Thursday Feature: Reviews & Interviews - Beyond the Bead by Margot Potter

Image from Wikimedia Commons, in the public domain

Beyond The Bead: Making Jewelry With Unexpected Finds

I was so excited when this book finally arrived. Margot's work is fun, imaginative and inspires me to try and think more creatively about what I'm doing. I've done a few things in the last year that were well outside my comfort zone as a result of following her blog and admiring her work for Beadalon and Swarovski. In fact, when she made a kind comment about something I made with a Rings & Things product earlier this year (choker forms), I could hardly believe it! It helped me gain even more confidence about pushing back the edges of my creative envelope.

Well, enough about me - what about Beyond the Bead?

Basic facts: 8 1/2 by 11" full glossy color book with tons of great photographs, which is what I expect in a how to book, but the artful way the pages are composed makes each page a pleasure to the eyes. 128 numbered pages - there are a few extra pages as well that deserve attention - the acknowledgment and bio pages are not to be skipped, Margot's writing style is a joy to read.

The book starts off with sections on Building Blocks, Tools, and Techniques. Even though I'm getting fairly practiced and feel confident about most techniques, I always check these sections out - you never know when you'll pick up a new tip or get a refresher that improves your skill.

Then each of the next sections has a lovely introduction before going into the projects which are thoroughly and artfully described and illustrated. There are 26 in all. As I read I realize that almost anything you might find lying around the house could become a unique and eye-catching piece of jewelry.

Most of the projects require a bit of specialized equipment or a few specialized products that crafty people probably already have, but even if your work room only has beads and wire, you will be anxious to get out to the crafts store (or go online) and grab some new items. Rest assured, you'll use them again and again once you're hooked.

Margot is all about mixing it up - using many different media to create interest and depth. There's glitter and grunge, wire and washers (not the laundromat kind), and lots of fun with glue.

One of my favorite projects in the book is right at the front - the Vogue Slide necklace. Aside from a memory glass slide and frame you probably have all the rest of the materials on hand. The look of the piece is all about what image you choose and everything else can be adapted from there.

The other piece from this section, the next project on using embossing powder on glass, I liked was the gallery piece "Optically Stained" - Margot listed that piece on Etsy and I snapped it up the moment I read about it! It's gorgeous and gets many, many compliments when worn.

There's another project section I want to try soon, it's the "Scrapped - Working with Scrapbooking Supplies" - especially the faux enameled jewelry using chipboard shapes. You can go really big with these and they're so lightweight it won't matter. That's important to me as heavy necklaces give me horrible neck aches and sometimes even headaches.

The one piece that seemed the most complicated was the glass etching - lots of specialized materials to buy and some soldering. Even so, I can't see the tools and materials going to waste, I'm sure I'd have other ideas once I had the products.

This book was well worth the wait - but I recommend you get it right away! Here's a link (below) even - if you buy it here your purchase will add a penny or two to my piggy bank. If you'd rather the pennies go in Margot's bank - here's the link to her blog and she's got her affiliate link to the book in the sidebar.



Thanks for stopping by, hope you enjoyed the review (enough to buy Margot's book, even!)

I'm hoping I'll have the energy to do a Friday Pick - if not, I promise to try and share something interesting.

Thursday Feature: Reviews & Interviews - Links Inspired Bead & Wire Jewelry Creations

In addition to buying Polymer Clay Mixed Media Jewelry: Fresh Techniques, Projects and Inspiration by Shirley Rufener and Bead And Wire Jewelry Exposed: 50 Designer Projects Featuring Beadalon And Swarovski by Katie Hacker, Fernando DaSilva and Margot Potter, I also picked up Links: Inspired Bead and Wire Jewelry Creations by Jean Yates. This book was published in 2007, but the tips, techniques and patterns in it are timeless.



Jean has provided full construction details and materials lists for 38 projects, in this 81/2 x 11", full color illustrated, soft bound, 128 page book. As the title implies the book talks about many kinds and types of links - not just jewelry component links like jump rings or chain, but the kinds of links inspired by connecting ideas, memories, imagery - and how these can be transformed into jewelry that tells a story - much like the stories told with every piece in the book.

I was drawn to the book by the chainmaille link earrings on the cover (and on page 62), but compelled to buy it when I looked inside and saw projects like the Charming Teacup Bracelet (pg 22), Nancy's Dancing Pearls Bracelet (pg 40) and the Edward the Sheep Bracelet that shows how to transform a great enameled button into a keepsake bracelet.

I can wholeheartedly recommend this book for its clear and well illustrated step by step instructions, complete materials lists, extra hints and tips, and inspirational messages from other jewelry designers.

Also, you can visit Jean Yates' blog to see more of her work.

If you think you'd like a copy of this book, you could always click the picture above to buy it from Amazon and a couple pennies would go towards Dawno's bead fund!

See you tomorrow!

Thursday Feature: Reviews & Interviews - Polymer Clay Mixed Media Jewelry

Today's review is of Polymer Clay Mixed Media Jewelry: Fresh Techniques, Projects and Inspiration by Shirley Rufener.

This book provides a wealth of information about working with Polymer Clay - from tools, to mixing colors (section 1), to 18 step by step projects (section 2), as well as a design gallery featuring beautiful clay designs by various artists (section 3). There are also sections on the use of Liquid Polymer Clay and Metal Clay, as well as how to do basic jewelry assembly, including how to make and use fabricated bails made with metal clay.

What I liked most about this book is the clear descriptions of techniques with illustrations and photographs - even things as simple as how to pierce clay beads to make holes in them and then how to arrange them on a baking rack - no assumptions are made that would cause one to need to look things up in other books or online if one didn't already know even these basics.

As for the mixed media, as promised in the title, she shows how to use chalk-scraping, decoupage and layering images made with a printer and special transfer paper, a faux dichroic glass technique incorporating resin, and using embossing powder. She also describes the final jewelry assembly using a variety of beads, crystals and metals.

I'm very happy to have found this book in my local bookstore - there are answers to a number of questions I had and it will be a great reference book for when I finally start working with polymer clay in earnest. You can click on the Amazon illustrated link above to get your copy and a couple pennies go into my polyclay materials fund.

Tomorrow I'll be doing a Friday Picks post featuring D&I beads!

Thursday Feature: Reviews & Interviews - Bead And Wire Jewelry Exposed

Hi again. Sorry to have been away for a week, between my family's visit and changes at the day job, I've been a bit busy and wasn't able to squeeze in the blogging, but I'm hopeful that I'll be able to find time again now that I've caught up after a few days off.

I bought Bead and Wire Jewelry Exposed by Katie Hacker, Fernando DaSilva and Margot Potter the other day. In it the authors share design ideas which use beading wire and components in a variety of different ways. The book has 7 different design chapters plus sections on exposing your creativity, materials, tools, techniques, resources and an index.

The book takes you through design ideas with colored wire, metallic wire, coiled and shaped wire as well as some bead-weaving techniques. Throughout there are large, full color step by step photographs and detailed instructions. I'd say someone with just a bit of experience would be able to do any of the projects and anyone can learn valuable new techniques for more complex designs.

The book features use of Crystallized Swarovski Elements and Beadalon products in the creations, but one could use their own beads and alternate supplies from their own stash. They also show how to use things like rubber tubing, bead bumpers, clasps and crimps as integral and exposed (thus the title) design components.

For example, one of Fernando DaSilva's designs uses rubber eyeglass holders to form the links between beads wrapped in Colourcraft wire (page 66). Margot Potter uses half circles from bracelet sized memory wire and E-Z Crimps to make a fabulous necklace (page 90). Another DaSilva design puts a slide-bar clasp front and center instead of hidden at the back of the neck (page 84). Katie Hacker's bracelet design on page 60 uses large twisted wire jump rings you make from colored craft wire to beautiful effect.

I've gotten great inspiration from this book and highly recommend it. If you click on the Amazon link above to buy it, a couple pennies go into my beading fund, too.

Hope you'll be back tomorrow for my Friday Picks featuring Rings & Things products.

Incorporating Chainmaille in Designs for Lanyards

The title of this post is something I really want to do. I have a number of mental images of how to make badge lanyards with chainmaille design elements included. I have already used Byzantine chain in this bracelet:

By the way, many of the pieces I make my daughter appreciates but wouldn't wear. I'm ok with that but now and then she does find a piece or two she likes - that bracelet is one of them and she now has it.

And two short pieces, using teensy tiny jump rings, just before the clasp in this necklace:

Although a completely chainmaille lanyard might be really beautiful, I'm afraid that it would take way too long and be too heavy.

Then I thought, or perhaps mumbled out loud to myself as I do from time to time, "What if I use a very light weight jump ring ring, like the beautiful anodized aluminum ones from Blue Buddha Boutique, it wouldn't be that heavy, I bet"

I do wonder if the price point might be prohibitive for something that long (30" is the average), though. Not that it stopped me from ordering a sample mix and trying it anyway...I'll come back with updates and pictures if I decide to try a lanyard. Oh, and Blue Buddha also has instructions (some are free) and kits on their site.

Another thing I've realized - a realization gathered from the book I talk about below - is that I need new tools. I still don't have any flat nosed pliers and there are a number of others I either need to replace or obtain. I believe my birthday wish list this year is going to be all jewelry tools.

Anyway, I had picked up a book to learn more chainmaille making techniques, and wanted to recommend it here for its great photography, lovely projects and easy to follow instructions by Scott David Plumlee. It's titled Handcrafting Chain and Bead Jewelry: Techniques for Creating Dimensional Necklaces and Bracelets.

I got it up at A.C. Moore crafts (sad they aren't in California, but they do have an online store - yay!) when I was in Fayetteville, NC last December. You may recall I was there to meet my son at his return from deployment to Iraq. While I was at the hotel waiting for his arrival or hanging around after that, because he was out with his girlfriend, I kept myself busy making necklaces. If you check my December '08 archives you can read all about it and see a happy picture of me and my son at the welcoming home ceremony.

Well, back to my mini-review of the book - the first pages of the book are detailed explanations of everything you could possibly need to know and have for getting started in making chainmaille. Again, the pictures are fabulous. An example of the kind of detail I'm talking about is the section on pages 10 and 11 "Utilizing Pi" (if you click the link below and use the "look inside feature on Amazon you can see what I mean).

Then the author spends a few pages really making it clear how to assemble various patterns. The illustrations there are colorful and large, something that helped me enormously. The next pages explain how to determine chain length and how to evaluate your work. The next 70 pages are illustrated project instructions. I can't recommend this book highly enough if you're looking to start working in chainmaille. By the way, if you want a copy of the book and buy through the link here, I get a couple pennies for my beading piggy bank, thanks!

Sketch? Bead Board? Wing It?

I've noticed some jewelry (bead, metal, ceramic, polyclay - you name it) bloggers talking about coming up with their designs. A couple talk about sketching, others use bead boards (primarily stringers) and some of us (you know who you are) wing it.

I'm mostly a wing-it'er. I look at beads, string them, take them off, try something else...sometimes I'll dump a bunch in one of my DIY lap desks (aka a shoe box lid with bead mat) and just play around until I get what I want.

I used my bead board *a lot* when I started making my beaded badge lanyards, but now I've pretty much got an eye for how the design elements need to repeat, etc., for it come out the right length. I'll may still occasionally use it, but it's been a while.

As I think about more complex and challenging ideas, though, I think I'll be getting out the graph-paper and colored pencils. I need the colored pencils, anyway, if I'm going to try experimenting with shrinky-dinks (Margot Potter has inspired a bracelet idea via a book of hers I just got, Sparkletastic: 50 Dazzling Jewelry and Fashion Projects for the Discriminating Diva (Impatient Beader)
).

So, once you get an idea for something, what do you do? I'll be very interested to read about it in the comments.

Now, before I wander off for the evening, and since I mentioned it above, I'll tell you what I thought of Sparkletastic. Published in 2007, it's a soft cover, full color, 8.5x11" sized book of 128 pages, 50 projects, with hundreds of great pictures. I found it on one of those racks sticking out of the beading aisles at Michael's that you have to be watchful for, or you'll whack your shoulder on it. Having read Margot's blog pretty faithfully for some time now, as well as watching her delightful videos (have you seen the one about the YuDu home screen printing system? Go. Watch. Now - I'll wait here), I decided I wanted to own one of her books, too. This one looked particularly fun.

Margot's humor is what makes her books stand out from most other beading how-to's I've read. The designs are full of fun and whimsy. I saw a number of things in the book that, while I don't know if I'd make the exact same thing, I could see how the tools, materials and techniques would lend themselves to something that suits my style, too.

Oh, and if you want a copy of this fun and fabulous how-to guide, click this link and a few pennies go to my bead fund :-)