Rating: 
Summary: Well-presented - if you like the projects
Review: A well-presented book, but the majority of it is projects - the techniques section at the beginning is relatively brief, although it does cover a wide range of beadwork. If you like the projects, you'll love the book. Unfortunately, the projects are not to my taste. I don't much like pictorial beadwork (beads creating pictures and images using peyote or brick stitch, or miniature objects made of beads (cups, little people and so on), or objects like glass jars being covered with beadwork. Most of the projects in the book seem to be of this type. Speaking personally, I prefer Carol Wilcox Wells' book "Creative Bead Weaving". She describes various techniques with the aid of very good diagrams (whereas "The Art of Seed Beading" often uses photos, which aren't as clear). Her projects and ideas are glorious, and much more to my taste. But be aware that she doesn't cover as many techniques as "The Art of Seed Beading" does, for example crochet and embroidery with beading.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Projects, OK Instructions
Review: I bought this book for the patterns... especially a wonderful elephant necklace... and they are great. Unfortionately, I also bought this book to learn from and ended up with alot of trial and error time before I understood the directions. She doesn't explain how to hold the work in order to maintain tension only mentions that it is important. The pictures of techniques are misleading but if you ignore them and read the instructions only it makes alot more sense. Good point though... the projects are not as hard as they look and come out wonderfully. All in all this book was well work the money.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Projects, OK Instructions
Review: I bought this book for the patterns... especially a wonderful elephant necklace... and they are great. Unfortionately, I also bought this book to learn from and ended up with alot of trial and error time before I understood the directions. She doesn't explain how to hold the work in order to maintain tension only mentions that it is important. The pictures of techniques are misleading but if you ignore them and read the instructions only it makes alot more sense. Good point though... the projects are not as hard as they look and come out wonderfully. All in all this book was well work the money.
Rating: 
Summary: Art of Seed Beading
Review: I was disappointed not to find more jewelry patterns in this book. The first chapters have very helpful and enlightening descriptions about types of seed beads and how they are made. The instructions on basic stitches are well-described, also; however, I found many of the projects themselves to be of little general interest given what one finds in most other beading books. (I realize that this could be my own bias!) With a title as general as "the Art of Seed Beading," I thought there would be more instructions on how to alter basic techniques such as peyote or netting to create unique pieces. I did like a couple of the projects, though, and I found the opening chapters very helpful and useful.
Rating:
Summary: Art of Seed Beading
Review: I was disappointed not to find more jewelry patterns in this book. The first chapters have very helpful and enlightening descriptions about types of seed beads and how they are made. The instructions on basic stitches are well-described, also; however, I found many of the projects themselves to be of little general interest given what one finds in most other beading books. (I realize that this could be my own bias!) With a title as general as "the Art of Seed Beading," I thought there would be more instructions on how to alter basic techniques such as peyote or netting to create unique pieces. I did like a couple of the projects, though, and I found the opening chapters very helpful and useful.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I was not too impressed with this book. It was the third book on beading I had purchased, and I found it did not enhance my collection of beading books. It does have some interesting projects, but it offers limited information on techniques. I'd recommend it only for the specific projects, if you like them. For general instructions there are better book sout there.
Rating:
Summary: Way beyond beginner
Review: This book is your standard seed bead how-to fare. First you learn the stitches, followed by projects using the stitches. The trouble with this book is that the projects are far beyond beginner level. If you are just starting out with seed beads, their size alone is daunting, so look for a book with easier projects.
Rating:
Summary: Way beyond beginner
Review: This book is your standard seed bead how-to fare. First you learn the stitches, followed by projects using the stitches. The trouble with this book is that the projects are far beyond beginner level. If you are just starting out with seed beads, their size alone is daunting, so look for a book with easier projects.
Rating:
Summary: Recommended, but Not for Everyone
Review: This book offers one of the widest ranges of projects in any beading book I've seen, considering that it deals exclusively with seed beads. The first part contains an interesting description of how seed beads are made, and then the obligatory descriptions of findings, thread, etc., that seem to be part of every beading book. Next come descriptions of various stitches and techniques. I didn't find these particularly helpful because I am one of those people who need extensive diagrams to figure out new beading stitches (but if you work well from just text then you will be all right here). I would say that if you are just starting out and don't already know peyote and brick stitch and how to weave on a loom, you should probably learn these elsewhere (there are a lot of places on the web that give great tutorials). For the most part, the photography in the book is excellent. (I say "for the most part" because there are some photographs in with the stitch tutorials but you can't really see what's going on in them.) The pictures of beadwork are pretty good, albeit rather small. A few final cautions and then on to the praise. =) First, the pattern graphs may be a little hard to read (and because the book is so nice looking, you feel like you shouldn't write in it). Second, the materials needed for many of the projects are pretty specific and you can't always substitute something you already have on hand (in other words, you may need to go shopping for large numbers of Delicas). Third, surprisingly few of the projects in the book are jewelry, so if you're only looking to make necklaces or earrings (as opposed to wall-hangings, scissors cases, and miniature bead sculptures), you should probably look elsewhere. Finally, while there is an inspirational beadwork gallery in the back, many of the pieces are done in the tambour stitch, which is not covered in the book. With these things in mind, the book is actually quite good. If you already have a handle on basic seed beading techniques, and if you are interested in things you can make OTHER than jewelry, this book is definitely for you. Before picking up "The Art of Seed Beading," I had never thought of making a clock face or a 3-dimensional picnic scene out of beads. And if you already know how to knit or crochet, the projects that add beads to these two techniques are fairly easy to understand.
Rating:
Summary: Recommended, but Not for Everyone
Review: This book offers one of the widest ranges of projects in any beading book I've seen, considering that it deals exclusively with seed beads. The first part contains an interesting description of how seed beads are made, and then the obligatory descriptions of findings, thread, etc., that seem to be part of every beading book. Next come descriptions of various stitches and techniques. I didn't find these particularly helpful because I am one of those people who need extensive diagrams to figure out new beading stitches (but if you work well from just text then you will be all right here). I would say that if you are just starting out and don't already know peyote and brick stitch and how to weave on a loom, you should probably learn these elsewhere (there are a lot of places on the web that give great tutorials). For the most part, the photography in the book is excellent. (I say "for the most part" because there are some photographs in with the stitch tutorials but you can't really see what's going on in them.) The pictures of beadwork are pretty good, albeit rather small. A few final cautions and then on to the praise. =) First, the pattern graphs may be a little hard to read (and because the book is so nice looking, you feel like you shouldn't write in it). Second, the materials needed for many of the projects are pretty specific and you can't always substitute something you already have on hand (in other words, you may need to go shopping for large numbers of Delicas). Third, surprisingly few of the projects in the book are jewelry, so if you're only looking to make necklaces or earrings (as opposed to wall-hangings, scissors cases, and miniature bead sculptures), you should probably look elsewhere. Finally, while there is an inspirational beadwork gallery in the back, many of the pieces are done in the tambour stitch, which is not covered in the book. With these things in mind, the book is actually quite good. If you already have a handle on basic seed beading techniques, and if you are interested in things you can make OTHER than jewelry, this book is definitely for you. Before picking up "The Art of Seed Beading," I had never thought of making a clock face or a 3-dimensional picnic scene out of beads. And if you already know how to knit or crochet, the projects that add beads to these two techniques are fairly easy to understand.
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