Get Organized: Bead Storage Checklist

re: Get Organized: Bead Storage Checklist

digupstuff — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 17:06:12 GMT

I store almost all of my beads in old, plastic Gerber baby food containers and keep them all in my little CSI case. You can view the photo here...

digsart.com/.../storage-beadscsicase.jpg

digsart.com/.../storage-beadscsi1.jpg

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The smaller Gerber containers fit in the top two sections and the larger containers fit in the bottom. I also have a 36 drawer unit that I have sitting on the shelf above my desk. Here is the pic for that...

digsart.com/.../storage-beadsdrawersred1.jpg

I hope this helps someone. ♥Dig♥

re: Get Organized: Bead Storage Checklist

digupstuff — Sat, 22 May 2010 14:59:15 GMT

I use old Gerber baby food containers which are see through and perfect for housing all of my beads. I keep them all in this cool looking CSI type case that I bought off eBay! ♥digsart.com♥

re: Get Organized: Bead Storage Checklist

Evalie — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 22:15:14 GMT

Hey everyone! Lots of nice ideas for organizing! I have the Screw-top round stacks like a lot of you do, and put up 6" wide shelves above my beading space so I can see all my colors and sizes at a glance. Since my collection does nothing but grow, my husband made me a nice multi shelf unit which matches our bedroom furniture and it holds 15 of the plastic organizer boxes which separate my silver, glass, shell, stone, etc. Since I was always forgetting what I had accumulated for lampwork and other focal pieces, I took an old printers cabinet drawer(you can pick them up at most antique stores for between 8 and 15 dollars) I used small hinges and two plexiglass panels, and make "doors" for the front. This now hangs in front of me at my work table so I can see all my "special" beads for inspiration! The ony trouble is sometimes I get distracted by new ideas, so it's hard to finish what I'm working on! Since I'm inventorying for new software...my beads will soon move to a full size printers cabinet so it will be easier to see everything laid out in individual bags. I just found a beautiful one and it will fit in well with our other antiques we have collected. Now I can move back down to the dining room and not feel out of touch with the rest of the house while I'm beading, and my supplies will just look like a new furniture addition! If any of you like the printers cabinet idea, I know it could be adapted using map chest style cabinets that are available as unassembled furniture. The drawers are nice and shallow, so if you want to keep your beads visible and protected in bags, this size makes sense. and antoher plus is more drawers......MORE BEADS!

re: Get Organized: Bead Storage Checklist

KLDesigns — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 05:38:20 GMT

I have a really neat idea for bead storage that saves a ton of room and you can look at your entire bead collection at once, I have pictures of what Im talking about in my blog at Bead-space.com, my user name is the same as it is here, KLdesigns. check it out and tell me what you think, I honestly love it and would never do anything different!

re: Get Organized: Bead Storage Checklist

JulieE@20 — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 12:22:52 GMT

Love all the ideas! First a question - Michelle, where do you donate your beads that you can't use? Next, I love how I have my seed beads stored. I live on the lower level of a split level home, so I have a "shelf" running around the outside of each room. I boulght square glass candle holders at the dollar store and lined them up on the "shelf," lifting the back row on an inverted plastic drawer organizer. I have a place for each color and can see every seed bead I have at a quick glance. Thanks for all the ideas! Julie

re: Get Organized: Bead Storage Checklist

Calico3 — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 13:22:07 GMT

Although I have a fully equipped sewing room with storage, counters, and track lighting, etc., I prefer to do my beading in the dining room rather than feeling isolated down in the basement (and where's there's no AC or heat). Although here's a variety of plactic drawer units available on the market, I didn't want plastic 'furniture' in the dining room. After much searching I found an absolutely wonderful 8 drawer wooden cabinet by Ewing on eBay for $85 plus $20 shipping. The assembly instructions were easy to follow and I was able to paint and embelish it to match my rather quirky decor. I keep my tools, wire and findings in the top drawer. All my finding are in small storage containers, sorted by whether they're gold or silver. Clasps, crimp beads, head pins, and jump rings all have their own containers. My beads are sorted by type in tiny zip bags (with stickers indicating the cost per bead) and take up the next 5 drawers. One drawer for beads that are sets, the next drawer is for gemstones and anything Native American, ethnic or especially unusual. The 4th drawer contained beads that are all different and are simply sorted by price and color. The next is for focal beads and anything metallic. Drawer 6 contains all my seed beads. The bottom 2 drawers are slightly deeper and that's where I keep all my polymer clay supplies. I really love this cabinet because the drawers are shallow enough to see everything easily, big enough to hold almost everything (except my pasta roller machine for the clay), and it's pretty.

re: Get Organized: Bead Storage Checklist

bylynette — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 18:03:24 GMT

Lots of great ideas - have you noticed we are all alike? Keep those beads and wires and doodads out where we can see them!!!

I'm so lucky to have a basement shop area with beading, soldering, polymer clay, forging and sewing station areas...but I still have storage and space issues. I cobbled together a jeweler's "bench" using put-together-yourself shop elements (workbench, drawer units, pegboard hutch with light) that works great as long as I can keep the workbench from filling up with projects and "I'll do this next" piles.

I keep my eyes open at thrift stores or garage sales - found little drawer units, a divided wooden tote that is perfect holding pliers on my bench, odd things for show displays.

For a visual seed bead tube holder, I staple-gunned a LONG length of 1" elastic to a strip of fiber board. Staples about 5/8" apart, leaving enough slack in elastic to slip a tube into it. Keeps things vertical and in view, though I could use several more.

I manage inventory with Quick Books - spent a lot of time one summer entering items with source, cost, markup, etc. Now I'm faithful about adding every new purchase and I can easily create "invoices" with a list of elements used in a piece. I get a sell price and adjust inventory at the same time.

And BTW, those fabric-fondling quilters have nothing on us bead fondlers - my favorite thing about bead shows with bead hanks on display is touching!!! Sometimes I just spend time sorting my stash to revisit my favorites.

My biggest organization problem is my saved back issues of several beading/jewelry publications - they are great inspiration, but they sure take up space!

re: Get Organized: Bead Storage Checklist

PamM@38 — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 11:12:08 GMT

I've read thru all the ideas and no one has mentioned what I use.... I store my beads & findings in the small paint containers called Buddy Cups. They are clear with a removeable lid and hold maybe 1/2 oz. (They are not the thimble sized ones that are all connected w/ a piece of plastic.) I get mine at Michaels in the fine art dept. They also have similar containers that have 3 sizes that has a red label.

I have a tall narrow shelf unit with 4"wide glass shelves and I set them all on this. I recently sorted them by colors and put them in check boxes that I labeled and it looks very neat. I can find what I want at a glance. I used to use the clear plastic bead boxes but there was so much empty space! I can usually put 2 or 3 buddy cups into one square when I travel. Its all condensed. I hang my seed beads on a peg board assorted by colors. I like to hang the chains that I have also so I can easily see them. My craft house...er....I mean room contains stations for my jewelry, clay and eventually a sewing station (when I can get my son to move out....again.)

ha!...I also paint but I do that in the kitchen and store it all in the basement. Would "clean sweep" like to visit me???

re: Get Organized: Bead Storage Checklist

carol szemiot — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 05:34:41 GMT

I have found that storing my beads in flat, clear plastic trays (Ultimate Bead Trays made by Darice, now found on line at www.consumercrafts.com--almost half price compared to craft stores) works the best for me. The trays are crystal clear so beads can be found at a quick glance, and I organized them mostly by color. I have 40 or so trays precariously piled high, tempting to fall on me. I have luckily acquired an antique watch jeweler's set of 7 stacks of drawers which the trays fit perfectly into. I refinished the drawers to have white interiors, making it easier to see the beads against the white background. I have also mounted two magnetic tool strips on the wall in front of my table, making tool storage a breeze. Still working on how to store all the bulky displays and accessories.

re: Get Organized: Bead Storage Checklist

jem@10 — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 02:14:28 GMT

Such a constant source on consternation! I finally broke down and bought a double stacked organizer by bestcraftorganizer.com. I am overwhelmed by how great it is! I love the different sized drawers as I have a diverse collection. I have seed beads, gemstone beads, and findings. I cut coloured file folders down to size underneath the clear inserts so my beads and findings show up since I bought the white trays. I also bought thin sheets of foam from the craft store to use as tray covers. The drawers still fit in the cabinet with the covers over the trays. The 2 and 3 1/2 inch trays are great for bottles of seed beads turned upside down to see the colours. I made a computer file which records the price and supplier of the beads in an excel grid that matches the inserts for my trays. This way I can change the information when I change the sorting.

I also have a pegboard along the back of my bench which is actually just a low counter. It is great for hanging all my tools. I organize them according to project function. My Art Clay Silver tools are in one section, my beading tools in another and my silversmithing tools in another area. It is very convenient and quickly accessed. I also mounted a long piece of metal strapping along the top equipped with heavy duty magnets to hold my small tools.

All in all, I am very pleased and now to the task of continuing to sort those beads.

re: Get Organized: Bead Storage Checklist

RandiL@5 — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 21:30:19 GMT

I used to use the 35mm film canisters, but I could nevee tell what was inside until I spilled them out. Now I buy the clear plastic baggies (2" X 3", 3" x 5", and 4" X 6"), and use the bead packaging to label my beads. I keep only the part where the name & style # is & slide it into the bag. That way I also know when I need to replenish. You can get them at A.C.Moor or Michaels.

I keep the bags in clear plastic container boxes that are sectioned. These I get at The Container Store. They come with different configurations of compartments. It's easy to see what's in each box.

Now I just need a room to store them all in!! :)

re: Get Organized: Bead Storage Checklist

Connie76903 — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 13:49:10 GMT

We all put our beads in some sort of bag or box, but what to do with those? I had mine all laid out on a 8 x 2 foot table, but soon ran out of room without stacking. My solution was to go to the Salvation Army Thrift store and buy a few used two and three shelf bookcases, stack those on the back half of the table, and go vertical! I also bought a couple of floor to ceiling bookcases, and put those into use, using the lower shelves for the least used. most bulky of my supplies since RA keeps me from bending easily. It recycles, I donate to a good cause, and I have tripled my space by going horizontal.

Have a deadiful day!!!

Connie McCollough

Connie's Creations

San Angelo TX

re: Get Organized: Bead Storage Checklist

GemgirlJewelry — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 11:10:29 GMT

Regarding Michelle's comment about keeping track of her cost of materials for each project, I recommend the software program: "Jewelry Designer Manager" from Bejeweled Software Co. (www.jewelrydesignermanager.com). I purchased this program from Fire Mountain Gems. It is very comprehensive and allows you to: Accurately cost & price jewelry; organize parts & vendors; track and manage customers; and create invoices. You can also import photos of your finished pieces into your cost worksheet. It takes a lot of due diligence to input all of the information, but it's well worth it in the long run. If you can get in the habit of inputting your materials when you receive a shipment, then it goes pretty smoothly from there.

Hope this helps - Happy Beading!

re: Get Organized: Bead Storage Checklist

sue@404 — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 10:37:36 GMT

My seed beads were the big organization problem. Last year I bought several of those smaller 5-drawer plastic cabinets from WalMart and sorted by size and color group. I use small colored stickers on all the drawers (and other bins and stackable organizers) to note the color family within. It ahs really helped. Do all beaders have furry helpers? My cats love to help sort, and heaven help me if I leave a bead mat out with my little neat piles of beads ready to start. You think I'd learn!

re: Get Organized: Bead Storage Checklist

Vickysbeads — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 09:06:05 GMT

For my rolls of Nymo, I use the Darice Bobbin holder. You can get them from Wal-Mart, they're see thru so you know what's inside. You can sort your thread by color and size. It's very handy.