Irresistible Bead [Paperback]

Linda Fry Kenzle (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1996

Capture the allure of beads while taking beadwork jewelry into the next century. Twenty multi-faceted projects illustrate techniques such as wire work, molding polymer clay, stringing beads, and weaving beads for brooches, bags, necklaces, earrings, and more.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

An excellent introduction to many aspects of bead craft, The Irresistible Bead thoroughly explains how to design your own jewelry and bring the designs to life using wirework, stringing, card beading, weaving, and polymer-clay techniques. Each of the 20 clearly illustrated projects is fully explained in step-by-step instructions. The chapters for each technique conclude with a helpful "designer's notebook" that is filled with colored diagrams offering several more ideas for exploring the methods. The final chapter showcases elaborate work by nine bead artists, and the seven helpful appendices include charts of bead sizes, diagrams of various findings, a glossary, and three different design graphs that can be photocopied and used over and over for your own designs.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: kp books (November 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0801988438
• ISBN-13: 978-0801988431
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,541,046 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars recommended!, July 17, 2000

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Irresistible Bead (Paperback)

I've never beaded before and this is the first book that I bought. The instructions and diagrams were precise and easy to follow - I finished two projects within the first week.

The designs are beautiful, and are very easily adapted to your own tastes . In addition, the author includes a "designer's notebook" at the end of every chapter, with her own variation ideas.

I'd definitely recommend this to a first time beader - and I'm sure that the beautiful designs would provide great inspiration for a more experienced jeweler.

42 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent for Beginning Designers, January 1, 2003

By 

D. K. Atkinson (Southern Illinois USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Irresistible Bead (Paperback)

This book starts with a chapter on color, design, and the texture. It ends with a basic list of tools and supplies for making the projects in the book.

There are chapters on wireworking, bead stringing, bead embroidery, woven beadwork, and polymer clay. There are a few projects in each chapter but I really love the Designer's Notes at the end of the chapter. These pages include sketches of other ideas that can be created with the technique just learned.

The gallery is yummy with enough to whet your appetite for more or better yet, making your own masterpiece(s).

But the Appendix is what I really love about this book. There are guides to bead sizes, a standard list of jewelry lengths, and pictures of basic jewelry findings. Plus a glossary of precious and semiprecious stones; a beader's glossary of terms; birthstones - both traditional and astrological; blank graphs for loom/square, peyote, and brick stitches.

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Helpful for Beginners, December 17, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Irresistible Bead (Paperback)

I purchased this book after I had been doing bead weaving for two years. I have found it to be helpful in providing ideas and directions for making bead jewelry. The back section is very helpful because it covers standard lengths and sizes for jewlery and beads, and it has some graphs for designing. I have not made any of the projects in the book--several struck me as rather unattractive--but I have used many of the techniques illustrated in creating my own designs.