Beading is Fun!
Storing BeadsAt some point you're going to have so many beads that trying to find the one you want becomes a nightmare unless you store them in an accessible way. With individual beads, boxes with individual storage compartments are great. A fishing tackle box is my favourite. I have also seen plastic boxes with compartments to store different screws and nuts that would work. When your collection expands, you could store small amounts of beads in clear plastic tubs or baby food jars and stand them upright in trays. For bigger stashes of beads, you can put each type of bead in a plastic bag that seals (like a zip loc top) and then keep a bunch of bags in a plastic storage crate. Storing your various bits and pieces like thread and equipment is a bit trickier, and I'd recommend a visit to your local sewing store for inspiration on this one! Thanks to Ivy in Singapore for the following additional storage suggestions: Thanks for the tip on storing. I do use those fishing tackle boxes and the transparent round-tiered layered containers (Birch). However i found that they're not as useful and handy as the medicine plastic pill containers! These are cylindrical containers with screw caps (some come with 'push-down' caps) in different sizes. I find zip-lock bags precarious for if one is not careful in opening, the beads will fall and start jumping about (sometimes I imagine with joy at unexpected freedom!! Truly can bring about great stress and frustration!!)
Another item to look into are those used perfume bottles not atomisers! Also miniature drinks bottles are another useful lot. Use only the clear transparent kind as the beads can than be clearly seen without having to label them!
Thanks to Di for another tip:
A good storage idea that a friend put me onto is to use the stackable "beauty" pots that you can buy from places like Boots and Superdrug. They're quite reasonably priced & bought as a stack of 3, but you can add to the stack as many as you like!
And to Vicki for this tip:
I store most of my beads in the appropriate sized ziptop bag. (There are many different sizes you can find at the dollar store, Michaels, etc.) Then I push pin them to a very large bulletin board, about 4 X 3 ft, now I have full view of what I have. I am working on my 2nd bulletin board now and getting them all out of the boxes as I am a visual person and need to see what I have.
It makes it very easy for creating a new project too as well, for finding a certain bead. Jaynanne in South Australia, Sophie and Tash suggested film canisters: Another great container for beads is the cylinder with the snap on lid that camera film comes in. Not that you can get many of them any more as the digital age is replacing old fashioned cameras, but the film containers are extremely useful, especially if you can get clear ones so you can see the beads inside. I use the film cannisters- they aren't transparent, but you can see the colours through the lids! April also likes film canisters... I have found that the film cases from 35mm films come in handy, if you can't find clear ones just put a small label on the outside to say what's in them. Margaret found great storage, but unfortunately only in hindsight: A while ago the shop where I used to work had some lovely wooden chests with individual drawers in them - about 16 drawers in all. At the time I couldn't think of a use for them and as they were a little expensive to buy without a specific purpose. I didn't buy but oh how I wish that I had now as it would have been perfect for my beads. From Sharon: I have a 9 month old son and I use the baby food in the plastic boxes. They are great because they snap shut and will stack. Nina's suggestion: I find that cheap disposable microwave containers that have two compartments are ideal for storing findings, thread and other bits and pieces, they are transparent and a label on the lid helps me store items and find them quickly. Sarah and Karen give me a good excuse to eat more tic tacs - if I can get to them before the kids! : Sarah - I've used a lot of different storage techniques, but my favorite is tic tac containers. I eat a lot of tictacs, so instead of throwing the containers out for them, I use them to store my beeds. They fit so well together in small spaces, they're incredibly sturdy and being individual containers they are so easy to use. Just put a little stickytape over the tops of them once you've filled them up. Karen - I use the plastic tic tac containers. They are small but i mainly work with seed beeds. Kelly and Rosa have another suggestion from the kitchen: Kelly - I use a spice rack and the spice bottles for smaller and medium sized beads, they are all at my fingertips this way! Rosa - I love to shop at second hand stores or garage sales. It's incredible the things you can find and cheap. One of my finds was a spice rack with 20 clear jars. This spice rack is round in shape and has 5 rows, each row has 4 removable clear jars. It can be spun around so I can locate what I need. I label each jar top with the name of the contents in the jar. I have several of these spice racks. I have one spice rack specifically for silver findings and another for gold. These jars were boiled first to remove any spices and its smell, after I had washed them with soap and water. Jo has a very innovative idea : I use the MUM roll on deodorant refill bottles. They are clear strong glass and have a tight fitting plastic lid. You just wash the bottle out when its empty and you have a great container. Thanks to Lynne for this idea - recycling is good! :Medication bottles make great storage - easy to see or label. Kathy expands on that idea... I agree with the pill bottles. Mine are usually colored, so you cannot see the color of the beads. To eliminate this, I take one bead out and tape it to the front. But baby food containers are the best. And Sue has a different angle... I have purchased some stackable RX plastic see thru containers that do well for me. Anna suggest drawers: I also use those small boxes with little drawers, that can be pulled out with your beads all ready for you to use. They are clear so you can see what color the beads are. Storage containers I think they are called. Willow is definitely into recycling! For storage of my beads and findings I go to Cracker Barrel restaurants! They have small round clear glass blueberry syrup bottles. I asked the manager to have the dishwasher to put them in a box and save them for me. I go in every other day and pick up my box. I have to soak them in hot soapy water to get the labels off and then pop them in my dishwasher. These little bottles are just about 3-1/2"X1-1/2", perfect size and FREE. Also Cracker Barrel gets their round jelly portions packed in cardboard sections that 12 round jelly containers fit in for shipping, these are fantastic for beading! Malini obviously has heaps of beads! I store my beads in plastic bags and in the cyclindrical plastic containers. They are great for my crimps,toggles and clasps. I do not have a great collection of beads at present but over the years I have acquired some gemstones. I use plastic seal bags to keep my jewellery and use the wooden toilet roll holders to store my bracelets.
Here's a good excuse for a trip to Hawaii... Thanks Brenda
I found a really useful multi compartment box with a carry handle and the compartment dividers come out and move to make sections bigger or smaller, at K-Mart here in Hawaii on Oahu.
And Vickie has found a good reason to visit the local hardware store! At least that way hubby can't complain that you never go anywhere together!
I also like to "raid" the hardware section. I find that storage units with all the drawers in them that hang on the wall great. Most of the units have enough drawers to keep just about anything you need from files to findings and the drawers come in a variety of sizes which helps store tools with your beads.
Nancy has this suggestion...
One thing I have found really good for smaller amounts of beads are plastic coin containers...they come in differant sizes...penny, nickle, quarters..but they screw on and are clear. Also you can buy them in bulk and save money!
Shirley actually combines a couple of the earlier suggestions...
Baby food jars for storage - arrange them on small plastic stair step units (that are advertised to hold spice jars at different levels in a cabinet or on top of a worktable or countertop against the wall.
The various levels help to see the different beads without having to move them around very much.
This story from Candy was so amazing, I had to share the whole story, not just the storage tip.
I lost my home and its contents to Katrina, August 28,2005. I was living in Gulfport Mississippi. Three blocks from the beach.
I had been to the bead show in New Orleans 3 weeks prior to the storm and added about $800.00 in beads to my already large inventory. I was more upset over loosing my beads than my new living room furniture.
We went back to Gulfport with shovels in hand hoping to dig up my beads if need be. Much to my surprise and delight, my beads were one of the few things that survived. Simply due to the way I had them sorted.
Due the large volume of beads I have lovingly collected over 15 years, I had purchase plastic bends designed for children's toys. The bends nest in wooden racks that fit in the bottom of a closet well. I separate the beads into colors and store each type, size or style of bead in individual tiny zip top bags. Each color has it's own bend and it is really easy to gather beads for projects by choosing different colors and shapes from the bends. The plastic bags are clear so I can pick and choose without opening lids or digging through cases. Each bend holds tons of little bags. The bags don't take up much room on my beading tray (my own design) so I can pull all of the color and shape possibilities for the project and have them at my fingertips. When project is complete I just drop the bags back into the bend with the rest of their color families.
The plastic bends and plastic bags protected my beads from the salt water and mud and the bends floated. I had to wash off the bags and dump mud from the bends. None of my beads were ruined or lost. I just couldn't believe it. I didn't have clothes or furniture but I had beads.
Lori has a possible solution for the Canadians out there (and maybe available in the US?)...
Storing beads was difficult at first but my wonderful hubby went out and bought me this bead carousel and it has these little storage containers almost like the screw holder that sits on the container and very low priced $6. Canadian at WalMart....the containers just click off and on so very handy to work on individual projects....and yes already have three of them...
I think Shirley is more interested in the containers than the food inside them!! At least it makes food shopping more interesting.
In addition to baby food jars - pimento jars and small individual jelly jars - any food product container with a lid - various sizes for different items - see through is important Some grocery stores have containers of jello, potato salad, slaw - etc. with lids that fit tight. ....each perfect for one project. These containers can also be stacked.
I hope Avon doesn't mistakenly shake beads all over her dinner! Great idea for storage!
I have been using plastic salt & pepper shakers because they have the little screw tops that you can turn and let the beads drop out as you need them. I bought 20 from the discount shops with different colour tops but because they are cylindrical and clear you can see what colour beads you have anyway, hope this is also helpful to all the beaders.
And Demita has another type of shaker to suggest.
Today I finished the last of the Parmesan cheese and thought that the plastic shaker container would be great for medium to large beads. The half moon side would let medium sized beads flow through without taking the whole lid off.
Lots of people share their storage tips with me - storage is definitely an important subject for beaders! Anyway, here's one from Diann.
If you have shelves that you stack supplies on, try baby food jar or medicine bottle tops and run a screw through them into the bottom of a shelf. It makes a great out of the way place to keep things. |
The Best Beading Resources
The Ultimate Bead Lover's Guide This is a wonderful resource for learning about beading. It covers everything you need to know to get started in beading, as well as lots of more advanced hints and ideas.
The Best Beading Books
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