Enchanted Adornments

I'm a lucky duck. I received an advance copy of Cynthia Thornton's much-anticipated book Enchanted Adornments. All I can say is wow. Actually, I'll give this book a triple wow--that's like 5 stars in my playbook! To be honest, I think it's the most entertaining, fun craft book I've seen in years.


Not only does Cynthia present us with 20 great projects, but each project has a story. And I don't mean "I made this for my Aunt Milly" kind of stories...these stories bring us along with the author in a flowing fictional account of a quest to create 20 unique works for 20 unique souls all around the world. There are fairies and vampires, mermaids and woodland nymphs. I was on the airplane to Portland when I read it. I actually read the whole thing from beginning to end, just like a novel. This is certainly no run-of-the-mill-skim-through-it craft book!

A bonus is that Cynthia has illustrated the entire book with her fantasy drawings and paintings we've so come to love in her work with Green Girl Studios. There are paintings of most of the characters in the book, but also illustrated are the text boxes, borders, and insets. The added touch of Cynthia's drawings make the book even richer.

The stories are entertaining, the drawings beautiful, but the projects are knock-out. One of my favorite pieces shows how to make and incorporate delicate wire and resin wings into a whimsical necklace. Another incorporates metal clay, resin, and illustrations to create a fanciful bracelet.

I know how much effort it takes to put together a book, so I heartily applaud Cynthia's Herculean feat with this one. Well done, Cynthia! And thank you for adding this wonderful entry to my studio shelves.