If you enjoyed playing with modeling 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 modeling 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 actually is a necessity! Here you just need the paste, basic kitchen equipment and a few other bits and pieces 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 practiced making the shapes at the front (and are reasonably proficient with modeling clay) then it is 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, based on what you've learned from this really user-friendly book.