Review of the book Beads in Bloom - The Art of Making French Beaded Flowers by Arlene Baker.
Making Elegant French Beaded Flowers
In this book, Arlene Baker does a terrific job of showing us that not only are French Beaded Flowers easy to make, but they have a variety of uses and applications. Wedding flowers, hair ornaments, pins and brooches and wall decor. I particularly like the idea of a few French Beaded Flowers as art of a wedding arrangement - a truly permanent floral reminder of a lovely wedding!Beginning with the basics of wire handling, wire wrapping, bead threading and a host of French Beaded Flower techniques, Arlene guides us through the construction of a variety of petals, leaves and other floral elements. The instructions are easy to follow and coupled with the fundamental and advanced techniques included, give the reader a strong skill set to use in the creation of their own French Beaded Flowers.
The actual projects are just gorgeous! A sweet Clover Pin, a lovely Rose pin, a darling Pansy Pin and a charming Sunflower Pin are among my favorites.
This is a wonderful volume on the art of French Beaded Flowers and Arlene Baker makes it easy to understand. I highly recommend this book for any beader interested in beading history and dimensional beading techniques.
