Creative Bead Jewelry by Carol Taylor (1995, Paperback, Illustrated)

I received this book as a gift from a friend of mine who is a beading fanatic just like me! We call it "The Beading Bible". Carol Taylor takes the reader through a beginner to expert approach in beading technique. Her easy to understand black and white diagrams make the reader feel completely confidant in their ability to create beautiful and wearable jewelry. The full color pictures give great inspiration for ones own creativity. I have found that with the many jewelry making materials out there that simply starting a project can be very intimidating, but Carol gives a materials list that makes shopping for these items a breeze! I highly suggest that this book be in every jewelry maker's tool box. It is as useful to me as my pliers and crimpers are!.....Two thumbs up...Shawna!

This is a fantastic book that has a great selection of different beading technique's. It is the first bead book that I have found that shows you how to make beads out of clay and paper. I was very impressed with the paper and clay beads because you are given more that one example with easy instructions and the beads are very beautiful! It also shows you how to make beads out of used denim jeans and plastic coffee stirrers! How awesome is that! It explains weaving, using wire, loomwork and beading and stringing bead basics! In the section of weaving it explains the forms of stitching in such detail that anybody can learn to do it. In one section it tells about doing the peyote, which is a popular stitch among weavers, and it tells how it is worked over a solid tubular core. It suggest a dowel but says a toilet paper tube can be used. How cool is that! I escpecially love the beautiful designs of the bracelets with beads and charms! This book has several famous designers who contributed ideas and I think that really helps make this one of the best beading books ever! I give it an A+++

An imformative book for the beginner, it did not go into beaded earrings as much as I hoped. Overall it is a good book to start out with and has some nice projects to try.

I bought the book for my wife as a small surprise to help her along with her beaded jewelry making. Even though I do not bead, I do enjoy seeing the finished products and how happy they make her.

This is a really good book for the beginning to intermediate beader, but is somewhat lacking in more advanced projects. On the plus side, everything is explained very well and there are lots of illustrations to help keep you on track. I was just a bit disappointed that there wasn't more emphasis on the "creative" part promised in the title.

I bought this book because I am a beginning beader/jewelry maker! I found the book was great for Beginners. It covers all the basics to get you started beading; from the tools and findings you need, to the types of beads that are available. It also covers the different types of beading you can do, including Weaving, Looming, Stringing, Wiring and even how to make your own beads!

What I didn't like about the book is it didn't give you enough information on the different types of cord, thread and wire available and what types of cord, thread and wire work best with what types of beads. It could have gone into a little more detail in most areas of beading, but in general I find the book very informative and helpful.

Directions are clear and concise, has something for everyone.
Good book for beginner to expert.
Highly recommend this book.