Creative Wire Jewelry Making Kit for Beaders - DIY Wirework Projects for Beginners to Advanced - Perfect for Necklaces, Bracelets & Earrings Crafting

Admission time, I bought this book because of the full page advertisement I saw in the May issue of Art Jewelry Magazine. The bracelet featured in the ad is very much my style of wire work, so I bought the entire book for one project.However, Beautiful Wire Jewelry for Beaders by Irina Miech is so much more than one project. The book is set up as so many of these books are. It starts with wire, tools, and supplies and explanations for them. One handy thing in this section is the chart that shows the conversion of wire guage size to inches AND mm. Often when I am buying beads and need to know the hole size that will fit with the wire, the beads are given in mm while the wire is in inches. Then I have to look up the conversion each time. I am thinking I will photocopy the chart and post it on the wall for easy reference.The next section is very basic wireworking techniques needed to know to do any wirework at all. Although they are explained again in the the beginner projects, it is a good reference section for beginners to turn back to without wondering which project they saw the instructions for how to make a basic loop or a spiral.Next the book is divided into Beginner, Intermediate and then Advanced. Each project builds from the previous project. For example, the first project in the Beginner section uses basic loops to construct a necklace and earrings. The second project covers making a necklace and earrings using wrapped loops. By the end of the Beginner section, you could potentially have a full jewelry box AND a set of basic skills that results in beautiful pieces. Although I had all the basic skills down, there are some really cool ideas that I never would have thought of in that section.Intermediate starts out with instructions for 3 different Whimsical Pins and covers a wide range of projects from pendants, to rings, to creating your own findings.And guess what? That bracelet I was so entranced by? It's the 2nd to last project in the Advanced section of the book. Let's just say I skipped ahead and started on the Spiral Cuff first. However, Irina's cuff uses a variety of sizes and materials of beads in her demo cuff and I decided to do my first one in copper (cheap if I screw up!) and used all 4mm swarovski bicones. Honestly, I don't like the look of all bicones. So, I am going to cut the wire used to coil the bicones on and redo it using a variety of stuff laying around.Interestingly, I didn't like some of the advanced projects. It is mostly due to my wire wrapping style and what appeals to me asthetically. I prefer a more organic, loosey goosey look. My first foray into wire wrapping was the more rigid, almost architectural look using square wire, etc. I hated it. I still have that piece, but gave up playing with wire for a long time until I learned not all wire wrapping has to be like that.However, the fact that there are 21 projects in this book and I don't like 2 or 3 of them...is a pretty darn good deal. One of the best features is that immediately following the instructions for each individual piece is a gallery of ideas for other ways to use what you just learned. Many books have a single gallery. This book has a gallery for each and every single project. I think I got as much out of those as the original piece shown.Beautiful Wire Jewelry for Beaders really has something for everyone: from the beginner that has never picked up a pair of chainnose or a wire cutter, to the most seasoned wire worker, this is an excellent book. There are very few wire working books that I personally love. This is one of them and I think you will love it too.