i am thinking about buying sugar flowers by jill maytham, but the cheapest i can find it is $40. cannot find any good deals on ebay or amazon and have pretty much scoured the web and not found any great deals (%@$@%....).

i have most of alan dunn's sugar books and a few others to boot, but this one looked like it might be very, very straightforward because the line drawings looked very easy to interpret. i might have to hurt someone if i cannot figure out how to do the small parts in the middle of my moth orchids and i thought buying the book might be a better way to go...

ok, i really do have a question in here somewhere, lol.
is it worth the money (bear in mind i am a terrible tightwad)?

diane

I'm also looking for books on how to make suger flowers. If anyone has any suggestions, I'd love to know. It sounds like this book might good for me if it has lots of detailed explanations and pictures.

Thanks!

anyone? it is really great (i.e. worth the money)?

Good luck! I have no idea just giving you a bump.

the book is great when you have a load of JEM cutters, its her range so the books shows exactly which cutters to use. It a very basic book, and for the most part easy to follow, but remember it was written 15+ years ago and the new edition is just a straight reprint.

I prefer the way that Alan Dunn shows how to do the flowers. His photos is also very clear, so if you dont undersand something you can look at the picture and try to figure it out. With Jills book it not possible.

btw, it might be cheaper to buy it directly form her. Her website is www.jemcutters.co.za

believe it or not I got most of my books at the public library... and have had several checked out now for well over 6 months.

It's free (provided you don't incur any late charges) and they have a real great selection where I am.

One of the staff had actually borrowed a book they didnt have for me from another library in the next neighboring town.

Cant beat free if your a tightwad LOL and at least this way you can see if the book is something you really want to add to your own personal library.

It's a try before you buy kinda deal.

Hope this helps

Do you have any titles? I mean, so I know what books to look for at the library. TIA!

i go from library to store bought, i tend to find the library editions are all very old volumes, some of them twenty year old and the decorations styles are waaaaay back beyond what i know now!

Have you tried any of Nick Lodge's books and dvd's?? He's an amazing instructor!!

I'm in my 3rd semester of sugar paste flowers and my instructor relies on Leslie Herbert's Complete Book of sugarflowers. I bought it and I love it. She gives instructions on cymbidium and dendrobium orchids.

HTH.

I have not seen this other book you are referring to, so I cannot give an opinion.

I recommend anything by Alan Dunn, Leslie Herbert, Scott Clark Woolley has a great book out "Cakes by Design" and Nick Lodge has a sugar flowers book out "A Potpourri of Flowers." All are very good.

Any of Nick Lodge's book are worth their weight in gold as far as I am concerned. I have taken some of his classes when I was in Atlanta and they were wonderful. If you are looking for good book sources at great prices try abe.com, I have bought many books from there and never have had a problem. Also someone on here mentioned discountbooksale,com, however, I have never bought from them so I can not vouch for the books or delivery. Good luck in your pursuit of books to help you with flowers.
evelyn

Any of Nick Lodge's book are worth their weight in gold as far as I am concerned. I have taken some of his classes when I was in Atlanta and they were wonderful. If you are looking for good book sources at great prices try abe.com, I have bought many books from there and never have had a problem. Also someone on here mentioned discountbooksale,com, however, I have never bought from them so I can not vouch for the books or delivery. Good luck in your pursuit of books to help you with flowers.
evelyn

Aside from which book to buy, the ONLY place I buy books EVER is from ABEBOOKS.

It's a network of used book stores. I have never not been able to find what I wanted. And I pay anywhere from $1.99 up. Plus about $4 shipping. I think I got the Lodge book for less than half of what it sells for elsewhere. And I have never had a problem. The books always arrive quickly and the condition is always excellent. Trust me on this one. You will never pay full price again.

I have this book and refer often to it. It is a very basic book and give great detail. You don't have to have her cutters to use it, but it is written for use with her line of cutters.

The one thing i find most frustrating about gumpaste flowers is coloring them, and unfortunately this book is mostly black and white line drawings. Do i think its worth the money absolutely, after all one class in gumpaste will run more then that.