"Any time you take up a new craft, it's a smart idea to learn from a master, so that you don't waste your time (and money) reinventing the wheel. For metal clay, you can't go wrong turning to artisan Nana V. Mizushima, a certified teacher with the PMC Guild. Mizushima has demonstrated her projects on the DIY (Do-It-Yourself) Network and her book, Metal Clay Magic: Making Silver Jewelry the Easy Way, is written in a very accessible DIY style. Mizushima begins the book with a brief introduction to the materials, tips, and techniques you'll need to start out, and then goes on to give step-by-step instructions (accompanied by very clear photos) of over two dozen projects, including some using metal clay paper, another interesting product. The book is chock-full of photos, including a gallery of inspiring projects done by metal clay artists from around the US, as well as instructions for three different ways to fire your work, a list of resources, suppliers, and web sites, a suggested reading list, a glossary, and a full-page index. If metal clay interests you at all, here's the place to start."