Review: Timeless Wire Weaving

I've been intrigued by many of the intricate wire weaving designs I've seen lately so was very excited to read Lisa Barth's book; "Timeless Wire Weaving: The Complete Course". It's well thought out with beautiful photos, no surprise since she's also a talented professional jewelry photographer. There are numerous projects covered, from beginner to advanced and everything in between. Illustrations are beautiful and very helpful.

Review: Create Three Dimensional Jewelry

If you love Miriam Haskell jewelry and want to create your own in that style, then Heather DeSimone's book, Create Three Dimensional Jewelry would be a great resource. She breaks down the mystique behind this eclectic style into easy to understand instructions. I would have liked to see a resource(s) for purchasing some of the unique components in the book

Review: Enameling Made Easy

I can't say enough about Anat Silvera's book, Enameling Made Easy. I've been dabbling in enamels for the past few months and just recently got more into it. Her book, which includes a bonus DVD (YES!), is my new bible! It says it's for beginners & beyond and it sure is! It's so comprehensive that I can't think of a single thing that that might have been missed. A must have for anyone interested in torch fired enameling. 

Review: Hot & Cold Jewelry Connections

 

 

The author shares her extensive knowledge in great detail, for the tools required and the techniques for the their use in Hot & Cold Jewelry Connections.

She presents her projects two different ways, cold and hot connections, with excellent

photographs and an explanation for each process. And again, explaining each tool and

technique used for each project.

Excellent book for learning as a beginner or intermediate with metal jewelry.

Review: Weaving Freeform Wire Jewelry

I've done a bit of wire work in the past, but was intimidated by the intricate weaving designs of late. And so was very pleased by the in depth instruction in this book. Kaska Firor breaks down the info in  an easy to understand way, going into the various wire gauges, types of wire, tools, techniques, etc. There are several projects that I now feel a bit more comfortable about attempting after having read the book.

Review: Kumihimo Basics & Beyond

I had the pleasure of reviewing Rebecca Ann Combs' "Kumihimo Basics & Beyond" for Kalmbach books. I haven't done any kumihimo for some time so looked forward to this book. It didn't disappoint. It covers basic braiding, more advanced as well as various beaded kumihimo techniques with wonderful photos for those of us visual  learners. I particularly liked the 1 page, String Theory, in which she discusses some possibly problems and what to do about it. Highly recommended!

Kalmbach Books' Project Necklaces

I know the title has to do with necklaces, but many of the designs can be used for bracelets as well with some slight adjustments. The book starts out with basic tools, materials and techniques, but also gives an overview of the various necklace styles and lengths. I don't know how many times I've searched for that info and here it is now right at my fingertips.

Project Necklaces offers numerous techniques from stringing to wire work to single stitches to combined stitches. It has something for everyone and lots of beautiful designs in a variety of techniques and styles. There are many that I'd like to recreate, but I particularly love Cathy Lampole's "Crystal-caged Pearls". It's an asymmetrical necklace made with beautiful crystal beaded beads. Elegant and simple, with just the right amount of bling.

Review: Creative Seed Bead Connections

With so many crossover techniques in jewelry design, Creative Seed Bed Connections is a very useful tool for those wanting to incorporate metals in their seed bead designs. Lots of beautiful patterns! My favorite is "A Piece Of The Past", especially the bracelet, which is on my to do list. But you'll have to get the book to see it. *smile*

Review: Metal Jewelry in Bloom

Let me first say that I am not a metal worker, so I was cautiously optimistic about this book since it included beads....lol! Not only does the book cover metals, alone and in conjunction with beads, but also leather and other fibers. Melissa Cable discusses and demonstrates the cutting of metal, bringing out the beautiful colors of copper and also it's use in jewelry design. And she makes it look so easy that I'm inspired to try it myself.

Review: Kalmbach's Multistrand Jewelry: Secrets for Success

The cover of this book intrigued me. I have been on an asymmetric kick lately so was very much drawn to it. I love the clever use of bails in the design. I never would have thought of doing that! This is just 1 of many beautiful pieces in the book. It's a great resource for the beginning jewelry maker up to more advanced.

Metallic Seed Bead Splendor by Nancy Zellers

For those into metallics, this book will inspire you to no end! Each and every beautiful design is made with metallics. Nancy Zellers also give tips in the beginning on how to test for durability since, as many of you know, some of the older metallic seed beads tend to wear off after awhile. I personally would make use of all the fabulous permanent finish seed beads that have been available for some time now. They're more spendy but well worth it in the end IMO. Who wants to spend all that time creating a beautiful piece of wearable art only to have the finish wear off down the road?

Another plus to this book is that since the designs are virtually monochromatic, you can appreciate the beauty and if you wish, use your imagination and add color if you so choose. This book is available directly through Kalmbach directly, Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Crystal Jewelry Inspiration

If you like bling, and who doesn't??, then this book is for you! Crystal Jewelry Inspiration from the Create Your Style Ambassadors, is full of fun facts about the history of Swarovski crystals as well as numerous projects using these sparkly gems. There are so many applications covered and all different skill levels, even the new crystal clay.

Review: Kalmbach's Easy Crystal Stitching by Nikia Angel

I had the pleasure (and I DO mean PLEASURE!) of reading Nikia Angel's new book, "Easy Crystal Stitching" published by Kalmbach. I'm all about bling and this book is chock full of it. It's hard to imagine, but all the projects are based on Nikia's Sparkly Wheel or a derivative there of. It's amazing that a single component can have so many different looks. It really encourages people to think outside the box.

And here's my version. I added a peyote bail so it can be work as a pendant. Pretty pleased. :-)

Kalmbach Bead Soup

Who doesn't love bead soup?? Imagine my excitement when this envelope showed up in my mailbox! I was thrilled to be one of the ones selected to take part in the Kalmbach Bead Soup Challenge. Thank you so much for extending the deadline for those of us affected by the hurricane. I was just finishing up my design when my area of the country was hit by Hurricane Sandy. I lost power for 9 days and didn't get my internet back on for another couple of days but am very thankful that we are all safe and did not sustain any property damage. Getting back to normal has taken some time, so I apologize for the delay in writing this post.

I'd like to especially thank the Boston Bead Company for my particular bead soup donation. It was in a color scheme that I don't often work in often, but really lovely, so enjoyed the process even more. I tried many different designs and finally settled on the necklace I've shared. I decided to make it into an asymmetrical design, using the focal as a design element. I surrounded it with 2 of my ruffled lampwork disk beads, which I thought added a bit of whimsy. I also incorporated another pink swirled lampwork bead and a coordinating boro bead on the opposing side. For the focal, I used one of my large boro rounds, a fun indigo boro disk, and then the lovely pearlized rose colored bead and blue/pink rondelle from the soup. The rondelles were my favorite. I may need to contact Boston Bead Company to get some more. I thought the midnight blue faceted rounds were equally wonderful, as were all the soup ingredients actually.

And so, I present to you, my Kalmbach Bead Soup necklace! Thank you all once again! Can't wait to see what the other participants made with their soup!

Right-Angle Weave Stitch Workshop

 

I've been a subscriber of Bead & Button magazine for over 10 years, loving all the beautiful projects. However, right angle weave is probably one of my most challenging stitches. So I was looking forward to reviewing this book and trying out some of the patterns. I flipped through the pages and earmarked just about all of them to try. Shock, I know! lol! This book is chock full of beautiful projects from the beginner to the more advanced. I decided to try the Crystal Ribbon pattern. This is a photo of the one in the book.

 

I made a few changes to it to make it more personal. Here's my version, without the longer ovals.

All in all, I find this book to be a wonderful compilation of RAW (right-angle weave) projects for those wanting to tackle all sorts of projects. The only down side is that I personally would've liked to see more 2-needle RAW projects. I prefer it over 1-needle, but that's just me.