Yes, that's clear. You're best starting simple and practicing on a bit of scrap. I'd try and master a simple rectangle before tackling curves. You can buy stringing (either Boxwood which is very pale yellow or Ebony or a fine grained timber like Pear that's been dyed black) from lots of veneer suppliers like this one.
http://www.originalmarquetry.co.uk/cate ... ging_1.htm
Once you've done a few you won't be seen dead with bought-in stringing, but to get you started it's not all that bad!
There's lots of expensive gizmos for thickening your stringing to fit your inlay groove, but unless I'm making really fine stringing lines (like 0.6mm or less) I just use a sharp block plane with the heel riding on the bench top, this cuts the stringing with a small taper which helps the fit.
You'll need to make a scratch stock to cut the groove. Alternatively you can use a router or a Dremmel. You can get fine router bits of around about 1mm from here,
http://www.wealdentool.com/acatalog/Onl ... k_237.html
or for fancy spiral downcut bits you can try here,
http://www.stewmac.com/Luthier_Tools/To ... _Bits.html
You'll hear lots of people bang on about how you must only ever use a scratch stock for string inlay. I've cut loads of inlay commercially and I couldn't really care what I use, router, Dremmel, scratch stock, purfling cutter, specialist hand planes; I've used them all and they all work, they all have strengths and weaknesses, and they'll all screw up your work if don't pay attention!
For mitring you'll need a small block of wood with both ends accurately cut to 45 degrees, you hold a wide sharp chisel hard against the angle and use it like a guillotine. Once you've had a bit of practise there's a little trick you can try, where you just position a chisel over the stringing and turn it until the reflection of the stringing in the back of the chisel makes a perfect right angle, then you snip it off and it'll be dead on 45 degrees.
Inlay is a great way of adding a lot of value to your work without spending a ton of money, I see now Veritas and Lie Nielsen have specialist inlay tools. Okay, I'm sure they work fine, but I've been in plenty of top end workshops who are turning out superb inlay work day in day out, but I've never seen anyone use any of that stuff! Once you've mastered the basics (and it does take practise) then there's so much fancy inlay techniques to try that you can keep learning for years!
Good luck
