What may surprise you is how many options there are! Any surface through which you can pass a needle is has potential! I’m fond of adding fibers and other decorative elements: rhinestone cup chain, strips of leather, feathers, buttons, sequins, and more. While most stitches are specific to beading, there is a lot of overlap with traditional crewel techniques, especially if you incorporate fibers

You can bead on fabric, non-woven interfacings, Ultrausede, leather, needlework fabrics and more. Cork surfaces are excellent for the addition of fiber design elements.

You can leave surface areas unbeaded. Layering a base surface with a gauzy ribbon or fabric can dress it up and add elegance.

Ultrasuede can be printed, painted or markered with areas of color, with beading added along the color area edges, which can be decorated by rhinestone cup chain elements, metal daisy spacers, perhaps seed bead lines. 

A narrow strip of non-woven can be layered with a same-width transparent metallic with silver design elements spaced over the surface. A sketched or printed design idea can be adhered to the back ofUltrasuede or leather, then beaded through the base so it shows on the front surface with the beautful base showing through.

Fully-beaded embroidery designs can be elegant and rich-looking. Rows and lines of small seed beads are often used to fill areas around more decorative elements. Back stitch and couching (a commonly used and well-known appliqué technique) are generally used in lines shaped to adapt to adjacent larger elements.

A snippet from a medieval illuminated manuscript served as the design idea for my "Purse of Kells" design. The background in this piece is left partially open. 

Elements include domed cabochons, crystal stones, genuine pearls, bugle beads and seed beads in multiple sizes, braided leather strips, and small metal components. 

I sketched the design onto medium-weight non-woven and colored in the areas I wanted to leave open with permanent markers and alcohol paints. With the guidelines in place, I just started stitching, filling areas with beads as they fit the nature of the design shapes.  

As I embroidered my way through many decades I came to realize that a few techniques and guidelines, with some simple materials, can set you on a path to bead embroidery success. I've developed a three-part video learning series with a companion kit that encompasses the range of needed skills in a small but attractive project. The print directions in the companion kit follow the video sections closely and when you've completed the project, you'll be able to handle almost any bead embroidery design.