Fine Silver Sampler: Introductory Precious Metal Clay Projects--Step by Step Guide for the Classroom or the Home [Paperback]

Nana V. Mizushima (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 2004

Fun to read booklet introducing Precious Metal Clay (PMC), a wonderful new form of fine silver or gold. Step by step instructions and many photos show any beginner how to create beautiful silver and gold jewelry pieces without traditional metalworking experience. Booklet features 5 projects - "Ancient" Coin, Teardrop Pendant, Snowflake Ornament, Silver Crane Earrings and Silver Leaves with more ideas. PMC Tips, lists of resources, and many technical Tips are offered in addition to basic jewelry techniques.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Absolutely loved the layout and explanations. It was so thorough.. wouldn't change a thing.. highly recommend the book. -- former student, Kimberlee F. Voss

Learned a lot.. TIPS was especially good.. a good investment for those who are interested in PMC (Precious Metal Clay). -- Rocky Mt. Bead Society 2004 Book Reviews, by Mary Timme

About the Author

Fine Silver Sampler was written by Nana V. Mizushima, an award winning, Certified PMC Artisan and experienced teacher. Nana teaches regularly in Colorado at Colorado Free University, Front Range Community College and Rocky Mountain Bead Society sponsored events. She is founder of Tonnbo Design and sells her work through a number of galleries. Nana is a native of Boulder, Colorado and has lived and worked in Europe, Japan and Indonesia. She brings a Japanese touch to her jewelry work.

Product Details

• Paperback: 40 pages
• Publisher: Tonnbo Design (July 2004)
• ISBN-10: 097548480X
• ISBN-13: 978-0975484807
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 7.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,947,836 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

52 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Amazingly Disappointing - SAVE YOUR MONEY, May 11, 2005

By 

Margo Eve (Northern VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fine Silver Sampler: Introductory Precious Metal Clay Projects--Step by Step Guide for the Classroom or the Home (Paperback)

For starters, though the information in this book IS good there is nothing in here that you can't find either on the Internet or in one of the many other books about Precious Metal Clay.

Why is this important? Because for about $4-5 more you can get a more robust, WELL MADE, well produced book on the same subject here on amazon.com. Pick just about any other book about PMC and you will get professional binding, high resolution pictures, high quality cover and pages, and about 50-100 more pages of information.

This book looks like it was made on a home computer by someone who just got a desktop publishing program and knows nothing about proper image resolution for print media. The images look like someone used the pictures on a website and then copied them for print. If you've never done this, trust me when I say the results look very unprofessional.

The binding of the book is even worse. It is as if someone printed off legal size sheets from a desk-jet printer and got their kid to staple it in the middle and fold it over. You can't even just flip through the book because the pages are uneven.

If I had seen this in a store I'd never have bought it, but because it was new and on amazon I figure I'd give it a shot. I'd send it back but I'd have to eat the shipping cost twice. I'm keeping it as a reminder to never buy books without reviews unless I've seen them up close and in person.

Seriously, save your money and get The Art of Metal Clay by Sheri Haab or ANY other book on PMC out there. Heck, save your money entirely and do a google search about PMC Techniques. You'll get just as much information, if not more, as what is in this book, and can probably print it all off to put in a project binder and make something at half the cost that looks 100% better than this.

39 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Buy another book..., September 21, 2005

By 

Silly (New Mexico) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Fine Silver Sampler: Introductory Precious Metal Clay Projects--Step by Step Guide for the Classroom or the Home (Paperback)

There are plenty of precious metal clay books worth buying but this is not one of them--unfortunately. This was the first precious metal clay book I bought and now that I completed the 3-day certification class in PMC, I realize how poorly done this book is, and I wasted my money on this publication. The instructions are marginal. The layout is very confusing and poorly done. It appears the book was put together by someone who has no knowledge or experience in desktop publishing or technical writing. The photos are not clear and are poor quality, and the "busy" backgrounds make it hard to see the object in photo-- some of the photos should have just been left out since they don't enhance or help to clarify the directions. Instead, I would recommend the metal clay books by Cece Wire, Sheri Haab or Tim McCreight. Those books are definitely worth having.

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Overpriced duplicate of other publications, February 17, 2006

By 

TC Wilson - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fine Silver Sampler: Introductory Precious Metal Clay Projects--Step by Step Guide for the Classroom or the Home (Paperback)

This is not a book, more of a pamphlet. The information & projects provided are all from other publications by the author, and offers nothing for even the most basic of beginners. Avoid this "book" and save your money for some PMC+.