Product Review

Despite its slim profile (only 96 pages), this guide packs a wallop. Each of the 25 step-by-step projects comes with a complete gridded and fully keyed template and a good photo of the finished item, plus there is good coverage of all the basics (tools, materials, the work area, pattern transfer, glass cutting) as well as the fundamentals of the two different techniques (direct method, and indirect or reverse method), making the base/support structures, and wall-mounting the heavy items. The lovely designs tend toward the colorfully abstract but also include florals, insects, and a beguiling mermaid on a sink backsplash. Many of the patterns are fairly intricate and include lots of curves, so the novice glass cutter may want to start with a simpler book, or else do a lot of practicing first--the authors have thoughtfully supplemented their thorough glass-cutting explanations with full-size practice patterns. --Amy Handy