Two Hour Beaded Projects by Ann Benson

More than 200 designs including amazing ideas for necklaces, earrings, bracelets, pins, hair combs and clips, napkin rings etc. Simple instructions and great color photos to go along with them. 128 pages.

Exotic Beads by Sara Withers

This book is unique in that it focuses on ethnic pieces from America, Europe, the Far East, the Middle East and Africa. Each project (mostly necklaces, plus some bracelets and earrings) merits a full color, double-page spread, complete with a materials list and full directions. Because many of the beads may be expensive or not widely available, the photographs serve as inspiration so that you can substitute other beads and still achieve similar designs. 128 pages.

The Book of Beads by Coles & Budwig

This stunning volume utilizes glorious color photos to catalog all types of beads (glass, wood, metal, ceramic, natural, semiprecious, plastic, novelty, and collectible), offer design guidelines on planning jewelry (considerations of bead shape, texture, size, weight, and color), and document various practical considerations (findings, equipment, basic how-to's of creating earrings, necklaces, bracelets, and brooches).  A great basics book! Hardback, 125 pages, color illustrations.

Bead Jewelry Workstation by Stephany Tomalin

This is a fantastic gift idea for a budding beader, age 8 and older, because it not only includes instructions but enough materials - beads, thread, needle and findings - to make several projects. A larger hardback book with narrow pages and a section to hold the beading materials, it has 48 pages of full color text plus 16 reproducible templates and graphs on perforated paper. The materials include: 3 colors of rocailles, 1 color of metallic bugles, a beading needle and thread, glass earring beads and eye pins, fish hooks and necklace findings and filigree bead caps. (Currently out of print, but used copies usually available)

Vibrant Jewels is now an Associate of Amazon.com in order to bring you an handy selection of books on beading, gemstones and jewelry. I treasure all of my beading books, and find as I learn more techniques, I can go back and glean further inspiration from them. Books with comments are books I actually now own. Amazon.com usually discounts its books and you benefit from having these books grouped conveniently. If you purchase a book by clicking through a link to this site, we earn a commission. Note: your order is made through and paid to Amazon.com, NOT Vibrant Jewels. Thanks for browsing! If you have any favorite books to recommend, let us know at beads@vibrantjewels.com.

Disclaimer: Vibrant Jewels is not responsible for the contents of these books, nor for the accuracy of measurements, etc. There are images in some of them that you might find offensive for religious reasons. We recommend them on the basis of the bead knowledge offered.