Jewelry Making & Beading For Dummies [Paperback]

Heather Dismore (Author), Tammy Powley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 31, 2004

Features step-by-step projects and full-color examples

Create unique jewelry to wear with everything from jeans to a ball gown!

Want to make your own jewelry? This easy-to-follow guide gives you lots of hands-on instruction in making simple, fabulous jewelry and working with beads. From wire wrapping and knotting to weaving and polishing, you'll get all the skills you need to make necklaces, bracelets, earrings, pins, key chains, wine charms and items for the home.

Discover how to
* Create funky and elegant designs
* Work with leather, silver, and stones
* String, knot, and weave beads
* Avoid common mistakes
* Host a trendy jewelry party

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Features step-by-step projects and full-color examples

Create unique jewelry to wear with everything from jeans to a ball gown!

Want to make your own jewelry? This easy-to-follow guide gives you lots of hands-on instruction in making simple, fabulous jewelry and working with beads. From wire wrapping and knotting to weaving and polishing, you'll get all the skills you need to make necklaces, bracelets, earrings, pins, key chains, wine charms and items for the home.

Discover how to

• Create funky and elegant designs
• Work with leather, silver, and stones
• String, knot, and weave beads
• Avoid common mistakes
• Host a trendy jewelry party

About the Author

Heather Dismore is a veteran For Dummies author who is actively involved in crafting jewelry.

Tammy Powley designs and maintains content for About.com's jewelry making Web site.

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: For Dummies; 1 edition (December 31, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764525719
• ISBN-13: 978-0764525711
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #35,033 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

66 of 67 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best basic book I have seen to date..., May 19, 2006

By 

Cynthia J. Gilpin (Springfield, MO) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jewelry Making & Beading For Dummies (Paperback)

Very impressed with this book--wish I had had a copy when I first started beading decades ago. Clear instructions written in a pleasant and relaxed manner. I am most impressed with many of the very numerous tips provided that come only after a great deal of experience creating, making and marketing beaded items.
If I had to have just ONE basic beading book, this would be it.

55 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars The Dummies do it again., January 6, 2008

By 

Genevieve Hayes (Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jewelry Making & Beading For Dummies (Paperback)

The problem with the "For Dummies" series of books is that they are too simple for advanced users, but leave out the incredibly basic information that is essential for beginners. "Jewelry Making and Beading for Dummies" is no exception to this rule. This book provides supposedly step-by-step instructions for making a number of jewellery projects but glosses over many of the details that are essential if you have never used some of the techniques before. For example, I purchased this book because I was interested in pearl knotting. Although this book does include a small section on this topic, it does not include instructions on how to attach the clasp to the string. It merely tells you to do so.

Other drawbacks of this book are that the pictures are in black and white (with the exception of a small number of colour plates), and techniques are demonstrated using difficult to understand illustrations rather than actual photographs. Oh, and none of the projects in this book are particularly exciting either. Many of them depend on being able to obtain a specific type of bead to look any good, which my recently acquired experience has taught me is easier said than done.

35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Tons of info. but could use a more precise index., July 20, 2006

By 

marypnj "marypnj" (Monmouth Junction, NJ United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Jewelry Making & Beading For Dummies (Paperback)

Tons of information and I understand that organizing such a wealth of knowledge is a daunting task. I found that I was flipping around to find the infomation where I thought I had seen it previously and the index was not very helpful there. References are made to other sections of the book but states a chapter only and not a page specifically. Overall, great book and have used it alot for a reference.