Button Jewellery (Twenty to Make): Amazon.co.uk: Marrianne Mercer: Books

Review

I was at quite a loss as to how to be inventive with buttons, but then the lovely people at Search Press sent me a book which offers some wonderfully creative solutions to a surfeit of buttons. Button Jewellery by Marrianne Mercer, in the Twenty to Make series, has some lovely ideas for simple to make button jewellery. I particularly like these bracelets which make use of the sort of metallic buttons which were originally spares from men's blazers and vintage suits, or mixed brightly coloured singles ... And these bag charms, which also make the most of those single metallic buttons. So try out some of the button jewellery ideas in this lovely little book.-littlecottagecomforts.blogspot.com This is the latest in the Twenty-to-Make series and is packed with brilliant ideas for a collection of colourful, cute and quirky button jewellery. Using vintage, recycled or new buttons, with the addition of wires, cords and beads, detailed instructions inspire a range of trendy, wearable items, suitable for all ages and different skill levels. As always, this series offers excellent value for money and many hours of creative fun.-East Kent Embroiderers Guild This little book is full of brilliant ideas for button jewellery - from a chunky toggle bracelet to delicate seashell earrings, there are more ideas than there are buttons in your button box, as there are many variations on a single design. If you hoard buttons this is definitely the book for you, and handmade button jewellery is bang on trend.-Handmade Living It only took one jewelry-making course, and designer Marrianne Mercer was (jump?) hooked. As with others in the 20 To Make series, we like that each project is contained on one page, faced with a full-page photograph of the model or models on the next page - because who wants to be turning pages with pliers in one hand and findings in the other? This is an ideal title for sharing with a pair of smaller hands, and kids love the immediate gratification of finishing a project in one sitting. Adults, too, come to think of it. There is a range of offerings from simple to more complex, and as Marrianne suggests, raiding a relative's button box saves on the cost and brings up memory-discussions. How sweet is that?-Spool A lovely, colourful, beautifully produced booklet showing 20 projects to make with buttons. The most striking feature is the quality of the large, clear photographs of all the pieces. There are examples of necklaces, bracelets, rings and earrings, fashionable handbag charms and cuff links. Many of the designs are shown in different colourways, whilst using the same techniques of stringing, and thus achieving a completely altered look. Materials and tools, as well as diagrams for methods of jewellery making, are clearly described. The ideas are quite basic and for the more experienced beader the projects in this booklet will be quick to make, while a novice may need to practice a bit of wire-wrapping nice loops first. Using buttons instead of beads is really the easy and fun part.-Bead Society of Great Britain

Product Description

Marrianne Mercer has found a huge variety of buttons, from wooden toggles to metal daisies, some vintage, some modern, some fun and some delicate and pretty. Her sources have included up-to-the-minute websites as well as family button boxes, and the jewellery she has produced is equally varied, from the strikingly modern Stacked Boho Necklace to the vintage Old World Charm, and from the stretchy Toggle Bracelet to the delicate Seaside Shell Earrings. Button Jewellery is all the rage and this book provides twenty projects including necklaces, charms, rings, bracelets, earrings and glasses strings, plus twenty variations.

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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful

A beautiful inexpensive book 20 July 2011

By TheLibrarian TOP 1000 REVIEWER

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I have a few books about making button jewellery, but this is my favourite. It is full of modern, attractive and simple projects. There are a few things I really like about this book:

1) The jewellery in this book is genuinely gorgeous in it's own right. I have seen button jewellery which just screams "upcycled buttons"! When I looked at the pictures in this book I just thought that the pieces were stylish and wearable.

2) Most of the buttons in this book are easy to get hold of. I have one button jewellery book that is full of pieces made using unusual antique buttons and it's very annoying. There are a few decorative buttons used, but most of the jewellery is made from the sort of buttons you can get in any craft or haberdashery shop.

3) The price! The books in this series are all reasonably priced, but they are great quality and the photography is lovely. There are 20 projects in this book and I would certainly recommend it to anyone who fancies making some button jewellery.

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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

Button Jewellery - 20 to make - Marianne Mercer 19 Oct 2011

By Lucyfur

Format:Paperback

a simple little book with simple ideas using mostly simple buttons which are easily obtainable with very basic methods of how to 'display' those special treasures that button collectors acquire from time to time. I liked the achievability aspect of these projects ... a very good start to button jewellery making techniques.