Magazine Review - Bead Magazine Issue 29 (Apr/May)

This week I thought I would review the latest issue of Bead Magazine, this issue has 15 projects including polymer clay, stringing, seed bead work and wire work.

The 1st thing I do when I get a new beading magazine is make a beeline for the Fire Mountain Gems advert and the one in this issue is certainly inspirational! It is a stunning seed bead necklace by Oleksandra Sydorenko. Turning to the contents page, there are lots of colourful pictures of the projects which give a definite springtime feel! Of the projects my favourites are; Unfolding of the Implicate Order, which is a fabulous statement necklace featuring beaded beads (Please be aware though, that this article is on how to finish the necklace and does not include instructions for the beaded beads, these can be found in issue 28 or downloaded from http://www.hobbyworld.tv/) and the Fringed Cabochon Garden which is a lovely, earthy necklace with lots of leafy fringing.

Other features I like in this magazine are the Readers Challenge and Gallery, Bead Soup and the features on beaders. It's always nice to see what other people have been working on (one of the reasons why we all read blogs, I guess) and Bead Magazine does devote quite a lot of space to featuring the work of it's readers, which I really like about it.

As a devoted seed beader, I would prefer it if every single project in every single magazine was beadweaving! I do, however, think that Bead gives a good range of techniques and offers a good choice to all types of jewellery makers who would like to try something new. In particular, there is a wire ring in this issue which I think would be great for someone new to wire working. As I said earlier the main reason I like this magazine is the opportunity to see whats going on in the UK beady world but I also really like the format. The layout is good, it's easy to read and the colours are always eye-catching and bright.

Happy Beading!

Sarahx