Cynthia Thornton, jewelry artist and storyteller, has combined her love of both to produce a book which is the portal to a magical journey. Filled with techniques she developed in the Green Girl Studios, Cynthia introduces you to characters that each need a special piece of jewelry, for a very special reason. You’ll find yourself getting just as caught up in the narrative as you do in the projects, wondering how it is all going to end!

Enchanted Adornments begins with a wonderful technique section, where readers are taken step by step through creating mixed-media jewelry with resin, PMC, polymer clay, …read more

Totally Creative magazine is a relative newcomer on the scene, but I think it already shows a lot of promise.  The sample issue that I saw contained articles by several artists whose work I know and love, including the fabulous Barbara Matthiessen, who wrote an extensive tutorial on creating multi-layered surface design effects on fabric.  I also found an article by my friend Beth Wheeler, who shared a felting project.

So what you’ll find are professional designers, whose names you’ll know from other magazines and books, who’ve created projects in all different media and for all different skill levels.  Sound interesting?
There …read more

Over the summer, I wrote a review of Ronna Sarvas Weltman’s unique polymer clay book called Ancient Modern.  Well, now I’ve got a copy to give away!!  If you remember, I told you that Ronna’s style is primitive, organic, and full of joy.  Now here is your opportunity to drop all the rules and enjoy yourself with clay!
***FREE STUFF ALERT***FREE STUFF ALERT***

Would you like to have this book?  Just leave me a comment below telling me what’s your favorite jewelry style: classic?  edgy?  cyberpunk?  elegant?   Whatever description best fits your faves.  Next Monday, I’ll be randomly selecting a winner!

I just found that Jane Dickerson, the author of  Chain Style that we looked at in the previous post, has written a blog post for Beading Daily covering how to keep those chains clean and sparkling!  Excellent!!

Here is a book that I can whole-heartedly recommend to beginners who want to make great looking jewelry, and want it FAST!
Chain Style
by Jane Dickerson
There’s nothing like adding chain to your design, or even designing an entire piece around chain, to make the design work up quickly. Chain is an excellent material for both beginners and those with advanced skills, because the complexity of your projects is only limited by experience and imagination.
The techniques and materials section is minimal but sufficient.  Largely this is because the projects are all so accessible.  There are 50 designs to inspire you, many …read more

If you are a subscriber to Step By Step Beads, you will already be aware that after the Jan/Feb 2010 issue, you will be receiving Beadwork Magazine instead.  If you are used to picking it up on the newsstand, you might not already know.   Last week, Interweave Press announced that the two magazines would merge, keeping the Beadwork name.  Step By Step Beads was acquired in 2006 when Interweave took over Lapidary Journal from the Primedia family of magazines.

The immediate past editor of Step by Step Beads magazine, Leslie Rogalski, has recently assumed the role of Online Editor for …read more

Think of this new book as an overview of what is possible.  It’s not nearly detailed enough to be a true how-to book, but it covers so many different materials that it will probably boggle your mind with possibilities and send you racing for your notebook!

The Encyclopedia of Contemporary Jewelry Making Techniques
by Vannetta Seecharran
This book covers far more than beading techniques, so look elsewhere if you’d like an introduction to beadwork.  This is a guide for an experimental jewelry who wants to create one-of-a-kind jewelry using modern techniques and materials.  There are instructions and photographs outlining how to work with …read more

With art books, you often really can judge a book by its cover.  In the case of this new polymer clay book, I WANT IT!!  I am drooling, and all I’ve seen is the cover and a couple of reviews!  Look at this:
Polymer Clay Color Inspirations
by Lindly Haunani and Maggie Maggio
Now tell me that isn’t the most scrumptous cover you’ve seen in a long time.  I want to learn to do that!  Can this book deliver?  Well, according to the reviews so far, it can.   Lindly Haunani and Maggie Maggio focus on color, giving a studio exercise for each principle …read more

Seed Bead Fusion
by Rachel Nelson-Smith
Rachel Nelson-Smith has decided not to be bound by the usual rules about beading. Instead of starting with one stitch and sticking with it, she invites us to mix them up. The results are 18 projects of stunning beauty. Rachel likes to add bumps, waves, ruffles, and other textures to her work, which takes each of these projects from merely nice to amazing. She also likes to showcase several different color schemes, so that you’ll never feel hemmed in by just one choice.
The highlight of this book for me is that I can heartily recommend it …read more

Contemporary Copper Jewelry
by Sharilyn Miller
I love Sharilyn Miller’s work. Primarily known as a wire jewelry artist, Sharilyn also works in many other media. She was the original editor of Belle Armoire magazine, which I adore. This new book contains a great techniques section, followed by page after page of Sharilyn’s one-of-a-kind designs. The best feature of this book is the photography. There are a gazillion photos, one for each major step in the process of creating your own wire and metal pieces.
Several other designers have contributed projects to this book. I love many of them, a few I’m not so …read more