Search results for ""Author Lora S. Irish""

Internationally renowned artist and best-selling author Lora S. Irish shows you how to use a handful of tools and materials to produce fun and elegant pieces simply by learning the basic steps. After you have mastered the art of twisting and coiling jewelry links, you can let your imagination run wild. Experiment with color, new shapes, and combining elements to enhance your wardrobe with pieces that are truly your own.

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Learn how to choose, prepare and apply the perfect finish for your next creative wood project with this practical compendium of finishing techniques. Nationally known artist and best-selling author Lora S. Irish shows you how to create flawless finishes that will add pop to your next woodworking project. Lora takes you through all the basics of colour and painting, with expert advice on tools and supplies. She explains beautiful techniques for bringing out the texture and character of wood, with easy-to-follow instructions and workshop photographs that illustrate every step. Comprehensive information is provided for using primers, acrylics, oils, coloured pencils, watercolours, markers and more. With Finishing Techniques for Wood Crafters, there's no need to ever fear wood finishing again!

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Chip carving, also known as spoon carving or "Kerbschnitt," is the ideal introduction to woodcarving for beginners. This simple traditional carving method uses just a few basic knives to remove selected chips of wood in small triangles, squares and free-form curves, producing amazingly intricate and delicate results. Nationally known woodcarving artist and author Lora S. Irish shows you how to get started in this venerable craft. Chip Carving Workshop takes you through all of the essential chip carving techniques, from tool sharpening and preparation to hand positions, chip cutting and finishing. You'll discover how to use both geometric shapes and free form designs to create wonderfully detailed patterns. Practice projects will have you decorating household items and creating artistic pieces in a variety of original designs.

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Unravel the secrets to creating Celtic knot work as you adorn your completed wood burning, carving and scrolling projects with beautiful twists, braids and textures. In this new edition of the largest and most complete book on Celtic knot work, nationally known artist and best-selling author Lora S. Irish unravels the secrets to creating these intricate and beautiful designs. With over 200 original patterns and easy-to-follow lessons that can be applied to a multitude of arts and crafts, you'll learn the basics of creating the knotted line and the simple twists and braids that form the basis of Celtic art. Discover how to incorporate knot patterns and finials—such as animals, leaves or scroll work—into an unlimited number of styles and layouts that can artistically stand alone or adorn any form of craft. Great Book of Celtic Patterns is the essential guide for any artist or crafter seeking to create the historical beauty of Celtic Art.

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This title features 40 original patterns for carving your own Green Men and Wood Spirits. It provides a short history of these popular mythical figures. It includes step-by-step demonstrations and an inspirational full-colour gallery. Green men and wood spirits, historical symbols that link the forces of nature and humanity, have re-emerged as popular subjects for woodcarvers and other artists. This ultimate sourcebook for carving these classic figures, from noted artist and author Lora S. Irish, offers a short history and evolution of the green man and wood spirit symbols. Two step-by-step demonstrations, for carving a Green Man and a Wood Spirit Walking Stick, are provided by renowned carvers Chris Pye and Shawn Cipa. 40 ready-to-use, original patterns are also included, along with a full-colour gallery of eye-catching and inspiring photos from Clive Hicks. Inside this book you'll find all the tips, techniques, information and inspiration necessary to successfully create your own interpretation of this timeless icon - in any craft medium you choose.

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This title allows readers to master the basics before becoming more complex in detail. Designs that appeal to today's consumer, projects galore and a well proven author make this book a must have for anyone interested in crafting handmade jewellery to keep, share or sell. Using inexpensive wire and tools commonly found around the home, readers will learn how to bend, twist and coil wire to create an endless variety of shapes for attractive necklaces, bracelets and earrings. Once readers master the basic wire shapes, they will learn how to create finished pieces by incorporating fasteners, earring hooks and cording. When these basic building blocks are mastered, readers will learn how to embellish their designs with beads and more complex designs. It provides practice projects, step by step instructions and a gallery of designs that will show readers just how easy it is to get started in this fun and rewarding craft.

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These beautiful tribal tattoos are rooted in historic and cultural sources. It includes high quality patterns from a renowned artist and bestselling author. Each design is accompanied by the meaning associated with it. In years past, our ancestors wore tattoos to mark a family achievement, to memorialise special occasions like marriage and child birth, to identify tribe members, to protect against enemies and misfortune and to celebrate victory in battle. Today, men and women wear tattoos to reflect their individuality. These new tribal tattoos are bold statements that are rooted in historic and cultural sources. Inside "Modern Tribal Tattoos", there are black work patterns that incorporate large solid areas with fine line accents, motif ideas, including totems and talismans, free-form designs based on long curved lines and fine delicate line work. Repeating elements, like triangles, spirals, suns and lines are also included to enhance large patterns. Today's favourite designs are included here, from bold triangle lines, spiked spirals, ragged curved lines to barb-wire. Each design includes the attributes or meaning associated with it like: Love and Affection; Bravery and Courage; Family; Friendship; Independence; Protection; Strength and much more. These high-quality patterns, from renowned artist and best-selling author of "Great Book of Tattoos" (9781565233324), Lora S. Irish, are ready to be replicated by tattoo artists, or personalised for craft projects.

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The history, mythology, and composition of angels, cherubs, fairies, pixies, and sprites are detailed in this handbook of fairy patterns. More than 72 fairy patterns for all mediums are featured, including dragonfly, sugar plum, and woodland fairies. The physical features of fairies and fairy backgrounds are examined in depth, including instructions for face and body painting that apply to all fairy re-creations. Comprehensive descriptions of different types of fairies accompanied by their folk histories provide a useful context for all fairy enthusiasts.

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Little Book of Pyrography makes it easy to learn the creative craft of woodburning! All that aspiring beginners need is this book and an inexpensive wood burning tool to start adorning wood, gourds, leather, paper and more with beautiful images and patterns. Legendary pyrography artist Lora S. Irish expands on the techniques and projects from her bestselling book Pyrography Basics—all of which are included here—and explores new ways to achieve lovely varieties of tone and texture. In this handsome hardcover gift edition, Lora provides a thorough introduction to basic tools, materials and techniques. Readers will learn how to set up a practice board to experiment with strokes and settings before moving on to working projects with confidence. Seven skill-building projects provide step-by-step exercises in using temperature, time, layering and texturing to create artistic tonal values.

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From celebrated artist Lora S. Irish comes a treasure trove of small and beautiful patterns for crafters of all mediums. Perfect for carving, woodburning, painting, quilting and more, the patterns are provided in two detailed varieties: a line drawing for transferring and a shaded variety for illustrating depth and shadow. For new carvers Irish demonstrates the whole carving process from start to finish with a charming Country Apple Quilt Square project. She also explains the tools you'll need, the appropriate woods to use and how to achieve the appropriate levels of depth in a relief carving. The wildlife, botanical, mythical, landscape and corner designs can beautifully stand alone or be incorporated into functional and decorative items around your home.

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A complete and contemporary update to this best-selling resource for woodburners, reknowned artist Lora Irish reveals her secrets in this newly revised edition. Beginner and advanced pyrographers alike benefit from more than 40 original traceable line art designs, and step-by-step instructions for transferring a pyrography pattern.

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Learn to Draw Celtic Designs is a treasure trove of beautiful Celtic designs that are a constant source of fascination for people all over the world. It features more than 50 original, ready-to-use patterns that can be drawn and decorated in authentic Celtic style.These sinuous knots, mythical creatures, and ornate braids make fantastic adornments for a variety of arts and crafts, including woodworking, pyrography, leatherwork and needlecraft.Each intricate design can be easily altered to create dozens of additional patterns for your own artwork, giving you the potential to create hundreds of new designs.

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This complete artist's guide to gourd painting provides authoritative advice on a wide range of colour media, from craft acrylics and artist's oils to dyes, pastels and marking pens. Ten step-by-step projects use a wide variety of gourd decoration techniques to create natural, seasonal decor like bird houses, centrepieces, containers and more. Featuring bright and clear project photography, Painting Gourds explores a wide variety of colouration options for each gourd decoration method. Ten step-by-step projects show how create natural, seasonal decor using painting, carving and pyrography techniques. Author and nationally recognized artist Lora S. Irish explains all the basics of gourd art including safety, cleaning, cutting, surface prep, transferring designs and finishing. Readers will learn to make delightful centrepieces, candle lights, jars, vases and decorative musical instruments, as well as birdhouses, feeders and fun little bee houses for the garden.

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An in-depth introduction teaches novice carvers basic techniques, such as choosing wood and transferring a pattern while intermediate and experienced carvers will appreciate a section devoted to advanced techniques, such as undercutting for depth and creating free-floating areas within a carving. Step-by-step line drawings are included for each project, with shaded patterns illustrating depth and shadow. Genre-specific techniques for wildlife creatures are given exclusive study and include difficult detailing elements such as creating facial features and texturing fur, hair and feathers. More than 60 patterns, including 15 new projects for creating fighting buck, mule deer, elk and fish, will provide skilled hands with many new challenges. Additionally, woodcarvers will learn how to add finishing details to their projects with woodburning, Danish oil and paint.

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Great Book of Woodburning is a comprehensive guide to Pyrography that is perfect for beginners and experts alike. Providing details on the four essential pyrography ingredients - temperature, speed of stroke, texture patterns and layering - this reference also includes chapters on equipment, surface selection and preparation and finishing techniques.Pyrography (or woodburning) is 'the art of burning a design or pattern into a natural surface', such as gourds, wood, leather, or cotton rag watercolour paper 'using heated one-temperature or variable- temperature woodburning tools or a fine flame'.Teaching the way in which the eye comprehends visual tones and translating this knowledge into light and dark values with woodburning tools, this text for all skill levels also provides 30 traceable line patterns that differ in skill and ability.

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Wire wrapping is a quick and easy technique that will take your jewelry making to the next level. A little wire, a few simple tools, and some brightly colored beads are all you need to start creating your own intriguing fashion statements. By adding new wires to basic links, you can alter simple links into complex and fascinating focal designs. Wire-Wrapped Jewelry for Beginners teaches 30 expert wire wrapping methods, such as forming bent-wire links, working a wrapping pattern, wrapping sequential layers, embellishing decorative loops, adding coil elements, and much more. This complete beginner’s guide to wire wrapped jewelry includes 8 easy step-by-step projects for making stunning necklaces, pendants, brooches, hair pins, and earrings.

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This book contains a step-by-step project and 20 further original patterns from acclaimed artist Lora S. Irish. It includes tips for creating detailed facial features like eyelids, windswept hair, beards and more. The relief carving process is clearly explained from start to finish. With this book any carver can stand beside the workbench of acclaimed artist Lora S. Irish and learn everything she has to teach about creating an expressive wood spirit. Lora clearly explains the relief carving process from start to finish: every cut, every tool change, and every depth check. The entire craft is here, from preparing the wood to roughing out and detailing the wood spirit to applying a long-lasting finish. No step is left out and no technique is left unexplained. The author shares her tips for creating realistic and detailed facial features like eyelids, windswept hair, beards, and the ever-important mustache. Best of all, when the step-by-step project is complete, Relief Carving Wood Spirits, Revised Edition offers 20 more original patterns to keep any carver busy for seasons to come.

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This comprehensive resource covers a variety of hand lettering techniques for use on the three main pyrography media surfaces: wood, leather, and artist paper. Includes sections on safety, tools, basic pyrography techniques, pen tip styles, burning strokes and tonal values as well as templates for seven fonts. Renowned and award-winning artist Lora Irish takes you through each project step-by-step and shows you how to finish your chosen project with flair. Achieve your hand lettering goals and make beautiful, personalised gifts and signage with this must-have guide.

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Learn to create realistic landscape pyrography burnings with this comprehensive guide. Nationally recognized artist and pyrographer Lora S. Irish reveals her easy-to-learn methods for working in layers to obtain stunning results. You'll learn how to use contrasting tonal values to create dramatic depth in any landscape, scenery, or wildlife wood burning. Lora shows beginning pyrographers how to develop the burning process by laying one layer over another to slowly bring each area up to its final tonal value. By working a design in low or medium temperatures and adding successive layers, you can obtain total control over your final scene. Lora includes expert advice on basic tools, supplies, and techniques, along with 12 artistic skill-building projects that provide step-by-step practice in using temperature, time, layering, and texturing.

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Transform simple copper wire into stunning works of wearable art! From best-selling author and popular artist Lora Irish, learn expert techniques to create over 100 stylish DIY earring designs. With step-by-step instructions, high-quality photography, lists of materials and tools (including common household items, like medicine jars), and helpful tips and tricks, you'll be able to make dozens of beautiful copper wire earrings with unique formations and beaded details, and even a few necklaces, bracelets, key rings, and more for cohesive sets! Author and internationally-known artist Lora Irish has written several books on many types of art forms, including woodcarving, pyrography, craft pattern books, and more.

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Learn to Draw Dragons is a treasure trove of dragon designs offering over 50 original patterns to use across a variety of arts and crafts. It contains tips and techniques for creating your own fantastic renderings of mankind's favourite foe - the dragon!Dragons have captured the imaginations of artists and authors for centuries. Images of these fiery beasts appear in the earliest myths, on the armour of medieval knights and in today's popular culture.Discover how to bring out your dragon's personality with ornamentation, as well as how to draw realistic scales. You'll be given a fundamental insight into legendary dragon breeds and their anatomy, so that you can begin creating dragon art with confidence.

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Wire wrapping is a quick and easy technique that will take your jewellery craft to the next level. A little wire, a few simple tools and some brightly coloured beads are all you need to start creating your own intriguing fashion statements. By adding new wires to basic links, you can alter simple links into complex and fascinating focal designs. Wire-Wrapped Jewelry Techniques teaches 30 expert wire wrapping methods such as forming bent-wire links, working a wrapping pattern, wrapping sequential layers, embellishing decorative loops, adding coil elements and much more. This comprehensive guide to wire wrap jewellery includes 8 step-by-step projects for stunning necklaces, pendants, brooches, hairpins and earrings.

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Great Book of Carving Patterns is a treasure trove of classic designs that make wonderful subjects for carving, pyrography, painting, drawing, etching, leatherwork and many other crafts. This comprehensive collection comprises 200 original patterns that will provide any artist with a virtually unlimited design resource.From dancing dragons to delicate roses, wood spirits to wild horses, and steampunk to Celtic knots, this broad collection covers all of today's most popular subjects. Easy-to-reproduce outline patterns are ready to transfer to your project.Detailed pencil sketches are also provided to help you visualize the final dimensions of your carving, or the shading line of your painting. Each pattern can be used individually, in combination with others in the book, or as inspiration for creating new, original art.

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If you'd like to learn to carve in relief, this comprehensive guidebook will teach you everything you need to know. With some sharp tools, a smooth piece of wood and this new book, you'll soon be confidently carving exquisite animals, landscapes, flowers, borders, Celtic knots and more. Acclaimed carver and instructor Lora S. Irish takes you step-by-step through simple carvings on a practice board to introduce all of the essential cuts, contouring and smoothing steps used in basic relief woodcarving. 10 original new project patterns are accompanied by clear in-depth instructions and dozens of how-to photographs. Each design is presented both as an outline pattern for tracing directly onto wood, and as a detailed sketch to guide your work. A stunning photo gallery of finished projects is included to offer further inspiration.

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A must-have resource for any beginner or intermediate pyrographer, this is a comprehensive guide to all of the major styles used in pyrography. Including 31 finished samples and line art, author and respected pyrography artist Lora Irish provides step-by-step instructions for each art style, from silhouettes, engraving, and cross hatching to pointillism, realism, pencil shading, and texture stroke painting. From this book, you'll be given the chance to work, experiment, and experience some of the major art styles that you can use with any pattern or design. You'll be able to realize which style offers the most comfort and the best results, and what's the most controllable so you can become a consistent master! Learn essential skills and techniques from a leading expert in the field, and discover how style affects the image to expand your artistic range.

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This big collection of 500 original patterns depicts all of today's most popular tattoo subjects. From best selling artist, author and designer Lora Irish comes the Great Book of Tattoo Designs, Revised Edition, an appealing and high quality collection of over 500 original tattoo patterns. Featuring an extensive variety of popular subjects including floral, fantasy, Celtic, pagan, gothic, sacred, oriental and mythical, this book provides any artist or individual searching for the right tattoo with an unlimited resource of designs. Each pattern can be used individually, in combination with others in the book, or as inspiration for creating new original art. This new edition of a classic resource provides limitless inspiration for personal expression. From dancing dragons and Aztec Indians to fairies and flowers, it makes the perfect companion for anyone with an interest in tattoos.

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Scrollers of all skill levels will delight in these scroll saw patterns that celebrate wildlife from around the world. Sixty patterns for 45 species of wildlife are provided, including antelope, elephant, gorilla, jaguar, kangaroo, koala, lion, monkey, panther, seal, tiger, whale, and zebra. Each of the patterns has been carefully drawn with crisp, black cutting lines, making the patterns easy to follow. A smaller, black-filled image details the cuts. The patterns are arranged alphabetically by species and a six-page gallery featuring finished animal scroll saw patterns is included.

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Dragons have captured the imagination of artists for aeons and feature in the earliest myths, on the armour of medieval knights, as well as in today's popular culture. In this new and improved third edition, dragon aficionado and artist Lora Irish shares tips and techniques for creating your own fantastic renderings of man's favorite foe. Updated for this edition: brand new art for both Eastern and Western dragons, a new gallery, sections on dragon history, lore, and anatomy, and a newly added section on transfer instructions for all applications, including fabric, wood, canvas, and other materials.

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Artist and pyrographer Lora S. Irish walks you through all the basics of woodburning. You can learn about using temperature, time, layering and texturing to create artistic tonal values. Nationally recognized artist and pyrographer Lora S. Irish makes it easy for beginners to learn the creative craft of woodburning in Pyrography Basics. All that aspiring beginners need is this book and an inexpensive woodburning tool to start adorning wood, gourds, leather, paper and more with beautifully burned images and patterns. The author provides a thorough introduction to basic tools, materials and techniques. Readers learn how to set up a practice board to experiment with strokes and settings before moving on to working projects with confidence. Seven skill-building projects provide step-by-step exercises in using temperature, time, layering, and texturing to create artistic tonal values.

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Create a fantastic cane that will be treasured as a work of art and passed down through your family for years to come. Award-winning carving artist Lora S. Irish shows how to carve your own expressive cane toppers from found wood in this enjoyable guide. Fifteen imaginative projects include whimsical wizards, comic caricatures, proud eagles, mythical dragons and more. Lora offers expert advice on harvesting and seasoning wild sticks, attaching handles to the staff, placing grips, painting, finishing and more. Step-by-step instructions and beautiful colour photographs make Cane Topper Wood Carving a book that you’ll return to again and again.

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This title includes 35 amazingly detailed new projects that explore the craft of pyrography. It helps to learn the basics of pyrography systems, tools, supplies and practice boards. It includes complete instructions plus photographs of both the finished piece and the work in progress. Although it is often referred to as woodburning, the art of pyrography can be worked on just about any natural surface, including gourds, leather, or cotton rag paper. Now Lora Irish, the author of the bestselling "Great Book of Woodburning", offers thirty five amazingly detailed new projects that explore the craft of pyrography across the full range of inventive pyro media. Inside her new book, readers will learn the basics of pyrography systems, tools, supplies and practice boards. Each fascinating project includes complete instructions plus photographs of both the finished piece and the work in progress across pale, medium, dark and detailed stages.

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Go beyond just following the steps and learn the methods to traditional basket weaving. With 20 classic folk basket patterns and clear step-by-step instructions and photos, you'll acquire all the proper techniques you need to become an accomplished basket-weaver, from measuring and adding spokes to learning various weaving patterns. Author Lora Irish is a talented and successful artist of many trades and has been making baskets for 15 years. She has also written several woodcarving, pyrography, and craft pattern books.

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Create your own one-of-a-kind functional artwork that will be cherished for years to come with this treasury of 135 classic gunstock carving patterns. You're sure to find the best carving pattern here for your next project, from basic checkering to dramatic hunting-related scenes. Excellent choices are provided for every skill level, from beginner to expert, so you can start with a basic pattern and tackle more intricate designs as your experience in gunstock carving grows.

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Beaded Friendship Bracelets is an exciting, beginner-friendly guide that will show you tons of awesome ideas for making beautiful bracelets using all kinds of beads and other materials for your friends and family. You will discover over 100 fun and easy beaded bracelet designs, plus tons of trendy techniques to try, knots to know, expert tips, step-by-step instructions, and high-quality photography to help you along the way and ensure success. Learn all the exciting ways to express your creativity and make something special. This guide includes overviews on supplies, beads, accessories, tools, and materials, as well as tutorials for creating color schemes, stringing bracelets, and making tassels and other accents.

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Learn how to to keep all of your woodcarving tools and knives sharp and in tip-top condition with this comprehensive guide. Offering clear, step-by-step guidance, beginners will learn the basics of sharpening knives, gouges, V-tools, and chisels. Also included are informative sections on safety, basic sharpening techniques, what to keep in your sharpening kit, tool storage and clean-up tips as well as how to protect sharp edges, clean stops and sharpen stones. Learn essential tips and tricks from expert artist and best-selling author Lora Irish.

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The Great Book of Floral Patterns is a bookshelf must for every artist and crafter who enjoys the beauty and symbolism of flowers. Take a guided tour with Lora S. Irish through her garden of more than 100 expertly drawn flower patterns. This nationally known artist and best-selling author will help you discover the poetic beauty and versatility of floral patterns that can be applied to a wide variety of arts and crafts. The revised and expanded third edition of The Great Book of Floral Patterns includes stunning new reference photos and 20 new patterns. Each design features both a line drawing for easy transfer and a shaded version to illustrate depth and shadow. From realistic flowers to stylized floral designs, Lora includes helpful suggestions on how best to identify floral shapes and colours, how to centre your design and how to create bouquets. For whatever media you prefer, there is a floral pattern here that can be easily modified to fit your needs.

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"Wildlife Projects" is jam packed full of 28 extraordinary animal projects for the scroll saw. These tried and true favourite projects are plucked from the archives of "Scroll Saw Woodworking & Crafts", the foremost periodical on scroll sawing. Join your favourite authors, including Kathy Wise, Gary Browning, Charles Dearing and Lora Irish, as they scroll handsome projects from the animal kingdom. Readers can create birds, pets, sealife, North American wildlife and African big cats in wood. Among other animals included are: rooster, blue jay, cat, rabbit, crab, turtle, bear, elk, wolf, tiger and lion.

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