Seed Bead Fusion: 18 Projects to Stitch, Wire, and String

I've been beading for about five years and have a fairly decent collection of beading books, but this is the first I've seen that includes small close-up shots that show most (if not all) of the steps for most projects, in addition to the written directions and larger photos. This is such a nice feature to have in case any questions come up while working on a project.Most of all, though, I really love this book since it features some of the projects by Nelson-Smith that I have seen, but have never been able to take a class for: her Ootheca Cuff, O. Berston Component, and Bhangra Fusion Bangle, in addition to fifteen other projects. She also provides several different samples in various colorways so you can easily see the possible variations for each project. There is a lot of lovely eye candy in her designs!Many of the projects combine the use of wirework and beading, and Nelson-Smith provides excellent instructions for the wire-phobic amongst us beadweavers. In fact, the first project that I want to make from the book is one that combines wires and beads, and normally I shy away from wirework in favor of bead-only projects since I feel so clumsy (despite numerous classes) working with wire. (Beading is more of my element.)This book is a great addition to your beading library -- and don't let the wirework scare you off since Nelson-Smith explains her wire techniques so well!

I'm excited to utilize the offerings in the book. I gave four stars due to condition of the book. It's "new", however, the cover is yellowed & a corner of the cover is bent. Pages are still in good condition & I don't plan to return. Just wish it looked a little nicer for a new book.The patterns are very pretty. However, I'm gonna need a little practice to work up to them. Very cool that the beading is shown in pictures of the actual process. Super helpful for a beginner like new.

This is a nice book with some fun projects.Pros - fun designs, great diagrams and pictures to show you exactly how to do each project. Lots of pretty pictures of the projects in different color work-ups for the same projects. The author has a great color style and I found myself using colors I would not normally pick. Many different sizes and types of beads are used so you can use what you already have in your current cache. The level is beginner to intermediate.Cons - most of the projects are reworks of the same technique. Some of the projects are a little to whacky for my taste. The red thing on the cover is actually a bangle bracelet and the spikes are pretty long - at least 1 - 2 inches.I'm not a wire worker so I can't comment on those projects except to say they look amazing and I feel that I could do them with the directions provided.I would recommend the book, its fun and easy to follow.

As someone who has done little work stringing beads, I really liked this book. I originally checked it out of the library, but liked the projects so much I decided to buy a copy to keep. I have made 2 projects so far. The directions are fairly easy to follow, especially with the step by step photos. I think I'm becoming obsessed with the seed beads! I like the little tips she includes with each project, and also her story of how each project came to be. She includes photos of other colors of each design to give inspiration to create your own versions. My main change is that she uses the same clasp technique on almost every project using "liquid silver" which I have been unable to find in my area, so my first project I tried something else which didn't work as well. I'm almost to that point on my next project and am not sure the best way to attach the clasp. Overall I really like this book!

I LOVE this book. I almost didn't order it --- I have dozens of beading books. Wonderful, different, projects. It is also very inspiring. I can already think of several new projects that I can design. I started one of the book's projects the day the book arrived. It turned out perfect. I always add my own touch to the finishing by making my own closures and findings. That way, they always match perfectly.I am an experienced beader who already knows how to do RAW, square stitich, peyote, etc.. So, don't know easy the projects would be for a beginner. But I sure would give it a try, even if I was a beginner. Highly recommended.

I love this book because the designs are nothing like I've ever seen. There's so much dimension to each piece and Rachel has good instructions, diagrams and pictures. I can't wait to start on these!

"Seed Bead Fusion" by Rachel Nelson-Smith contains the most popular and timeless beading stitches. The subject matter she covers contains a wealth of information, too. I am VERY pleased with the book as an addition to my beading stitch library (even though it isn't a first edition). The instructions are clear, the book is a pleasure to browse through and the projects she offers are adaptable to any beader's niche. The book also includes an Index and a Shopping Guide, which I found helpful. The price is great, too!

This book was in better condition than a new copy that I had ordered and returned!Lovely book to add to my beading collection!

This book arrived, I browsed through it and fell in love with every single project. That's a first for me!I own quite a few beading books, my favourite so far has been Sabine Lippert's book full of beautiful projects, and nothing ever came close. But this book ends up right next to it! As a DuTchess (mind the T!) I love bold colours. As a beader, I love projects that are a bit different from 'mainstream', but still highly wearable. This book is "the bomb" as my nephew would say: it presents its readers with beautiful designs, examples in daring, yet beautiful combinations of bold colours (with an additional example in a different colour scheme for most projects). Instructions are very clear, including many step-by-step photos. And I do love Rachel's bits of storytelling about how the design came to be. It really is a pity there is no "look inside" option available for this book!I'm looking forward to the long winter evenings now, as they'll provide me with an opportunity to bead all the projects from this book, accompanied by pots of tea and good music! *purrrrrs*

After reading the other reviews I was excited when this book arrived. Sure enough it is packed with lots of gorgeous designs to try and I have already earmarked a few. Some of the designs seem quite advanced and many projects require rather a lot of different materials and look like they could take some time to make - but they are worth it if you are making a special gift for someone or for yourself to keep.

Love for the first sight! :) Good book (very good), all the projects are so inspiring. Still I wouldn't recommend for starter beaders, in spite the book has a BASICS section. The instructions can be a bit confusing, if you are not on a higher level of beading. But this is my favorite beader book. Thanks for RNS to create this book! :)

Lovely book sporting lots of interesting patterns. Although it was bought as a preloved item, the book is as good as new.

So many ideas to choose from, many using a number of different bead weaving techniques and wire work. Probably not the best book for beginners but with the easy to use instructions, colour diagrams and pictures I think anyone could follow them.