J. Marsha MichlerBead & Wire Art Jewelry: Techniques & Designs for all Skill Levels

I am completely new to jewelry making and wire working and found this book helpful to a certain extent.I think a total beginner should purchase this book WITH another book that has more detailed steps for projects. A total beginner should consult this book for the Introduction on tools, materials and basic techniques but FIRST start with PROJECTS from a book with more detailed descriptions and photographs of steps. This projects in this book is EXCELLENT for beginners who have already completed a few simple projects (as in NOT completely, utterly new to wireworking) and know some of the basic techniques and lingo. The written instructions are very specific on certain things (length of wire to cut, number of beads to use) and can aid a semi beginner in gauging the right amount/length of materials to use in future projects and in their own designs.The Introduction section is absolutely excellent for those completely new to wire working and jewelry making. It has a list of basic tools and materials you would need for basic wire working alongside pictures of each tool which is great as many new to jewelry making and wire working would not even know what they look like. It also gives a short description of the purpose/use of each tool and of different materials (beads, wires, etc)There are about 20 pages detailing basic wireworking and beading techniques. There are step by step instructions accompanied by simple illustrations of the major steps. I found these to be useful basics.The projects are beautiful and basic/simple enough to suit many people's taste and also to help inspire your own designs. Variations are given for some of the intermediate and advanced designs. Projects progress from beginner to intermediate to advanced level. Materials and tools needed are clearly listed at the beginning of the project instructions.I personally liked that the instructions were straightforward and were not influenced by the author's personal tastes and preferences, work techniques etc and was not punctuated by little stories or quotes from the author (Personally, I find them annoying and distracting). It allows a beginner to form their own design personality and work technique/process without being influenced by the author. In addition, the written instructions for the projects included references to techniques described in the introduction, Such techniques when listed in instructions are underlined, letting the reader know to refer to the introduction and doesn't leave the reader wondering (in case they have forgotten what they have read in the introduction).However, as I said, I found this book helpful to me as a total beginner "to a certain extent." I made the Pearl Cluster necklace as my first piece (the design was the reason why I bought the book). It is the first piece of jewelry I have ever made and although it was easy and employed many of the basic techniques described in the Introduction portion, it also required a lot of my imagination and trying, testing and poking around to complete. But in the end the necklace came out beautifully (in fact, it's only been a few days since I completed it and I already have 4 girlfriends who have "placed orders" with me to make them the same design).The steps are written instructions and not accompanied by photographs of the individual steps. Illustrations are given for some of the steps but they are not always an adequate supplement to the written instructions. Some photos are shown alongside instruction but they show what the piece should look like AFTER you have completed the step rather than HOW to complete the step.I also found some of the written instructions to be very confusing - this is where I had to consult the (excellent) photo of the finished product (the only useful photos in the book) and use my imagination to figure out what the author meant.Overall, I think it was a useful book for total beginners to consult about basics, but total beginners should find a more detailed book for actual projects before progressing onto the projects in this particular book. Semi-beginners will find that these projects can help inspire their own designs.

Lots of great beginner to advanced projects in this. Plenty to look at and get inspiration from. Might even try something similar to some of these myself.

I wasn't sure if I should order this based on previous reviews, I did anyway.I am very happy I did because not only are there some good illustrations on basic wire wrap techniques , but there are also some imstructions on basic beading patterns such as peyote stitch.I find that the combination of beaded beads and wire can be quite striking in a design.Many of the designs in the book can also easily be changed or brought up a level with just a few minor changes if needed.Overall this is a very useful addition to my library which I do not regret having purchased.

The book provides great projects and has given me a lot of ideas. The only complaint is that while most of the instructions are easy to follow some of the instructions are not quite thorough enough to really figure out on your own. I had to look some of them up on the internet to watch videos of the techniques. But overall I'm really pleased with this book.

When I read some of the bad reviews I wondered, "Are we talking about the same book?" This is one of my favorite jewelry books! It is not the first wire working book you should use. Learn basic techniques from "Bead on a Wire" which is a wonderful beginners book. I'm a wire wrapper with intermediate experience and it was perfect for me, I don't care for every detail to be pictured and explained. This book has a nice variety of projects and is very inspiring, I use it all the time. The ideas in this book jumpstart me to make other projects.

I've read this book from cover to cover. I am a novice at jewelry making; however, this book is an excellent read. It took me step by step on everything I need to know at this stage. I love it. My only problem is that I wish I had bought it in book form instead of by Kindle. I need to hold it in my hands .......lol. I highly recommed this book.

I really liked the piece on the cover and assumed that all the pieces in the book would follow in the same vein and I was sorely disappointed when the book arrived and the projects are kinda crappy. There are a couple of things worth making but they didn't make the purchase worth the cost of the book. The how to part of the book isn't very good either. Explanations assume that the reader knows how to do things and there are very few pictures showing processes. Luckily I know what I'm doing!

As an advanced artisan, its hard to find something in print that isn't beginner level; this had all levels, great!

Although it does state that this book is for all skill levels, only the first couple of projects are really easy. The basics of wire work are explained a bit but if you are truly a complete beginner even this might seem daunting. The instructions for each project are not very detailed and there are no 'how to' photographs or steps to follow, although there are references to the basics section underlined but these don't give the page number so it takes a few seconds to find the relevant bit. The projects jump from being extremely easy to very complicated so I don't know why the author thinks this book is suitable for all skill levels. To complete beginners I would maybe recommend books by Linda Jones to start off with as the instructions are great and easy to follow. The last few projects in this book remind me of peruvian wire work as they are so detailed, but with so little instruction would be difficult to complete and most of the items could not be made in a couple of hours. I've done quite a lot of wire work but I think I would struggle with a lot of the items. Having said all that, most of the projects are very unusual and inspirational and would present a challenge to advanced wire workers and possibly inspire intermediate levels to have a go. I certainly will. Also, the book is not particulary expensive, so someone looking for more inspiration would do well to have a look at it. I'm glad I bought it, although I probably need to practice quite a bit to make the more advanced stuff!

I want to make the bracelet on the cover!I sort of bought this as I loved the bracelet on the cover and longed to make it. I make jewellery and have done for the last 2 years.Recently i have started working with wire. I can make a vast amount of items but want to advance into working with Sterling silver but need a little more practice. This book has a great amount of projects, 50 in all getting progressively more difficult as the book progresses. there are quite a number of difficult pieces to make and I'm itching to try!This book is full of lovely pictures of the finished product but lets itself down by the tiny badly drawn illustrations showing how to do some of the steps hence 3 stars..I have mine on Kindle so cannot comment on the book as a whole (the size the feel the paper quality) but as a kindle book it is great, especially viewed on my new Kindle Fire HD!.I have added a few pictures of the bracelet on the cover that I made.

I would have given this a three star had it not been for the interesting and unusual intermediate and advanced projects later on in the book. However even as an intermediate jewellery maker I am going to find it difficult to reproduce some of the designs without a struggle. This is because there are short descriptions for instructions only and virtually no picture step-by-step examples. I think this book should have concentrated on being for intermediate and advanced people and removed the basic projects at the end and replaced them with step-by-step pictures. Many people work better to pictures and I think this is a serious oversight. It is a real shame as there are some great designs in here. On the plus side there are also some nice examples of making chain links and claps and also wig jig patterns. If you are interested in making just wire jewellery with little or no beads in it then there are some examples of those in here too.

The picture on the cover made me think this would contain contemporary bead and wire projects. In fact the projects are, on the whole, old fashioned and they are not all wire work. The layout and instructions are poor. It has received three stars only because I have successfully completed the cuff pictured (in copper and ruby zoisite) and that looks fab! Strangely this is listed as an advanced project and I had only made a couple of simple rings prior to attempting this. I doubt I will make anything else from it or get any inspiration from it.

I was very disappointed with this book. The instructions are vague and seem incomplete. I haven't bothered making any of the projects as it just isn't one of those books you can't wait to delve into