Hand Felted Jewelry and Beads: 25 Artful Designs (ISBN 1596680059)

Wonderful designs and ideas......if you know how:
I felt and have for years so I found this book wonderful. Beautiful ideas, covering everthing from brooches, earrings, belts, scarves, necklaces, beads and lariats, this last one in particular had several designs using a focal glass bead and creating a felt version of the glass bead, looked stunning! Gorgeous "botanical" pieces - loved the flowers and variations, accompanied by great photographs. Huber Cypher uses lots of techniques to showcase the beads, such as beading and wiring and it is clear she loves to "borrow" from other traditional techniques such as mokume gane and lampwork to add beauty and diversity to the pieces. Natural beauty also features heavily with felted representations of natural gemstones. So, if you already know how to felt grab this book and you will be very happy. If on the otherhand you are a complete beginner then there is a problem. The instructions are certainly minimalistic and the step by step process could be a lot clearer. The photos or drawings of steps are not nearly detailed enough, they are "still" showing you the objects used but not necessarily how to do it. (Try Candice Cooper's Felted Jewelry for a better technical explanation). Overall though I would still buy this book and I recommend it to my mixed media students, even if you are just starting out the projects are delicious and certainly what you can aspire to in your journey with felt.

Needs more instructional photos:
This book has some really nice and inspiring projects to do, but for anyone who has never worked with felting, but wants to, it is very hard to visualize the process. Step by step photos would be a big help. Otherwise, it's just frustrating.

Yaba Daba Doo!:
This book gives quite a few projects but to be quite honest most are quite hideous. I bought it originally to make hand felted flowers for my hats like the lily on the front cover. Alot of the projects I couldn't imagine anyone wearing (unless they say their child made it in kindergarten for Mother's Day like the mustard coloured, felted stone necklace - yaba daba doo!). Alot of the projects centre on having a glass lampwork bead on one end of a felt rope and then copying that bead on the other end in felted wool - it just looks stupid to me. The photos of other people's projects at the end have a couple of good ideas but that's about it. If making big, chunky lariats and necklaces with seed beads scattered over them is your thing then go for it - but quite honestly the clash of textures and scale just don't sit well with my eye.

Falls short of the mark:
When you think jewelry-making materials, let's face it, handmade felt isn't going to appear high on many lists. We tend to think shiny and delicate. Felt is matte in finish and can be bulky. Of course, it has potential for jewelry - but design is crucial to achieving a contemporary look with broad appeal. I'm a feltmaker and I love beading and polymer clay jewelry-making so I was eager to get my hands on this book ... but disappointed that it did not meet my expectations. The project samples aren't my cup of tea: I just wouldn't wear most of those items myself. The photography isn't great compared to other craft books I have and there are not enough step by step illustrations. Beginners will struggle with this book. I was perplexed that the round felt ball beads were needle-felted, with a vague reference to the wet feltmaking technique which is so popular for this particular item. If you are a keen needle-felter then this book might appeal to you more than it did me. And while Carol Huber Cypher does present some good tips and innovative design ideas, my personal preference is for Candice Cooper's 'Felted Jewelry' book. (But hey - maybe there is room on your bookshelf for both!)

Learned about book from granddaughter in S. Korea:
Great book. Granddaughter was at the library at the university she is attending in South Korea and asked me about felted jewelry. I found this book and told her about it and gave her the link to look at it. She then said this was the one she was looking at. We are going to work on some jewelry when she returns. Fantastic to learn about books from people in other countries. Lots of instructions, pictures and ideas. Check it out.