Simply Beautiful Beading [Paperback]

Heidi Boyd (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 19, 2004

Blend your creative spirit with the quick and easy projects found inside Simply Beautiful Beading

From casual to sophisticated, and everything in between, you'll find beading designs to fit your personal style. Inside, you'll discover 53 simple yet stylish beading projects for exquisite jewelry, accessories and home decor, including:

• modern glass bead chokers
• semiprecious stone set
• charm bracelets
• wired-pearl barrettes
• wineglass charms
• hanging votive candle holder
• and more than 35 variation projects for even more simply beautiful ideas!

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

In the introductory sentence, Boyd zeroes in on the appeal of beads: besides their magpie-attracting dazzle, these materials prompt a creative leap, even in those who don't consider themselves arty. She plays to our love of the aesthetic, presenting materials, methods, and 40 projects in easy-to-grasp, follow-the-leader information and instructions. In design principles, for instance, she lays out five simple rules, no more, no less--lay out beads before stringing, use color effectively, pair different bead varieties and sizes, use nonsymmetrical designs, and string random beads. Projects are divided into three categories: jewelry, accessories, and home accents. All include the requisite data, from color photographs and directions to possible variations, which she dubs "Another Simply Beautiful Idea." It'll be hard to decide, should you attempt a knotted leather bracelet, a beaded box, or wire-wrapped branches for decorating? Ah, the possibilities--fueled, in part, by the popularity of Jay Strongwater's expensive beaded home accessories. First volume in the Simply Beautiful series. Barbara Jacobs
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author

Heidi Boyd is a freelance artist, creative designer, and photo stylist. She has been published in Better Homes and Gardens Simply Handmade and in Disney's FamilyFun magazine. She contributes regularly to Meredith craft book publications, including Quick and Easy Christmas, Incredibly Awesome Crafts for Kids, and 501 Fun to Make Family Crafts. Heidi is also the author of North Light's Fairy Crafts, Pet Crafts, and Wizard Crafts. She lives in Des Moines, Iowa.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: North Light Books; 2 edition (August 19, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1581805632
• ISBN-13: 978-1581805635
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #359,665 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Heidi Boyd is the author of twelve craft books with North Light Books, most notably the Simply Beautiful series. She crafts at the dining room table where she can keep an eye on the family and dash out the door for the next carpool. Her goal is to make sophisticated design approachable for and easy for all. She has a fine art degree and got her start in professional crafting as a contributor to Better Homes and Gardens books and magazines. Heidi and her husband Jon and their three children actively enjoy the natural beauty of their midcoast Maine home.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

88 of 88 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great stuff in here!, December 17, 2005

By 

Lainy (Wisconsin) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Simply Beautiful Beading (Paperback)

After someone gave me a bracelet recently, it was my first introduction to beading. I borrowed several beginner-beading books in an attempt to understand how to make beaded jewelry for gifts. Simply Beautiful Beading is the only book that covered everything I was looking for. It explains and illustrates different types of beads, wires, clasps, etc. and how to use them and has everything explained so well for the beginner. But don't let the subtitle of the book, "53 Quick and Easy Projects" let you think you won't find imagination and beauty in the patterns in this book. Many of the projects are ones I will actually use. Too many authors go to extremes to get something different in their books by creating things out of beads that are either just plain ridiculous, or far too expensive to make even if you wanted to do it. Heidi Boyde instead uses her imagination on designing simple projects in jewelry, accessories, and home accents that are different enough to be unique and yet be easy enough for beginners.

57 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun!, September 1, 2005

By 

Momofanskh "jules" (Oklahoma) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Simply Beautiful Beading (Paperback)

I love this book because the instructions are easy to follow and the projects are fun. If you are a beginner, this is the book for you. It gives you all of the basics of beading and explains what all of the little gadgets and tools are for.

I have several beading books, but this is the one that I pull out and use every time. The pictures inspire my creativity.

Don't feel like making jewelry? Try the bumble bee project. Perfect gift for a teenage girl? The charm bracelet is beautiful and easy....it took me less than an hour and a half to make it.

Great book!!

74 of 76 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Easy yet beautiful projects for beginners, March 20, 2005

By 

Y. Wang - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Simply Beautiful Beading (Paperback)

I love this book. I am a beginner in beading and followed the instructions in this books, I've made two beautiful bracelets easily. The beading projects in this book are easy but produce very beautiful results. I think it is a great book for beginners. I highly recommend it.