Book Review
Sensational Sugar Fairies by Frances McNaughton
As a sculptor, we often find that books packed with ideas for our sculpting don’t just come from the traditional “polymer clay” books, but also for books on sugar craft & even ceramics. This being said, this book is by the fabulous Frances McNaughton who has written quite a few books on tutorials on sugar crafting and sculpting.
“Sensational Sugar Fairies” is most definitely one of Frances bigger books to date. Many of her books have been done in conjunction with the “Twenty to Make” series and are great books, packed with detail and small projects to fill our mind. This book however is different in many ways.
- Paperback: 128 pages
- Publisher: Search Press (April 15, 2014)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1844488659
- ISBN-13: 978-1844488650
- Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.4 x 0.5 inches
The publication content reads as follows:
Renowned sugarcrafter, Frances McNaughton, the author of several best-selling books on sugar fairies, creates a magical world in sugarcraft to decorate cakes for fairy lovers everywhere. She begins by revealing the tools and readily available materials she uses and goes on to show techniques such as modelling all the basic shapes required, sculpting with tools, dusting or painting to add colour and texturing with royal icing. There are then ten step by step projects showing how to make beautiful fairies in fairyland scenes. Some are funny or whimsical such as Buxom Fairy and Fairy’s Bathtime, others have a fashionable twist like Steampunk Fairy and Gothic Fairy; some create a world of folklore such as the Flower Fairy’s Baby and My Friend the Bird, and others are perfect for special occasions: Be My Wife, Christmas Tree Fairy and again, Flower Fairy’s Baby. Many, like Peacock Fairy, are stunningly beautiful. Frances McNaughton is building on the success of her best-selling Twenty to Make: Sugar Fairies with these more developed designs, including scenes for the fairies to star in.
What I Thought
I loved the variety of the projects. However, in over 1/2 of the cases, these are not “fairies” in my opinion … there are people … people with wings. I was so very disappointed in one other huge facet of the book that was NOT mentioned in the publisher’s information. The fairies are made using molds. This was such a disappointment. I was hoping to get some details on how to sculpt these tiny details into a face myself, but sadly I was left unmet. The faces, hands, & even feet in some cases were made using push molds. Other than the details of decorating flowers, there is nothing new in this book from her Twenty-to-Make Sugar Fairies book. These fairies are just larger and a little more complex. That being said, this book is an excellent idea generator for what kind of fairies might actually exist. However, this is NOT a book I will likely ever turn to again.
For the true sculptor, you are better to get one of my favorites, “Fairies, Gnomes, & Trolls.”
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