A Great Book for Inspiring Bead Jewelry Ideas

Sherri Haab has a new book out called Sherri Haab Jewelry Inspirations: Techniques and Designs from the Artist’s Studio and it looks to be a winner!

Sherri Haab Jewelry Inspirations: Techniques and Designs from the Artist’s Studio

This isn’t your typical “how-to” or “instruction” book for how to build certain jewelry pieces step-by-step, though it does walk you through most of what you need to do. Instead, Sherri Haab’s book tries to look at the entire process of making jewelry, from the very beginnings of inspiration right through to the finished piece of art. She has a great section in her book about how she organizes her studio, her beading and jewelry making supplies and even her inspirational ideas. For example, she keeps a large file box filled with “craft idea” clippings from various magazines and newspaper articles she’s found over the past 30 years. When she needs some inspiration she’ll sometimes go browsing through her clippings!

She also covers a lot of the basic techniques of jewelry making including a quick rundown of working with wire, resin clay, metal clay and image transfers. There are lots of photos and the writing is as clear as can be, which actually makes this a pretty good book for the beginner who is looking to make jewelry for the first time or the more advanced beader who is simply searching for better ways to do things. This is not a comprehensive book of every single jewelry making technique, but it’s not trying to be. She simply gives you a working overview of how to do certain things with jewelry in case the reader isn’t familiar with some of these techniques. A complete beginner could almost definitely pick up this book and create some pretty darn good jewelry with just a few hours of practice.

There are over 20 different jewelry projects in this book and it doesn’t stick to one specific theme or even material. Again, this isn’t a strict “how-to” book but rather a “how-I-do-it-and-you-can-too” sort of book She actually wants you to take her ideas and her techniques, mix them up, and make something new of your own! In a way this book serves as a personal tour through Sherri’s studio, her thought process when creating jewelry and her life.

For those of you unfamiliar with Sherri Haab she’s a very talented craft instructor who has written over 20 different craft and jewelry books over the years and has released her own instructional DVDs. She’s also appeared on HGTV, the DIY Network and Martha Stewart Living Radio! Oh and she blogs and cooks and has all sorts of great ideas on her website over at http://www.sherrihaab.com/. She’s written a lot of books, and Sherri Haab Jewelry Inspirations: Techniques and Designs from the Artist’s Studio is already looking to be one of her best!

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