Customer Reviews

Necklaces, Bracelets, Brooches and Rings using Crystal Beads

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This is a good example of the French way of beading using crystals and nylon thread. I plan on using c-lon or fireline with a beading needle. Before the projects are a few pages explaining the materials and method.Everything is clearly explained step by step with good illustrations and color photos. The projects are in sets; e.g. ring, bracelet, earrings, necklace, etc. There are 13 sets. Instructions call for two needles when beading with needles. My favorites are Ocean lace, romance and southern stars which is a 6 point star. Color choices are lovely. Both this book and her earlier one highly recommended. Very reasonable book well produced.

This book features many projects using Swarovski crystals. The projects are easy to accomplish and quick to make, involving weaving the crystals and other beads together. The final results are gorgeous, and you will be proud to wear them or give them as gifts. Both teens and adults of all ages will enjoy wearing the jewelry made from this book. The instructions were clear and easy to follow. I highly recommend it.

My friend just got this book and now I'm buying it too. The projects are beautiful, there are instructions for sets of jewelry, and the instructions are clear and not too hard.

I just finished making the necklace, earrings, and ring for the "Romance" project of this book, and had to sit down and write a review to say how fantastic this book is. Every project in this book is just lovely, and the authors do a wonderful job of providing clear directions that are very easy to follow!

One of the strengths of this book is that it provides coordinated pieces of jewelry, if you like to wear matching sets, as I do. Each design/color combination is given a name and has several coordinating jewelry pieces that you can make for that design (earrings, necklace, etc.).

Although I've been beading for three-and-a-half years, I have to admit that I was a little nervous when the book first arrived since several of the projects called for using two needles, which I'd never done before. Using two needles was very easy, though, since the authors provide not only diagrams, but also a clear list of instructions. In the past, I've been frustrated by Japanese books that only use diagrams since they can be hard to follow, but this book has excellent diagrams that are fully complemented by the detailed written instructions.

Another strength of this book is that the authors give a very specific list of materials at the start of each project. They list the exact color of Swarovski crystals used, which makes it very simple to order the exact crystals you need to make an identical piece. Of course, you can always use different colors than those used in the book, but I always enjoy having a good starting point with color selection. The authors also use Japanese clear thread, but using waxed Fireline seemed to work just fine.

Overall, I'm very pleased with this book, and I highly recommend it! I'm already looking forward to making my next set of pieces with it!

I'm never quite sure what to expect from books that center on crystal beads like Swarovskis and faceted fire polished beads, a lot of times they seem to have a lot of variations on a theme in them. This one is different.
It's really got a lot of different projects that range from fun to elegant, modern to very vintage looking. My personal favorite is the hair slides on page 23.
The techniques used also vary, beadweaving, embroidery, and stringing. The first part of the book describes the techniques, tools, color choices, and bead types. This first chapter is well done and logical. It explains how to read the diagrams in the book, has a brief section on lengths for necklaces and bracelets, and information about the tools used and how to use them.
Then there are lots of projects, all wonderfully photographed in color and diagrammed. Some of the projects are very quick, but challenging enough for an experienced beader to enjoy and be inspired by, and the results are simply stunning. This is jewelry everyone can wear, there are bold pieces, and sparkly delicate pieces. I'm really in love with this book and the ideas in it.
The book title says Necklaces, Bracelets, Brooches and Rings, there are also hair slides, earrings, pendants, and the techniques and motifs can be used for other things, recombined and used in lots of other projects. It's a wonderful book for beginners who want to be challenged or for experienced beaders who want ideas and inspiration.

The book has many beautiful pictures and the information on how to make the items is easy to read.