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About the author
Nancy Soriano developed an interest in design early as she rummaged through her mother’s jewelry box and tagged along on flea-market trips. She introduced crafting and DIY to Country Living while she served as the magazine’s editor in chief and has also served as the Publishing Director for Craft at F+W Media. She lives with her husband, her son, and her many collections—including a good amount of vintage and handmade jewelry—in a 1920s Tudor cottage near New York City.
Summary
The Jewelry Recipe Book takes materials available at large craft stores (as well as specialty shops and artisan shops on Etsy)—beads, shrink plastic, leather, lace, pearls, sequins, polymer clay, yarn, and pinecones, to name a few—and transforms them into one-of-a-kind pieces of jewelry. Each of the 35 mini chapters organized by material consists of three projects and three skill levels, adding up to more than 100 stunning pieces that could easily be found for sale at Urban Outfitters or Anthropologie. Every piece is beautifully photographed, as are the majority of how-to steps, and the information is presented in an easy-to-follow way, like a recipe. The book also includes an overview of simple jewelry-making techniques and tips, with best practices for how to work with various materials; how to wear jewelry; and how to work with design elements that include color, scale, and shape.
Additional text
“If you can follow a recipe, you can make a bracelet, necklace or earrings. Using easy-to-find materials, [The Jewelry Recipe Book] walks crafters of all levels through the steps. Basic techniques and tips are covered, as well as advice for working with a variety of materials. A primer on color, scale and shape is included.”
—Dallas Morning News
“Can you give me a recipe for that bracelet? Soriano, former editor-in-chief of Country Living magazine, answers this question with a big ‘yes’ in this jewelry ‘cookbook’ that features more than 100 projects, all with fewer than five ingredients and many with even fewer steps. Soriano . . . scores major creativity points with the unusual and surprising nature of some of her ingredients, such as T-shirts, pine cones, and plumbing hardware.”
—Publishers Weekly
