This book was easy to read with wonderful pictures that really helped you understand what the finished candle would look like. The author used simple easy to follow language and gave you a list of all the tools needed for each project. She also gave you wonderful ideas to follow or use as a jumping off point for your own creations. The tools she suggests are things every one has or can find fairly easy, so there is no need to go to a specialty store or search forever, you can find pretty much everything you need at a Micheal's or craft store near you. So for anyone looking to begin making candles or just looking for creative new ways to make them I highly recomend this book to everyone.

This book is fantastic! The ideas are actually do-able and the directions are clear and concise. After borrowing this book from the library I'm ready to make it a purchase. There are projects in here I would never have tried, but this book made them easy and they turned out beautiful. The book also gives lists of things you will need to do each project. This is the best craft/decorating book I have ever gotton my hands on, And 3 of my friends also vouch for that statement.

This book is so much fun!. It will keep adults as well as older children entertained for many hours. In particular it will appeal to people who have the creative urge to make jewelry as a hobby or just for fun. The book shows a range of delightful and beautifully presented projects demonstrating how to make funky brooches, earrings, necklaces and beads from cheap things like seedbeads, fabric, paper, bits of glass, broken mirror, polymer clay and more. The projects are easy to make, but produce quite sophisticated looking results that will appeal to people who like bright, fun, unique handmade jewelry.

The book is divided into three sections: Paper and fabric, Beads and glass, and thirdly wood and metal. Each section has a few pages of "inspiration" which is photos showing how others have made jewelry using the materials for that section.

The instructions are easy to follow and presented through lavish color photos. Only four out of about nineteen projects used tools and items that might not be commonly found around the house (resin, a soldering iron, a spot welder and nitric acid). I think this book is aimed at beginners as the projects are technically quite basic. However I feel it will appeal to people who may already have a bit of technical experience. I have three years jewelry making experience and I found the originality and creativity used to make the jewelry very inspiring and fun.

This book is an excellent work for identification of cactus. It describes the proper growing conditions separately for each species, including sun vs. shade, kind of soil and hardiness to cold.

Nearly every variety of nearly every genera is listed and shown, with more than one picture of the cactus, if necessary, to facilitate identification (generally, one of the whole plant, one of the flower). Very complete descriptions of the cacti are provided, including the number and color of the thorns and other minutae.

The book has a handy finding-guide in the front, arranged by gross features (columnar vs. barrel vs. sprawling, etc.) to make it as easy as possible to identify an unknown plant.

Cactus from all environments are covered, including tropical, epiphytic and desert varieties.

Note that cacti, like all plants, are ultimately identified by their flowers; in particular, two cacti from much different native climates - and requiring much different cultivation environments - often look very similar; it is the flowers that distinguish them. This book cannot erase that reality - many cacti (again, like any other plant) cannot be fully identified unless they are in bloom.

This book is also not a tutorial for growing cacti. ...

This Illustrated Encyclopedia is a reference work, though the beautiful pictures make it an excellent coffee-table book as well. Indeed, opening the book randomly to nearly any page reveals breathtaking photography of cacti at their finest.

If you want to have no more that _two_ books on growing cacti, I recommend this Illustrated Encyclopedia ....

I'm an avid cactus collector and I get most of my cacti from the local supermarkets and greenhouses. Most of these stores will sell you the plant but will not give you any information about it. This is the reason why I needed a book that would help me identify my cacti and give me care instructions specific to each species. Well, that is exactly what this book will do for you.

The author of the book makes no assumptions about your background (you don't need to be a biologist or anything to benefit from it).

The very first section provides a guide that helps you narrow down the possible genera of your cacti by simply looking at its basic shape and other visible characteristics (like type of spines, number of ribs, type of clustering, etc.). Once you've chosen a set of possible genera, you go to the main section and look inside the chapter corresponding to each of the genera you chose. Inside each chapter you will find an item for each species that belongs to that genus. Each of these items contains a color photograph which will make it very easy to make a final decision about what species your cactus belongs to.

Each item will give you additional information like a list of synonyms for the species, a brief paragraph describing the plant, its country of origin, cultivation details, the shape of the plant (when fully grown), it tells you whether it is day or night flowering, the length of the flowering period, how much light it needs, the type of compost it needs, and the minimum temperature required.

As a bonus, the book contains a brief section about cultivation techniques (only four pages long).

This is the most detailed source of cactus infomation that I have come across in the past eight years. The descriptions are very precise, especially; size, cultural habits,and all the basic growing necessities, with a great number of column cactus included. That's terrific! Most cacti enthusiasts will be overwhelmed by the photos(over 1200), which can captivate anyone into the beauty of cacti. Details such as: number of spines,ribs, and projected size can be a novelty for the ameteur collector. Also, there is added information about growing requirements,such as; light, temperature, water, and different soils mixes to be used for certain cituations. Mr. Innes and Mr. Glass have put together the best book on cacti that I had found,nevertheless, the price is very affordable.

It seems that no one book on alpines will ever encompass the entire plant palette available to rock gardeners, but this book makes a small attempt. Some of the photos are spectacular, but others are dark or unclear. Descriptions are technical but accurate. This book should be part of a serious rock gardener's libray, but it falls short of being a complete A-Z dictionary as it claims.

Plant chapters included in this book are: annuals and biennials; herbaceous perennials; ferns; bulbs, corms and tubers; alpines and rock garden plants; conifers and heathers; shrubs, trees, and climbers; houseplants, water plants, herbs, fruit, and vegetables. Each chapter consists of two parts, the first is an illustrated guide of propogation techniques; the second part is a "directory" or a mini encyclopedia of plants. This book is mostly plant directory rather than propogation techniques. For example, in the longest chapter, Shrubs, Trees and Climbers, there are 10 pages of propogation techniques and 14 pages of directory. The book's strong points are in this chapter also, it has a good section on tree grafting. However, my biggest complaint about this book is that it does not mention roses at all. Nor does it mention carnivorous plants or other exotics. On the plus side, the photographs and illustrations are excellent. If you are interested in growing a specific plant type, like begonias or cacti, you would be better off with a plant-specific book, this book is too general.