Seed Bead Fusion
If beadwork conjures up images of hippies and dangling, useless, crafts-market jewelry, Nelson-Smith will make all those nightmares vanish. The 18 designs are unveiled, each with plenty of instructions. Included in each is a listing of techniques, materials, tools, sizing/finished size; What’s the story, or her explanation of the piece’s name and inspiration; directions with color photographs and illustrations inserted at appropriate steps; Nelson-Smith’s tips (such as coat the thread with beeswax to maintain its tension); and At a Glance, a photographic depiction of the major activities within each item (for instance, bases, bumps, assembly, and so on). The last chapter covers all the basics, whether types of beads and the different tools to the how-to’s of fasting and stitching. The jewelry—earrings, necklaces, and bracelets of all sorts—comes close to museum-quality manufacture, with three-dimensional effects adding to true statements of adornment. --Barbara Jacobs