Perfect Match: Earring Designs For Every Occasion

by Sara Schwittek

Earrings that shine - from the simple to the sublime From the classic Timeless Crystals to the elegant Rose Garden Hoops to the stunning Dynamic Hammered Teardrops, Perfect Match delivers more than 40 stylish yet simple earrings to perfectly complement every moment of your life. Earrings are arranged by occasion, from daily excursions like work and shopping to memorable events such as weddings and nights on the town. So before heading off on your next picnic in the park, flip to that section and choose a design perfectly suited to both your outfit and the carefree spirit of a sunny afternoon. Create jewelry that fits your lifestyle, budget and schedule - and make your own perfect match!

Genres: Crafts, Jewellery Making, Nonfiction, Beading, Reference, Jewellery, Design

160 pages, Paperback

First published May 20, 2008

Reviews

[Shelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

For those of you who follow my arty/crafty/DIY reviews, you know that I prefer books that teach you techniques and how to use them to create your own designs, rather than just walk you through the bare minimum steps needed to exactly replicate somebody else's inventions. However, everyone has to start somewhere, and duplicating simple projects is a reasonable launching off point. The trick for any beginner's book is to make sure that in the process of copying your designs, your reader/student is not only learning the foundational skills and techniques which he will need as he attempts more difficult projects in the future, but is also exposed to enough breadth and depth of styles, difficulty, and design paradigms, that he will feel encouraged and confident to start tweaking, modifying, and inventing new designs on his own.

Perfect Match: Earring Designs For Every Occasion is one of the few beginning jewelry books that gets these – and other important aspects of a truly valuable DIY guide – absolutely right:

• The technical instructions at the beginning and accompanying each pair of earrings to be made are comprehensive, clear, and expertly modeled and photographed.

• Many beginning DIY books opt for shortcuts that make projects simpler; in the case of jewelry books, the reader is often encouraged to simply buy earring hooks in a base metal with which to complete their earrings. Not so here; the author wisely encourages the reader to fabricate his own earring hooks – and to use sterling silver at the outset. Working with quality materials yields better finished results, and the early emphasis on wireworking becomes useful immediately, as many of the projects require additional wire forms that raise the sophistication level of the finished products immensely.

• The book isn't a giant advertisement for bead and component manufacturers; when a component can be easily substituted, it has only the specific information needed to buy any brand. However, all Swarovski beads, being "industry standard" components, do have their brand-specific information precisely listed whenever they are called for.

• There are fewer than 50 earring designs in the book (which is a perfect amount as far as I'm concerned; it looks substantial, but not overwhelming), yet it showcases enormous variation across the complete selection. And it's not just superficial differences to which I'm referring – like color or type of metal or size – but rather variation down to the level of structure and which techniques are required to create them. Therefore, if the aspiring jeweler goes through and makes even just several of these, he will have osmotically absorbed a good deal of construction/assembly knowledge, and will also automatically begin to see how techniques and materials can be mixed and matched to create totally new designs from his own imagination.

• Even the more advanced jewelry maker will appreciate the inclusion of non-standard components in some of the designs, and unusual wireworking used as connectors, joins, flourishes, and earring hooks.

My only complaint is that I wish the book would lie open flat on its own!

Sara Schwittek has created a great book with which to hit the ground running, but you'll also learn valuable techniques and design sensibilities which will serve you in the long run.

[Pamela Puskarich · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simple but beautiful selection of chain and bead dangle earrings.

[Donna Gregory · Rating 4 out of 5]

The layout of this book is great, the instructions are well written, and the large color photos are helpful and inspirational. The problem is that some of the projects are best learned in a hands-on situation as opposed to learning from a book. If I hadn't had hands-on training working with wire wrapping, I probably would've found the instructions a bit more difficult to understand. There's a reason why we have a crafting community, and that's so we can learn from each other. This book is a great book for ideas, but I would recommend using this book as a supplement to hands-on learning if you're a beginner.

[Nat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book! Great designs, simple enough for beginners to try every project. Clear directions with good photos. The reader could easily substitute a variety materials while using the basic designs.

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great reference book for making earrings. The directions are easy to understand and the pictures are very clear. I'm looking forward to using this book in making earrings.

[Indyyy]

great for beginners y more experienced. actually chic pieces that will still be capable of wear later for those needing ideas. Will use later.

[Carol Strout · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simple yet beautiful

Lots of inspiration, clear and visual instructions. All wearable earrings, easy and fast designs, a great addition for any jewelry maker's repertoire.

[sharon Sapp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice Beginning to Intermediate designs

Book is a nice, straight forward design inspiration. Good pictures, and plenty of colorful earring designs. I would recommend to anyone

[CatJuggler]

Some dazzling designs.