Polymer clay Bracelets
by
Bettina Welker
Publish in 2012
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I first met Bettina at the inaugural Polymania, her work really inspired me, her use of colour and textures igniting my passion for textures in a big way. So when I found out she had a book on bracelets I just had to buy it. What do I think of it? I love it, a fabulous book, project based, lots of transferable techniques.
So let me break it down, it’s a clear concise book, not a beginners book, you need to have some existing skills to make some of these projects work well. It’s written in German and English with step by step instructions, they are thoughtfully composed to give you exacting instruction that enable you to follow the projects clearly.
The fore section explains about polymer clay, the tools, material and the basic techniques you need to understand for the projects, importantly you are guided through building a bracelet blank which is important to the following projects.
There are 10 projects broken down into 4 sub sections covering bangles, stretch tile bracelets, cuffs and a hinged magnetic bracelet.
The instructions are accompanied by beautiful step by step pictures that demonstrate the stages for each project. In fact the photography and imagery is a work of art in itself.
You get to understand the construction process, templates are provided so you can follow exactly as instructed but then Bettina goes into detail on the use of blends, creating textures, using surface techniques that give each project its unique look. Each project is packed with tips and tricks to ensure success. These skills are all transferable to other projects.
Reviewed by Debby Wakely