Beading continues to be a popular craft, perhaps in part due to its versatility.

It is a craft that young children can engage in as well as fine artists. It ranges from the very simple to the very complex.

Beading has been around for a long time — some even say it might be the oldest art form there is. Archaeologists have found evidence of beading dating back to 38,000 BC — the age of the Neanderthal man.

Nearly every culture we are aware of have used beads in some form or another, whether for art, prayer, status symbols or a form of currency and barter. There is almost no limit to the materials used to create beads, including plant seeds, bones, gems, stones, clay, glass, wood, amber, plastic and metals, among others.

Teeda, a wholesaler of sterling silver jewelry, reports that until 1480, all beads were hand crafted. It was in that year that beads first began to be mass produced in India.

Jewelry is still the most popular form of beadwork, but beaders make more than just earrings, necklaces, pins and bracelets. Beads are used to make bookmarks, ornaments, garlands, keychains, and wreaths. You can make flowers or toys for older children out of beads.

Beading can dress up household items such as tablecloths, lamp shades, comforters or curtains. Beadwork lends itself to season-specific and holiday crafts as well.

Beaders put in a lot of care into choosing what beads they are going to use and what wire will work best for their projects.

Halcraft Collection suggests the following factors to consider when choosing beads:

• Type of project you are going to create.

• The aesthetics, durability and vibes of the beat.

• Working with what you love.

While beading wire is often unseen, it will make the difference in a project’s durability and affect how you make a given project. Beading wire is a strand made up of multiple, thin steel wires that are woven or wound together. They might be coated with a thin layer of nylon.

Spruce Crafts says the keys to picking great beading wire comes in understanding basic terminology such as beading wire measurements (diameter, number of strands) and pound test strength.

There is almost no limit to what beads can look like. While most today are mass produced there are still people creating hand-crafted beads.

Some of the basic shape classifications, according to miniart-crafts.com, are:

Color classifications involve more than just what shade or hue a bead is. They also refer to transparency/opaqueness and where the beads are painted. Some beads are made with transparent glass and painted on the inside while others are painted on the outside. Some beads are slightly tinted while multi-colored beads might be striped, bicolored or spotted.

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