Metal Jewelry in Bloom

Melissa Cable

Kalmbach Publishing

We turned our clocks back last month. Now that I finally remember to "Spring ahead and Fall back," the task has become much easier.

Spring is in the air. The birds are chirping early in the morning. Two tiny humming birds flew into my daughter's open kitchen door the other morning. Pretzel, the frisky poodle, was mesmerized by the hovering aviators.

One of the lovely things about Spring is the wonderful smell in the air. Blossoms are beginning to emerge, poking their spindly leaves and buds thru the rain moistened soil.

Melissa Cable, in her book "Metal Jewelry in Bloom," presents us with a lovely garden of tiny delicate "how-to" flower shapes. One doesn't need rain nor fertilizer to create these blooms. She does provide us with templates and demonstrates step-by-step techniques for shaping the metal sheets into a delightful array of delicate flowers. She acquaints us with the various components of each and then recreates the flowers in metal.

One is provided with a list of tools and metal choices to facilitate your garden inventory. Determining petal shapes and then a follow-up cutting and filing lesson is presented. One can then go on to apply texture, dimension, and embellishments to the colorful garden.

All of the techniques are well documented with excellent instructions and photography. Your profusion of flowers will add a wonderful addition to your necklaces, earrings, and rings. The only element absent is the olfactory sensation.