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Simply Gemstones Book Review

June 29, 2009 by Vikram Goyal

simplygemstones
Simply Gemstones: Designs for Creating Beaded Gemstone Jewelry by Nancy Alden

  • Paperback: 144 pages
  • Publisher: Potter Craft (July 14, 2009)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0307451356
  • ISBN-13: 978-0307451354
  • If you’re a jewelry maker, chances are you have lusted after a gemstone or ten.  Be it majestic turquoise, fiery opals or sparkly diamonds, todays fashion runways are glittering with gemstones more than ever and so can you.

    There use to be a time when the only place you could buy an semi precious or precious bead like an emerald was at a jewelry store but now they can easily be found online and in local bead shops.  ”Simply Gemstones” author Nancy Alden is your gemstone fairy godmother. She brings back her popular Beadworks series with this book focusing on greating great gemstone jewelry.  As with her other books, she makes the process easy and shows even a novice how to create stunning gemstone jewelry. 

    This book begins with a primer on gemstone basics and introduces the read to common as well as uncommmon gemstones such as Cornflake Pearls, Pink Sapphire, and Black Spinel, among others.  There is over 5o projects in this book and they lean toward simple strung necklaces and bracelets. The use of an amazing colored or shaped stone can make even the a simply strung necklaceinto a masterpiece.  The book as lots of eye candy and is a great resource for someone who isn’t familiar with gemstones.

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    Have you read?

    Book Review: The Festival of Lights

    As if Diwali weren’t colorful and fun enough, The Festival of Lights: A Lift-the-flap Diwali Celebration by Namita Moolani Mehra, illustrated by Darshika Varm, makes it even more fun to read about with flaps and things to lift and pull to see more information or details in the illustrations. 

    The book is a story about a family getting ready for Diwali and what happens on the different days of the five-day celebration. There’s cleaning, shopping, crafting, food preparation and getting the home altar ready for the big day. 

    It covers decorating the outside of the house with rangoli, diyas and lanterns, buying sweets to share with family and friends, the sights and scents of the mandir (home temple), getting dressed up in new fancy clothes, the story of Diwali and celebrations with relatives.  

    Flaps (there are more than 140 in all) give you vocabulary words for different foods and definitions, as well as fun things like what’s inside the shopping basket or where the cat is hanging out. They also help illuminate the story of Diwali, which is the triumph of good over evil as Lord Ram defeated the demon Ravana to save his wife, Sita. 

    This pretty and colorful book helps kids understand what Diwali is and how it is celebrated, regardless of whether they practice it at home. This would be a nice book to keep in a classroom (it’s rated for kids ages 3-7) or to have at home to teach kids about Diwali even if it’s not something you celebrate. Where I live there are a lot of people from India so we are probably exposed to Diwali more than some other regions of America, but it’s a nice holiday to know about wherever you live. 

    Combine with the book Diwali and check out some fun lantern crafts and printables for kids to round out your experience. 

    About the book: 24 pages, hardcover, published 2025 by Wide Eyed Editions. Suggested retail prices $22.99.

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