Maya Brenner, the rock star of the jewelry world who sells to celebrities like Jennifer Garner and Demi Moore and is the designer for Luxe Jewels, has finally written a book, Beaded Jewelry: Create Your Own Style (published by DK $24.95 US; $29.95 CA).

One of the first things that struck me when looking through this book were the wonderful photographs, tons and tons of them, so for those who aren?t into heavy reading, you get a visual feast here.

Especially for those who already have some jewelry making skills, you could probably figure out how to make most of the jewelry projects by just looking at the pictures.

Maya is known for her appealing designs, and many of them are not that difficult to make. That is the strong point of this book, her designs. They are wonderful. Page after page, you just want to make each one and they get better and better. You also get to sort of peek into her mind as a jewelry designer as she explains concepts such as color combinations and selecting bead shapes and textures. The weak point to this book is technique. I would hesitate to suggest this book for the total novice. For example, under crimping, it doesn?t make a clear distinction between the use of crimping pliers versus flat-nosed pliers for securing crimp beads. It says you can use either one, but doesn?t go on to explain the difference between the two.

Some of the wire work also seems to be a little rough, and this is really a personal preference sort of thing.

Some jewelry makers like this look while others prefer a more uniform wrapping. Also keep in mind that when you take a photo of a pair of earrings that are only a few inches in diameter and blow it up to fit a whole page of a book, details are also blown up.

Beaded Jewelry: Create Your Own Style will appeal to those who may already have some basic jewelry making skills, but want to work on, as the title suggests, their jewelry style. How do you make something distinctly yours? It is interesting to see how Maya approaches design, and while this isn?t necessarily the entire focus of the book, she does touch on this here and there.

For those who just want to make beautiful stylish jewelry, then this is also a wonderful resource. While I may be picky when it comes to technique, there is no denying that the jewelry in this book is beautiful.