Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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102 of 103 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Okay - if you're a beginner, July 16, 2004
I'm a fairly advanced beader, and was hoping for some new ideas when this magazine appeared. The projects are pretty, but if you have more than a year or so of beading experience, this one isn't for you. The magazine uses shortcuts rather than teaching the more standard techniques, and teaches newbies bad habits they'll have to unlearn. There's also very little about how to find quality beads, which seems to be the hardest thing to learn when beginning this hobby.Like all of the beading magazines currently available, there is at least a page of advertising for each page of content. Normally, that's fine with me, but Step-by-Step takes it to a new level. It's misleading to accept ads from dealers who only work with members of the trade and put them in a beginner hobbyist's magazine. A full page ad with great prices is terrific, until the new beader discovers that the company only deals with wholesalers and has a minimum order of hundreds of dollars. It would be far more ethical for the publishers to limit wholesaler's ads to more high end publications. To decide whether beading is for you, and to see what pretty and fashionable jewelry is available, this is a good magazine. However, understand it as a beginner's guide, and know that if you decide you want to advance in the craft of jewelrymaking, you'll need to unlearn some bad habits and buy much better tools and supplies than those recommended in this magazine. More advanced beaders and jewelrymakers will probably want to skip it - there's nothing new here.
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11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
overall, pretty good mag!, July 13, 2005
INVARIABLY I CAN ALWAYS FIND MORE THAN A FEW PERTINENT DESIGNS. THE DIRECTIONS ARE LAID OUT VERY COMPREHESIVELY. IT IS TRUE, HOWEVER, THAT THE BIGGEST USE I CAN DRAW FROM THIS MAGAZINE IS THE INSPIRATION AND VARIATIONS YOU CAN MAKE ON ANY ONE PIECE. SOME ISSUES ARE SUPERB WHILE OTHERS ARE JUST GOOD. A VARIETY OF MEDIUMS ARE USED (WEAVING, WIRE, POLYMER CLAY, ET.AL) AND I USUALLY WILL ADAPT THE DESIGNS OR ELABORATE UPON THEM. I STILL GO OVER PAST ISSUES FOR HELP AND INSPIRATION.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Every issue better and better..., June 16, 2008
Step by step beads has never been my "favorite" out of all the beading magazines out there because you do not see the passion and creativity applied as in some of the other magazines. While reading the last couple of issues, I had to stop and look back at the cover a few times to remind myself which magazine I was reading. It seems that lately the projects are getting better and better, and I can't seem to put the magazine down. They are fun, imaginative, and getting more complex in design, which I like, than the have in the past. I hope the designers keep up with the new creativity that they have found. Now, I am looking forward to the new issues to arrive each time.
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