Book Review - Metal Jewelry Made Easy “A crafter’s guide to fabricating Necklaces, Earrings and More” by Jan Loney

We asked award winning designer, Dawn Gatehouse, to review our latest title. 

Dawn has been creating jewellery for six years and has regularly had tutorials published in several jewellery making publications. Specialising in wirework, she has also more recently been developing her metalsmithing skills and was the perfect choice for this review.

I was really excited to receive this book as it is full of lovely projects. Before diving straight in though there there are some very comprehensive chapters on “Getting Started” which cover raw materials, design, measuring and safety. 

The “Tool & Supplies” section covers all the tools you will ever need and some handy tips. It also covers soldering in great depth. The “Techniques” section is well laid out and covers everything from piercing, stamping and forging to casting and reticulation.

There are so many beautiful projects in this book using both sheet metal and different gauges of wire. All have really clear step by step instructions, including images and wonderfully clear photographs of the finished pieces.

Projects using wire and metal sheet

My version of the 'Gingko' earrings

As I was choosing which projects to try I was somewhat limited as I don't yet have all the tools to make some of the items. I now have a rolling mill, nylon stake and a crucible for casting on my metalsmithing wishlist!. I decided to make the 'Gingko' earrings first. The instructions were well laid out and easy to follow. The earrings I made are not formed as the ones in the tutorial as I used thicker silver than described in the ingredients. That being said I am still really happy with the results. 

My Pearl and Wire earrings

I also decided to make the pearl and wire earrings which I really enjoyed as I love anything to do with wire. I did not have the stud and ball earposts with an eye as listed so I decided to make my own earwires for the earrings which look just as nice.

This book is great to have in your collection if you are interested in metalsmithing, particularly as a beginner. I intend to build upon my tool supplies in the next few years so will come back to this lovely book time and again.

Metal Jewelry Made Easy by Jan Loney, published by Lark (£12.99, available from www.thegmcgroup.com)

ISBN 978-1454709145

Book reviews - Beach Chic Jewelry and Earthy Boho Jewelry by Holly Witt-Allen

We love the series of jewellery making booklets produced by Leisure Arts. They may be just 32 pages but each one has plenty of project ideas that are both accessible and wearable.

Beach Chic Jewelry and Earthy Boho Jewelry are the perfect additions to your beading library at this time of year. With summer (hopefully!) hotting up and many of us planning beach holidays and festival fun, these two books from Holly Witt-Allen are sure to get you making the ideal accessories to your outfits.

Each book has a quick and easy reference at the beginning with a photograph of each project and a page number. I love that all the pieces together form a cohesive collection of jewellery with beautiful colour palettes and a distinct style that permeates through all the designs.












All the pieces in both books can be made with simple stringing, linking and knotting techniques and all the skills you will need are covered in the General Instructions sections at the back of each booklet. This means that both are the perfect choice for beginners or those makers who just struggle for ideas on materials or colour combinations.

Choose from necklaces, bracelets and earrings (left two from Beach Chic Jewelry, right two from Earthy Boho Jewelry)

You can choose to follow the instructions to the letter and use the same supplies as the designer. There is a list of those supplying beads for the designs right at the back of the book and I am sure you could locate the exact same components if you wanted. However, the great thing about the designs in these books is that you can easily adapt them to work with beads and materials you already have in your stash. 
Here are two gorgeous bracelets I made using materials I already had to hand, inspired by the 'Splash of Color Bracelet' and 'Relics Bracelet'. The instructions were really easy to follow and I just picked out beads in similar colours and took inspiration from the relaxed style.

I would definitely recommend these two booklets to newcomers to jewellery making and also for those looking for colour ideas and ways to make more layered and textural pieces. They would make a great and inexpensive addition to your bookshelf.

Beach Chic Jewelry is available from Amazon, priced at £5.99
ISBN 978-1-4647-3525-7

Earthy Boho Jewelry is available from Amazon, priced at £5.99
ISBN 978-1-4647-3524-0