Bead and Button Magazine Review - A Must Have for the Serious Beader
If you're a beader or have more than a passing interest in learning to bead, you'll be delighted to find a magazine just for you! It's called Bead and Button Magazine. It's a monthly publication that will show you a variety of techniques for making your own beaded jewelry. This magazine is full of beading tips, projects, and luscious photos that will both teach and inspire you. You'll find interviews with bead artists and jewelry designers as well as beading projects that show you step-by-step how to complete a stunning piece of beaded jewelry. There's a beautiful showcase of jewelry creations made by readers in this delightful magazine. The showcased jewelry is surprisingly unique and complex in its design and is sure to give you lots of ideas for creations of your own.. There's also a section in the back that shows you the basics of beading if you're new to the craft.
The beading projects are well described with clear instructions including a resource list where you can buy the necessary beads and components. The projects are well described usually with a series of small photos illustrating the steps involved. Each project has a clear full-size color photo of the completed item.
One criticism is that the projects tend to be geared towards a slightly more advanced beader, although the magazine does include beginner projects. If you're a complete newbie to beading, you may want to refer to one of the newer beading magazines such as Bead Style which is geared more towards the beginning beader. The projects in this magazine tend to be simpler and less intimidating to the beginner.
If you're serious about beading, you'll find this magazine to be useful for developing new jewelry designs that you can wear yourself or sell to others. The beading projects described can be easily adapted to create entirely new jewelry projects. Plus, the high quality photos are a great way to keep abreast of what's currently popular in the world of beaded jewelry.
The back of the magazine has a rather extensive section of advertisements. This has been a source of controversy. Some people love them while others hate them. They can be a real asset to beaders who are looking for new sources of beads and components to use in their jewelry designs.. Plus, the photos are so colorful and well done that they'll be sure to get your creative juices going.
If you're an intermediate to advanced beader, you'll find this magazine to be a fantastic resource. If you're a beginning beginner, you might want to supplement this magazine with a good beginning book on beading or a copy of one of the beading magazines geared towards beginners now on the market. This is one of those magazines, you'll want to read again and again for it's inspiration and visual appeal. It would be highly recommended for anyone interested in the art of beading and jewelry design.
Author: Kristie Leong
Kristie Leong M.D. is a physician turned jewelry designer who loves all things "beady". She owns a large bead store in Virginia which you can access at http://www.beadsindeed.com