177 of 179 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Color, design and ideas galore!, March 20, 2004
This review is from: Bead Fantasies: Beautiful, Easy-to-Make Jewelry (Paperback)
Over the years, I've come to love Japanese books because of their instructions. Certainly, they are not for everybody. But for beaders with a little experience, the thread path instructions will be enough. The instructions are printed in color, and each bead shape is shown, which makes a lot of sense. It took a while for me to figure out that the tiny black star indicates the start and the teeny black crescent moon indicates the end, but that wasn't a lot to overcome.
There is a lot to like in this book:
1. The different projects--bracelets, rings (lots of rings!), pendants for necklaces, necklaces in several lengths, eyeglass leashes, barrettes, even cell phone leashes--If you don't own a cell phone with a leash attachment, you can easily use the patterns for necklaces.
2. The color photography and the color directions. Makes flipping through the book like a walk in the garden. Also makes the small-format-size book cost $18.00 in paperback.
3. The additional information in the back on techniques and materials, all with lots of photographs.
4. Once you learn the basic technique that Takako Samejima favors, you can zip through her ideas and start working on your own. I've found the circle-style weaving can be achieved with two needles, but using one as Samejima does makes the work easier.
And a few things that can make a reader cranky:
1. The book is perfect bound, so you will have to weight both sides down to follow a diagram.
2. The pages on tools have tiny pictures, so you can't really tell crimping pliers from round-nose from cutters.
3. The author seems to favor nylon filament, which, if it is fishing line, will disintegrate in five years or so. Use Nymo, Silamide, Fireline, or for the larger projects, SoftFlex.
4.The instructions tell you to use your jewelry pliers to work with memory wire. Don't. Memory wire is steel and will damage most jewelry tools. Use hardware store tools or those especially designed for memory wire,
The book is a treat and well worth the money for beginners with a little experience, intermediate beaders who want to expand their product line and advanced beaders who need a gallery to get their inspiration kick-started again.
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75 of 75 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wide variety of beautiful projects with clear instructions, December 4, 2003
This review is from: Bead Fantasies: Beautiful, Easy-to-Make Jewelry (Paperback)
Samejima Takako is the author of several beading books (in Japanese) and owner of the studio Crystalloid. Her first book in English is nothing short of fantastic! As with other Japanese jewelrymaking books, it's better to have some previous beadwork experience before attempting any of the projects. None of the projects is difficult and the book does contain a section on techniques, but it's more like a quick refresher and less like a tutorial. A wide range of projects are represented: rings, earrings, bracelets, necklaces, brooches, cell phone straps, hair accessories, eyeglass chains, tiny purses, and even a beaded card holder. The color diagrams are very clear and well-labeled. The written instructions are numbered and to-the-point. Supply lists are general (no brand names or color numbers, but you will see bead sizes, shapes, and colors) and metric (e.g., 1.5 mm seed bead instead of size 11 seed bead). Most of the projects use seed beads, bicone crystals, and Czech firepolish beads with clear nylon line or wire. Some projects use chains and other beads, such as pearls, bugles, or artglass. Color schemes are elegant and understated; the jewelry is reminiscent of the Victorian era.
I highly recommend this book for the quality of the projects, clarity of the instructions/diagrams, and variey of project types. You'll find some great eye candy! The projects are very attainable, providing you have a good supply of bicones (e.g., Swarovski) and Czech firepolish rounds/ovals in 3-mm, 4-mm, and 6-mm sizes.
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27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Beautiful designs, frustrating "directions", September 16, 2004
This review is from: Bead Fantasies: Beautiful, Easy-to-Make Jewelry (Paperback)
Her designs are exquisite, her "directions" had me pulling my hair until I finally figured out that she uses two needles on the same thread. My daughter, who loves making beaded jewelry, took one look, said "You figure it out and show me!" Once I finally had her technique figured out, though, the results are just beautiful! (By the way, the occasional strategically placed knot helps considerably!) Her "necklance with seed bead motifs" made with Swarovski crystals is to die for and I made matching earrings with the same motifs. My advice? If you can follow diagrams rather than words, gather your patience and buy the book, you'll love it!
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