Cool Jewels

Posted by: S & T Creations on: July 25, 2011

In: Beading | Reviews
2 Comments

Cool Jewels is designed to “teach you how to make trendy jewelry with the hottest materials and very little effort.” Naomi covers the basic information about beads, findings, tools and materials, and techniques. There are 33 distinct jewelry projects, plus a snowflake design, and information on how to plan a jewelry party with friends. These projects are varied and cover a range of different jewelry styles, which
is great as an introduction to many different design possibilities.

I thought the tools list was a bit long when I first scanned the page, but Naomi Fujimoto actually divides that into 2 sections, with the first being 3 tools that are the minimal amount needed to create all the designs. Then the second section discusses other tools that can come in handy and help expand the reader’s options and skills. So I thought that worked well, as many of us start out with just the basics, and add to our tools (even becoming “tool junkies” later).

I found the book’s focus on talking to girls about making jewelry and spurring their creative efforts to be fresh and new. There are very few jewelry books that are written with younger girls in mind, and this one is a great example of what I would call a “bridge” book. By that I mean that it successfully bridges the gap between little girl plastic bead designs and designs that would appeal to grown women. It could be called a successful “tweener” book, perhaps. These projects aren’t childish and girls would wear them for years. They could be described as chic, trendy, and hip. These are youthful designs, but not childlike.

If you have made jewelry using instructions from Cool Jewels, please drop a comment and let us know! Share your experience.

Kalmbach Books provided the author with a copy of Cool Jewels for this review.