The full name is:
Beaded Jewelry With Found Objects: Incorporate Anything from Buttons to Shells by Carole Rodgers
ISBN: 0873496841
Published by Krause Publications in February 2004
Short Version: I love this book! Buy it and expand your mind. You do need to know a few basic stitches, but it shows you all kinds of cool variations on those stitches to make your work "pop."
Long Version: I'll admit it: I have a soft spot in my heart for the people at Krause. Years ago, I was their technical contact for their first computerized typesetting and book layout machines. When the people I worked with at Krause found out I had a dream of owning an antique Buick, they sent me all the books they produced on Antique Cars, Antique Buicks, the History of the Buick, and Maintaining a Classic Car. At that time that the books came, the dream of owning such a car was like the dream many people have of winning the lottery: fun, but unlikely. (I kept getting invites to go visit out there in Iola, WI, but this city girl couldn't leave her new husband, and later, her new baby)
I devoured those books, and learned to recognize and appreciate the distinctive Krause publishing style. The books are all about the size of a sheet of typing paper, and range from a few pages to big phone book types. They're all glue bound with a nice, full color cover. The books that Krause publishes are invariably of terrific quality, presented in a practical and affordable package for what you get.
This book was no disappointment. It assumed that I had some skill with common beading stitches, but reviewed them briefly, anyway. Then it drives right onto the projects - a beautiful lariat made with a glass drawer pull as the focal, a multistrand firepolished necklace using a copper plumbing joint as the foundation for a focal bead, and many variations. The projects have enough detail that an advanced beginner would feel comfortable with most of them, and are different enough that a proficient beader would enjoy spending time making cool items with unrecognizable materials.
My favorite thus far, is the Peyote bracelet embellished with automobile fuses. The fuses are cheap and easy to find, and look terrific on the finished bracelet. The strangest one, IMO, is made of rubber worm fishng lures. But on the following pages, there are way cool pieces made with metal fishing lures.
It will get you used to looking for odd objects here and there and thinking, "So, how do I make jewelry out of this?" Right now, I'm eyeing a bunch of dead keyboards, and wondering if I could bead bezels around the keys and make a name bracelet.
The gallery is the best part of the book, IMO. I love to drool over the eye candy, and mentally picture when I would make the pieces, and what changes I'd make. (Can't ever leave well enough alone.)
It's a great book, written in a much more down to Earth style than "The Art and Elegance of Beadweaving." This book made me feel like a friend was telling me how to make some cool new pieces with stuff hanging around the house. I'm so glad that the nice people at Krause printed this treasure, which I think will be around for a long, long time.
Enjoy!
Kathy N-V
P.S.: VJ, no problem whatsoever if you want to use this review.