20 To Make: Sugar Animals (Twenty to Make) [Paperback]

In the Twenty-to-Make series, this book includes twenty sweet little sugar animals to make. Made with sugar paste, the majority of the animals are easy enough for complete beginners. Clear instructions are given for each project in this all-colour 48 page book.-KarenPlatt.co.uk Sugarcraft expert Frances McNaughton has designed 20 simple sugar animals that modellers of all ages can make. You will only need basic tools and ingredients and there are clear step-by-step instructions for each animal.-Cakes & Sugarcraft Here are 20 great designs with clear step-by-step instructions that are easy and fun to make using simple techniques and readily available ingredients. They're the perfect finishing touch for young and old for the festivities ahead. Frances shows how to make cute and funny animals using sugar paste plus a few simple tools and techniques. We learn about the simple shapes that are the basis for all the animals and then it's straight on to making elephants, monkeys, pandas, lizards, dolphins, kangaroos and much more.-Machine Knitting Monthly If you enjoyed playing with modelling clay as a child, then sugarcraft is surely going to have a lot of appeal. Celebration cakes decorated by hand are so much more special than those bought in stores, and you can tailor the decorations to suit the taste of the recipient. Most people have a favorite animal; so modelling these is a good place to start. I've always enjoyed doing this even though I don't personally have a sweet tooth (it really is not a requirement for sugarcraft). I own other books on the subject, but tend to find that too many of them fall into the usual craft book tendency of insisting you need everything but the kitchen sink, although for this craft the latter is a necessity! Here you just need the paste, basic kitchen equipment and a few other bits and pieces that you probably already have. Fancy cutters can come later - this is about working with your hands. There is a page showing the shapes you need to make so you can practice making them neatly before you begin, and then it is on with the projects. There are twenty animals in here rather than the usual twenty plus twenty more variations, but you need both pages for a photo of the finished item, instructions plus another extremely useful feature. For every animal as well as the completed model it shows each separate piece you need to make in order to assemble it. Each part has a number which corresponds with the instructions, and if you have practised making the shapes at the front (and are reasonably proficient with modelling clay) then it is all relatively easy to make a professional job of it. Animals include favorites such as tiger, elephant, dolphin, zebra, monkey, crocodile, snake, panda etc tending towards those found in a zoo rather than pets or creatures associated with festivals. You will just have to roll out your sugar paste and see if you can make reindeer and chicks for yourself - a really user-friendly book.-Myshelf.com This book by British Sugarcraft Guild member Frances McNaughton is absolutely adorable! I loved the darling designs for little sugar paste animals included in this book. You'll find directions for elephants, panda bears, a lizard, snakes, hippopotamus, dolphin,kangaroo, camel, tiger, seal, skunk, a mischievous raccoon, leopards, koala bears, lions,a crocodile, monkeys, a zebra, giraffe, and a frog. A virtual zoo full of animals to create to decorate everything from cupcakes to birthday cakes, to even a wedding cake if you so desire. The versatility of the sugar paste animal designs is that they can also be crafted from polymer clays or other air dry or oven dry sculpting clays as well - not just used for cake decor. You can create more permanent versions of the animal menagerie for keepsakes. I found myself oohing and ahhingA" over these adorable animals and I was amazed that each and every design ,though it may look complex, actually uses very basic steps to create stunning results. Easy for a beginner to create very nice results for their cupcake and cake creations. I can't wait for the next time that I have a child's birthday cake to create! I'm going to have so much fun making something memorable for a child in my life - but gracious! - these are so cute though, that I do believe that someone will need to create a cake for me with these darling critters on it too.(after all the little kids can't have all the fun now can they?) This is a darling book to have on hand for the next time you are called upon to create a birthday cake or special occasion cake.-Stliving.com Sugar animals look stunning on birthday cakes - but they are so expensive to buy from the shops. They always look difficult to make - but as Francis McNaughton shows in this book, in fact they are extremely easy. All you need is a little bit of patience and the right ingredients. Fancy making a raccoon or squirrel, some seals balancing on marshmallows, crocodile, zebra, monkey or lion? This book shows you how - together with lots more animals. The instructions are incredibly clear. Each individual piece such as an arm, leg, marking is shown separately, in stages as well as the finished item. The lion for example is shown as a body with legs, then with front paws attached, before adding the head, mane and facial features. It makes a lovely book to give as a present to a keen cook, or to use yourself when making special cakes. This is definitely one of those books that you cannot be without - and the results will certainly be pleasing to everyone.-Monstersandcritics.com

Frances McNaughton shows how to make cute and funny sugar animals for cake decorating using sugarpaste and a few simple tools and techniques. First we learn about the simple shapes that are the basis for all the animals, and the few basic tools that are needed. Then it is staight on to making elephants, monkeys, pandas, lizards, dolphins, kangaroos and much more. The constituent parts of the animals are shown with the step by step instructions, and annotated for clarity, then each finished animal is pictured in all its splendour. Animal lovers will be thrilled to see any of these appealing creatures on top of a celebratory cake.