In this beautiful celebration of national bead artisans and their native regions, readers will gain a perspective on how artists’ locations can influence their work. Beaders of all skill levels will enjoy the stories behind the artists and this expansive collection of 30 unique projects presented by some of the top names in the hobby including Sherri Serafini, Amy Katz, and Paulette Baron. Each artist presents a piece, tells the story behind it, and offers how-to instructions. Projects are inspirational for anyone who loves beading.

Beading Inspiration: How to Use Color in Jewelry Design is packed with new and traditional approaches to designing with color that will expand any beader’s current palette as well as increase creative confidence. Readers can explore design possibilities using nature, the color wheel, decorative art, and fabric for color inspiration. Includes 27 projects from Beading Basics: Color, a special issue from the editors of BeadStyle and Bead&Button magazines, plus six additional, brand-new designs.

Directions for making 30 projects with 16 variations, including totem necklaces.

For years, fans have been asking for a new title from Internationally known artist and instructor Sherry Serafini, renowned for her lavish beaded surfaces — and this book is it! Sherry's adventurous designs have appeared in numerous books and well-known magazines. Rock stars Steven Tyler, Lenny Kravitz, and Melissa Etheridge have worn her beaded works of art. In Inspired Bead Embroidery, Sherry offers 15+ exciting new projects that combine her textured designs with eye-catching focal beads. The gorgeous, 128-page hardcover book explains the fundamentals and aesthetics behind Sherry's work, from stitches and materials to color theory. Sherry's textured, dimensional projects include earrings, cuffs, collars, and two fashionable purses. The creations incorporate seed beads, cubes, triangles, drops, daggers, cabochons, leather, fiber, and more. Each projects includes concise instructions, well-chosen process shots, and diagrams. A gallery at the end of the book provides even more inspiration for experienced beaders looking to take their work in new, more exploratory directions.

Author Kathy King has developed a variation the decorative paper craft of quilling to create unique designs in beadwork. In bead quilling--instead of thin strips of paper--thin strips of beads, made with square stitch, are wrapped to form circles, scrolls, and squares. The holes of the beads, rather than the sides, are exposed, to become part of the distinctive design. The author works with simple and complex combinations of quilled beads to create a variety of jewelry designs. She also incorporates crystals, pearls, and decorative threads into the pieces to add interest and texture.

More and more sewists and quilters are adding embroidered details to their work. While there are a bevy of stitch dictionaries currently available, Bead Embroidery Stitch Samples goes beyond basic and traditional embroidery stitches to incorporate beads, allowing readers to create delicate and striking trims and embellishments. Stitch patterns range from elegantly simple single motifs, to complex all over patterns to three-dimensional designs. Along with step-by-step instructions are numerous examples of how to use and place the motifs on hems, pockets, cuffs, collars and handbags; or as home decor trim on pillows, curtains, or lampshades. Patterns emphasize beaded edgings and trims, as opposed to heavy, solid beaded fabric motifs found in other beaded embroidery books. Using nothing more than embroidery threads and simple beads, Bead Embroidery Stitch Samples offers beginner and advanced embroidery enthusiasts alike new ways to set their work apart.

With this gloriously photographed and illustrated manual at hand, beaders can create awe-inspiring jewelry. It's the only current, comprehensive guide to working with cabochons--a flat piece of rock or mineral--and it covers all the basics, along with a range of new creative techniques and hot trends. Find out which tools and materials to use, which beads work best, and how to wrap them round the stones. Craft turned, pointed, twisted, brick stitch, ruffled, or scalloped edges, or add decorative fringe. For something dramatic, combine more than one cabochon in a single piece. Or, instead of natural stone, use dichroic glass or other found objects. Make a glittering brooch, funky bracelets, a wearable art necklace, and other showstoppers.