I know a lot of people who learn better with being shown how to do things then they do from articles and photographs. One of the neatest things to me about sites like YouTube is that there are people putting together wonderful how to videos that are available for free.
One of the best for beading is Auntie's Beads series of YouTube videos featuring Karla Kam. The videos cover a lot of basic techniques and some pieces of jewelry from start to finish. A lot of them focus on quick projects done with wire that turn out so pretty.

I made this necklace for myself immediately after watching the crochet necklace video, it's about 10 minutes long, and makes it clear enough for a beginner to understand. The necklace itself didn't take much more then 10 minutes to make. I used a plated craft wire and some Chinese crystals I had on hand to make it.
She has some seed beads how to videos that make a great supplement for beading books. How to do peyote stitch, how to do right angle weave. She also has a few fantastic kid projects.
The area the videos really shine in is the wire work though. Lovely projects like chainmaille earrings or a pretty ring.
There are at this point 48 videos total, I'm subscribed to them so I get notifications everytime a new one comes out.
You'd expect that craft videos released by a store would have a ton of advertising, but they don't, they are just great instructional videos. But if you want more, on the site, they also have a whole bunch of projects, just go to the Learning Center on the sidebar and you'll see free projects. Mostly quick and fashionable projects with direct links to the supplies you'll need to complete the project. Quantity pricing is available, and it tells you exactly how much of an item they have in stock so there are no surprises when you order.