The subtitle of this paperback is 50 Fun, Fast Jewelry Projects, and that is exactly what you get for only $19.95. Lark Crafts, the imprint of Sterling Publishing, is known for the dazzling beauty of their books' art design and photography. This book upholds that tradition with gorgeously full color photographs that cram beautiful images everywhere, even on the copyright page and the dedication page. We readers get photos of every finished project plus some visual treats to tantalize the senses and inspire creativity – such as an image of a colorful spill of seed beads from several precisely lined-up tubes made of clear glass. (COPYRIGHT: I'm so sorry to have to put this here, but I've had trouble with online content theft. Readers are welcome to print my articles for their personal use, but I do not allow my text or photos to be copied to anyone's online site. No one may use my content without written permission from me.)
This book is a roundup of the very best earring-making projects from several previous Lark books. Just in case you're wondering if you already have any of these, the books include Bead & Fiber Jewelry © 2008, Beading Vintage-Style Jewelry © 2007, Beading with Charms © 2007, Beading with Filigree © 2008, Beading with Gemstones © 2007, Beading with Pearls © 2008, Beading with World Beads © 2009, Bead Love © 2006, Boutique Bead & Wire Jewelry © 2008, Contemporary Bead & Wire Jewelry © 2006, Dazzling Bead & Wire Crafts © 2005, Elegant Wire Jewelry © 2007, Metal Jewelry Made Easy © 2009, and 30-Minute Earrings © 2010.
Each project starts with an alluring title, and a huge full-color, full-page photograph of the finished earrings. On the facing page, you get step-by-step instructions on how to make one of the earrings (with the last step being, "Repeat the steps to make the second earring."). The steps are clear and concise with no additional photographs or illustrations except for a couple of the most complicated projects.
The skill level is intermediate to advanced. The emphasis is on wrapping wire into delicate tendrils, coils, spirals, and loops around symmetric clusters of hanging translucent and opaque beads. Your basic wire-wrapping pliers (needle-nose) sized for jewelry making, and spools of silver and gold wire plus an assortment of beads and headpins will see you through most of these projects.
I'm in the unusual position of wanting to do most of these projects because they look intriguingly challenging – but, personally, I'm not inclined to wear the finished earrings. This is totally not a reflection on the book, and I'd love to make these earrings for others. The earrings are mostly the dangling, chandelier type that would look stunning on women who like to wear their long hair loose and dress in dramatic fashions. My tastes run toward much simpler, smaller earrings.
However, that said, I found some designs in this book that I loved, and I think there is something here for everyone. My favorites were Red Lantern (pretty and probably would make a nice clattering sound), Twist (pearl and silver simplicity that I would wear), Moon Glow (soft and luminous), Confetti Hoops (nice repetition in design), Waterfall (intriguing visual clutter), Nefertiti (warm and inviting), Whisper Drops (stunning!), Rain (abstractly stark and elegant), and Tuxedo (classically simple).
I'll admit that there were a few designs (to remain unnamed) that I found ugly, but it's all a matter of personal taste, and what doesn't appeal to me might wow somebody else. The fact that I liked most of the designs and loved nine of them, when I'm not even a dangle-earring fan, speaks well of this book's wide appeal. If you are a jewelry maker who loves to wear dangle earrings, you and this book will be a match made in heaven.
I plan to do several of these projects in the near future and feature the results here at the Bella Online Jewelry Making site. Until then, you can satisfy your curiosity about this book through this Amazon.com link: A Bounty of Bead & Wire Earrings: 50 Fun, Fast Jewelry Projects (A Bounty of Bead & Wire Series)
(Note: I received a review copy of A Bounty of Bead + Wire Earrings by Nathlie Mornu, free of charge, courtesy of Lark Books. Here is the BellaOnline review policy.)
