Customer Reviews

Bead Fantasies: Beautiful, Easy-to-Make Jewelry

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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.

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!

I love this book! I was so excited when I opened the box and flipped through the pages! Straight to the couch with a cuppa and a thorough examination! So many beautiful pieces to create! Previous beading experience is a must I think, otherwise you would just sit there and scratch your head. Just about everything is done with 2 needles, Threadpath diagrams and the most basic written instructions make up the guides for each piece. If you want gorgeous creations and can follow diagrams get this book! Also a good book for inspiration, once you get the hang of the patterns in the book it's not that hard to come up with your own pattern.

I love this book. It has step by step illustrations on how to finish every project. It is written in English. The only trouble is that the beads are classified in milimiters and not in the zero system we are used to and also that she mentions to use nylon thread (which most of us think of as Nymo and she actually uses a fish line sort of thread to weave the beads. There is a great product called c-trhu that should work nicely with these projects.
What I love the most about this book is the filigree quality of the pieces, reminiscent of times gone by and also of the most beautiful japanese beading style. It is a good book for every level but specially for beginners as they'll find the pictures very helpful.

I was very excited to get this book. The descriptions I had read sounded great and the pictures looked wonderful. Unfortunately the instructions weren't so great. They follow along like most japanese bead books. With a diagram and very few actually word instructions, leaving you to puzzle out how to actually do it. If you like japanese style instructions you'll love this book, if not it does have great pictures.

It's a nice book. The instructions could be a little better, but with a little time they are not a problem. I bought this book for the project on the cover. Each and every project in this book is beautiful and seems to be fairly easy to make. I will look for more books by this author. By the way, someone in a earlier review said not to use nylon thread as it is nothing but fishing line, but you could use Fireline. I have to tell you that Fireline is fishing line, just a differant kind. All in all I'm glad I bought this book. I will have fun making some of her beautiful projects.

Most of my own beaded jewelry uses seed beads purely as spacers, but this book has inspired me to make jewelry that features seed beads as the principal component. These are no ordinary seed bead creations... they are truly unique and beautiful, and as the title suggests, they look like delicate fantasies in jewel tones.

Part of what makes these pieces so beautiful is the blending of seed beads with crystals, or small faceted beads. The author shows you how to combine seed beads and crystals, and thread them together into many different floral, geometric, and medallion shapes. These shapes are exquisite accents that turn ordinary seed bead jewelry into eye-catching art. These pretty shapes are blended into necklaces, bracelets, eyeglass holders, cell phone leashes and more. Especially unique and new to me are the little beaded rings that are as lovely and sparkly as gemstone rings. There are also brooches, hair ornaments, earrings, and miniature beaded purses, and everything is photographed in brilliant color.

The diagrams are in color, and the instructions are generally easy to follow, with a supplementary section in the back that gives basic weaving instructions and finishing techniques.

I can't wait to try almost everything in this book!

This book has beautiful pieces. The designs and inspiration are on every page. The layout is simple and easy to follow, but you do have to be able to follow diagrams, since there is little explanation. This book is for intermediate or above beaders or the beginning beader who wants to move past the everyday. All in all this is my absolute favorite beading book. The only negative is that a little more explanation with the diagrams would be beneficial, but with some patience you can figure it out for yourself from the pictures/diagrams.

I have purchased all three of the Bead Fantasies books and the first one is the BEST of them for me. Now don't get me wrong, I have enjoyed all of them. I have simply found more projects in the first one that appeal to me and my style.

Someone else may find the Bead Fantasies II or III just as appealing for their projects because all have a variety of projects in different categories to choose and they do not repeat projects from one book to another.