guide manages to touch upon the important basics of getting started in candle making. Most of the designs are fairly standard though nicely executed; a few of the ideas are a bit more unique, such as little clown candles molded from modeling wax to perch atop a child's birthday cake, jeweled pillars adorned with gold wax and colorful beads, or a bowl of real-looking fruits that are actually all molded candles. A more thorough introduction for those new to the craft can be found in Sue Spear's excellent Candle Making in a Weekend, but Candle Making Made Easy does provide a reasonably good beginning. --Amy Handy
Fragrant Candles: A Practical Guide to Making Candles For The Home & Garden
by Rhondda Cleary
from Sterling
Aromatherapy remains tremendously popular, and candles are of course natural components of this practice. Rhondda Cleary discusses the basics of essential oils and perfumed candles, including brief guidelines on what scents enhance what mood. But this is really not so much a book about fragrance (which it addresses almost glancingly) as it is about general candle making and decorating with candles, which it covers quite well. Cleary explains exactly how to make a molded candle and many variations thereof (striped, mosaic, ice, embedded, floating), as well as dipped and beeswax candles. The second portion of the book offers suggestions for using candles in the home and garden: for everyday decorating, holiday celebrations, table arrangements, and so on. Although the step-by-step instructions and photographs are adequate, they are not outstanding; where the book really shines is in its approach to making candles part of our daily lives and in encouraging us not simply to make candles but to use them. --Amy Handy
Gel Candles: Creative & Beautiful Candles to Make
by Dawn Cusick
from Lark Books
Relatively new to the candle-making kingdom, gel is a readily available, adaptable substance that can be transformed into all sorts of fascinating candle looks. By melting the jelly-like goop, adding color and perhaps fragrance, and pouring into a heatproof container with a wick, anyone can whip up one-of-a-kind candles. Dawn Cusick's Gel Candles presents a stunning selection of gel candle creations. Sometimes the containers define the style: Moroccan painted glasses, Easter candles in glass eggs, a teacup, an etched bud vase. But more often what makes the candle unique are the items embedded within: beads, wire, seashells, metal charms, marbles, tiny ceramic figures. The transparency of the gel--even when tinted--enables the treasures to shine through.
Overall, the step-by-step directions are adequate, and the author includes numerous safety precautions. Some of the embedded choices, however, appear rather questionable: silk flowers, plastic toys, and paper photocopies all appear in projects, and although the author warns to keep such items away from the wick and to extinguish the flame when it comes within one inch of the container bottom, such warnings seem insufficient, especially for beginners. And the wicks themselves are often short and unanchored, threatening more hazards if they burn too long. With these caveats in mind, Gel Candles is a worthwhile, whimsical idea-filled guide to the subject. --Amy Handy
Scented Candles: 20 Fragrant Projects for All Occasions
by Gloria Nicol
from Laurel Glen Publishing
Both as intimate design accents and as gentle aromatherapy for any room in the home, candles can enhance every decor. Scented Candles offers a wide range of projects grouped by scent families and season, with simple methods for creating everything from a simple wax glass candle to a colorful centerpiece with three wicks. The author's guide to choosing and combining scents helps candlemakers set the mood in the tub or at the dinner table. Featuring 200 color photos, Scented Candles provides a guide to choosing the right scent - floral, citrus, spicy, or woody-for any occasion or location.
Naturally Creative Candles: Discover the Craft of Candle Making and Decorating Using Nature's Bounty
by Letty Oates
from Chilton Book Company
Letty Oates's Naturally Creative Candles focuses on the use of natural materials in making and decorating candles. Projects incorporate such items as pebbles, seashells, herbs, pressed and fresh flowers, wheat, pinecones, starfish, rustic fabrics, and even carved fruits and vegetables to create striking candles, holders, and table displays, all shown in beautiful photos.
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