Create Your Own Tabletop Fountains

Paris Mannion's Create Your Own Tabletop Fountains (1-58180-103-3, $24.99) provides a fine guide to creating the fountains which have become so popular in hardware and houseware stores. From supplies and materials to crafting 15 selected fountains using shells to pots, this provides color photos and directions for a range of fountains.

Wow! Lots of great info and imaginative projects in gorgeous color layout. The feng shui cures, tips on hiding the cord, and how to drill slate were particularly helpful to me. I got a noisy pump, and this book tells ways to make it operate quietly! It answered all my questions on fountain plants, how to turn the fountain off and on without getting under the couch, where to get decorating accents, and how to water seal and patch clay pots.The illustrated projects make it so easy to get the results I want. I am very happy with my purchase and feel like I know the insiders' secrets.

I compared several fountain making books, and found this one to have the most complete information and the best instructions. The step by step photos are better than the drawn diagrams found in other books, because they tell the exact sequence of events in building a tabletop fountain. I also found this book to have the most useable projects ( I was not interested in outdoor fountains and the plumbing challenges inherent in making them). I have already made 3 awesome fountains, the most ambitious being the copper leaf fountain, which sounds like music and drowns out the noise of traffic that I used to hear in my living room. I had no trouble putting it together following the photos and directions. When it splashed too much, I found the remedy in the book, too. The author's lists are amusing and informative (example: 10 ways to hide the cord, how to quiet noisy pumps, and 10 ways to know you need "fountains anonymous") . The book describes a fountain as an "oasis connecting you to nature." That pretty much sums up my feeling when I go home after a busy day and hear throughout my house the endless sound of falling water.Because the projects vary in difficulty, I would highly recommend this book, no matter how much fountain building experience you've had.

If you've read the other books by Paris, you know that they are filled with information. Paris thoroughly researches her subjects and when you've finished reading, you feel like you've been given an education. There are from one to four outstanding, detailed color pictures on every page. The fountains range from very simple to advanced in degree of difficulty in assembly. The instructions, like the photos, are highly detailed. The book will make an excellent gift for anyone interested in fountains.