Dimensions! Book Reviews
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Review- DIMENSIONS! - About.com Beadwork Site Dimensions! Suzanne Cooper, 1999 I love 3-D. I love Amulet bags. I love this book!! These are some of the cutest and cleverest designs I've seen. Each one of these amazing designs has a 3-D element to it, from a wagon wheel to a flower basket, a thank-you note, to a garden gate!! Amulet bags with moving parts and bags with a jackpots flowing from them! Each adorable design has some dimentional element to it, and all are both graphed and photographed for the beader's reference. Full instructions for the particular design elements are included, as are sources for some of the more unusual beads included in the designs. Check this one out, for something completely different.
Book Reviews - Rocky Mountain Bead Society Web Site http://rmbs.homepage.com/bookreviews.htm Dimensions Published by Suzanne Cooper. Priced at $19.95 plus $3.45 Shipping
and Handling. E-mail: I was one of the lucky people to take Suzanne Cooper's class at a time when Suzanne was carrying the actual amulet bags pictured in the book. She showed them to us as a class. One of the reason I was anxious to see them was that I've wanted more dimensional work on amulets for a long time. I want a flower to be more than flat. I want a butterfly to be more than flat. I want a humming bird to be more than flat. Finally a designer who is doing that. Suzanne has broken some new ground with her flower cart amulet, and the garden with a picket fence gate that swings open. There are even boxes of 'crayons' made of beads. All of the bags have something that moves, is added on, moves, or has something in it. One of the ideas that Suzanne loves playing with is flowers. There are flower with bees who have extended wings, flowers and butterfly, flowers with hummers, the flower cart with a 3-D awning, a hanging basket with vines and plants spilling out of an urn, and a lemon with extended leaves. Flat pieces are in the book also. There is a flat worked kimono necklace and several bracelets taken from the primary theme of the accompanying amulet. It seems to me you could make extensions for the flat bracelet designs or add ons to the kimono, and while you're at it, why not earrings for those people who love to have earrings to match whatever you make for them. A little imagination and away you go. There is also an envelope with little sayings i.e., Thank You, I Love You, etc., a ladybug who has wings that move, a swan with lovely adornment like a willow and water fringe, a trolley that sways back and forth and a slot machine. One of the features I like best about the book is the instructions. It makes this book more than just a pattern book. Suzanne Cooper has a way of describing tension in peyote or gourd stitch that any one can understand. Her directions for increase on the edge of flat peyote are color coded and helpful in an area that has given me trouble She has several embellishment finishes for different types of fringe and straps that are shown using other kinds of beads than just delicas. She shows the basics for the stitches that she has labeled "Beader's Digest Condensed Stitch Directions!" Again these are color coded. Being a realist, Suzanne Cooper has included the usual copyright symbols, but tell the purchaser of the book that the designs are for personal use and for the purchaser's making "pin money." This principle is one we should all adhere to as beader's anyway. The book costs $19.95 + priority mail cost. Her address is: Suzanne Cooper, Inc., P.O. Box 445, Spring Branch, TX 78070. Her website is www.suzannecooper.com . You can see photos of the project in this neat little pattern book that may just fill your need for Dimensions! or serve as a launching pad for your own.
Review- Dimensions! - Copper Coyote Ltd This is probably the most exciting of Suzanne's books to date
-- the projects contained in it are not only three dimensional,
but some of them have moving parts! You have NEVER seen beadwork
designs like these, and you will be astounded at the beauty,
fun and downright cleverness of these patterns. Suzanne and her
"bead elf," Debbie Williams, have made the patterns
into exquisite pieces you'll want to start making for yourself
immediately. There are 16 incredible designs, many with matching
bracelets, and lots of strap and fringe advice a' la Suzanne!
Unlike her previous books, Suzanne has included brick stitch
instructions as well as peyote, and there are patterns for amulet
purses, necklaces and bracelets. From exquisite to whimsical,
these patterns will totally delight you. NOTE: Copper Coyote
Beads, Ltd. sells the little tubes used in the Crayon Box pattern
on the cover, so when you order this book -- and you will! --
make a note if you want us to include our Special Crayon Box
Tube Offer -- 12 tubes for $1.00. |
& Web Site: www.suzannecooper.com
for pictures of the subjects covered in this book.