Bead & Button, Ribbon & Felt Jewelry: 35 Sewing-Box Treasures to Make & Give

I admit it, I bought this mostly based on the title: beads, buttons, ribbons, and felt - these are all embellishments I adore and have in abundance! If you are relatively new to making jewelry and are not quite up to soldering, here is the book for you. And if you sew, you most likely have ample materials already in your possession. This book illustrates that making one-of-a-kind items does not require great skill nor the purchase of scads of materials or tools. Included in the 35 projects: incorporating yo-yos in necklaces and corsages (and from here you can imagine very neat vintage pins); stuffed fabric beads (my favorite idea for which I am going to use fabulous shibori and chirimen/chiromen fabrics); tassels used as pendants (make your own or buy end bits from your favorite decorator fabric store); creating discs out of lace; refashioning cuffs from old sweaters (I have a bunch of worn-out wool socks just screaming to be used!!); making beads from wired ribbons and artificial flower bits; and much more that I will leave for you to be surprised by. The instructions are very well done and you will find it easy to extend the ideas to make your own inventions. If you can thread a needle, then you can make any of these projects. They are not very intricate really, but then they are not super-simple and as such are not suitable for children. However, there are some ideas here that, with supervision, a child could make on a rainy day. This is a good, straight-forward text with lots of basic ideas to utilize elements you already have - and if you don't, you can find scraps anywhere easily and will enjoy shopping for this craft that won't cost too much.