Artist and author Nancy Zellers takes it to the limit with this utterly original bead tube book. Using a simple peyote or brick-stitched tube, the author shows how to create more than 30 projects ranging in style from elegant to funky, and with colors spanning from subtle to brilliant, all from tiny, colorful, easy-to-find seed beads. Readers are able to see how changing colors and designs create new and exciting beaded beads. Also, a range of bracelets, earrings, and necklaces will delight the aspiring artist.

Eleanor Wiley and Maggie Oman Shannon have taken an ancient practice and made it new. A String and a Prayer recounts the history and symbolism of prayer beads, teaches basic techniques for stringing beads and a host of other objects into prayer beads, and offers a variety of prayers and rituals to use those beads on a daily basis. Beads have appeared throughout history. Prayer beads are used in the spiritual practices of cultures as diverse as the African Masai, Native Americans, Greek and Russian Orthodoxy, as well as the religious rituals of Islam, Hinduism, Christianity, and Buddhism. But prayer is highly personal. By infusing prayer beads with personal associations, we can keep our spirituality fresh. The beads are a device to help build and rebuild meaningful ritual in our lives. With myriad ideas about what makes objects sacred and where to find sacred objects -- from the personal, perhaps beads from a grandmother's broken rosary, to the unusual, maybe seashells from far away found in a thrift store -- A String and a Prayer offers many suggestions for different ways that beads can be made and used, exploring the creative roles they can play in our relationships, ceremonies, and rituals. "You are the expert, trust yourself. Let the instructions be a guide to your own creativity," write the authors.

Includes how-to information.

After breezing through a history and overview of equipment, the authors emphasize the how-to in such elaborate processes as tubular beaded crochet. Every one of the more than 25 projects focuses on a specific tool or technique, complete with color graphs, a list of materials, size and measurements, a color photo, and diagrams. ...Directions...are presented with plenty of details.” —Booklist.

Beads on cross-stitched treasures; dripping from tassels, braids, and fringes; and elegantly woven with or without a loom: these patterns and pages present so many different ways to enjoy the lovely art of beading. Here are the very best examples of this attractive and sophisticated craft, from jewelry to home accessories. Find out how to weave a Southwest Tube Necklace with turquoise drops and bugle beads, and a Loomed Mandarin Lamp Shade crafted from 6 beaded panels. Make an elegant silvery Opera Purse lined with Japanese kimono silk, a richly textured Antique Borders sampler, and painted and distressed wooden tassel molds. Beaders will find everything they need to create one-of-a-kind designs.