Thursday, May 14, 2015
May 14, 2015 ~ I had been tidying up parts and corners of my beadroom these days. Really ? Oh yeahhh... really ! I know I don't know where to start but I'm telling you, a 4 cornered room full of beads and finished materials is so much time consuming to clean up. No joke ... I just realized I had hoarded so much stuffs over the years , beads , art materials, organizers , etc,... OOooopppssssss !
These are the things I had found so far just for Bead Organizers alone in my bead room :
1). Bead Storage Drawers
Drawer Boxes by TOYOGO
These 4 layered multi storage Drawer box containers stacked up on top of each other creating a multi level tower of drawers are to die for. They are my most prized organizers in my beadroom. Why ? with its multi compartments in every level, I was able to put so much stuffs inside and each compartment even got dividers or removable partitions that can help separate same type of beads accdg to color or size. So I can easily tell which part of the room is holding all my glass beads, Swarovski Crystals or Semi precious stones.
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( Model 121-5 ) http://www.toyogogroup.com/cabinet---drawer.html |
Since they are stackable, I was able to move them around and fit them easily anywhere in the room. Even under my beading table as seen above !
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( Model 701-10 ) http://www.toyogogroup.com/cabinet---drawer.html |
These 2 towers of 10 drawers each I had put side by side ( I removed the wheels so they won't move from its place ) got all my wholesale packs of precious stones and pearls in it as well as metal findings. Cool !
This drawer houses some of my almost finished colors of 6/0 & 8/0 Glass Seed beads .
As you can see, all seed beads are in screw top tube containers. Why is that ? Here's my story why ... About 4 years ago while in Perth Australia, we hired a local mover to move all our stuffs and furnitures from one house to another. During those days, my seed beads are directly inside the drawer compartments. So when the movers carried the boxes upside down with my bead organizers inside, all my seed beads got mixed. They were like put in a mixer and moved all over the compartments. Lucky I got each multi drawer box rolled up individually with cling-wrap before being placed inside the mover's boxes so no beads fell out on the floor as they opened all the carton boxes during unpacking in our new home. But of course, all the beads got mixed inside the compartments. Took me almost 6 months separating and sorting all the beads according to color and size. OMG! Lesson learned. So from now on, I always separate each type of seed beads in a tube with screw top secured cover so no matter how they carry or shake the boxes, no beads would mix with the others at all. So, my big problem everytime we move out was solved !
Wondering where these boxes come from ? I had bought all these boxes here in Singapore.
They were all from http://www.toyogogroup.com/.
2). Portable Plastic Organizer Craft Box :
a). 18 Compartments Box
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Plastic Organizer with 18 Compartments |
Excellent plastic material storage container and portable for people on the go with their bits and pieces for craft making. So ideal for beads !
These are the typical craft boxes you can easily find in Spotlight stores or any , Home Improvement, DIY / hardware stores in your area. You can also easily get something similar or even exactly same as this box from bead suppliers in Amazon stores by clicking here . Need any more tip where to find this type of box in very cheap price ? If you are from the Unite States and residing there, find the nearest A.C. Moore Arts & Crafts Store for a great bargain . I heard they had been selling this item for an amazing price ... only if the item is not out of stock ! So good luck ...
b). Acrylic Crystal Clear Box ( 36 Slots)
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Acrylic Box with 36 slots |
This is a crystal clear acrylic box with 36 compartments where I store my Swarovski Crystal Beads. I love the way I just slide the cover lock to the side to open the Box. Advantage of this Clear Acrylic material is that I can clearly see thru the top the neatly placed sparkling crystals. Makes it easy for me to see the colors and type of shape I need immediately for my beading project .
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I Love You Mom ... Crystal Necklace created May 2015 |
Excellent for my metal findings too ! The best thing about this box aside from its slide lock feature, you can toss and turn it any way you want once it's closed and the beads inside won't mix at all. I bought these boxes in a beadshop in Chinatown here in Singapore few years ago.
Unfortunately, this type of storage with 36 compartments was so hard to find in bead stores nowadays. I dunno why but no matter how hard I try to find it again the result is always fruitless . The most popular substitute for it was the smaller version with 18 slots instead ( pictured below ).
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Acrylic Box with 18 slots |
Oh well, no choice but to avail of this typeso I grabbed about 50 pcs of it. But next time I see this 36 compartments type of box again, I will surely grab at least 20 pieces of it !
c). Mini Boxes
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Plastic Bead Containers with Lid, 15 Compartments, Pink, 150x92x25mm |
This mini box is small but very handy to take in travels especially if I just need a few items to take with me. I normally carry it mainly to hold my metal parts / findings. when I'm in bazaars so I can easily alter the metal parts of my finished jewelries to meet the preferences of my buyers. But I need to be careful that this box doesn't open during travel to avoid accidental spill of my metal parts. I wrap a rubber band around it before I slid it into a Ziploc bag for greater security.
You can find this item on wholesale at PandaHall.com for US$20 / per 16 boxes.
d). Mini Box with Tubes
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Plastic Bead Containers, 19cm long, 8.5cm wide, 3.5cm high |
I enjoy using this box due to its versatility eventhough it's too small for large beads as compared to the bigger version supplied by Matsuno of Japan . I can opt to remove the stackable tubes and replace them with beads / findings.The tubes can be used as is or separately from the box and can be carried around without the box too. Good stuff !
Also easily available at PandaHall.com for US$37 / per 10 sets
e). Acrylic Mini Box with Screw Top Vials
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Plastic Beads Containers, 12 Compartments, Rectangle, Clear, 16x12x2.8cm |
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Plastic Beads Storage Containers, 13.5cmx16cmx3.5cm, bottle: 26x29mm |
There are still some more variations with regards to vial size in this type of beads container that can all be found here . You can also visit PandaHall where they sell the small box with 30 vials for US$13 for 3 Sets ( 30pcs/Set ) and US$26++ for 8 Sets (12pcs/Set )
3). Bead Rack
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A2-4-a Square Netting Stand |
Long strands of beads aren't nice to put in drawers due to the fact that they would occupy so much space, get mixed and would surely tangle once you take them out . So I came up with an idea to get a display rack in a local metal shelving store somewhere in Serangoon , Singapore to solve the problem. Thanks to Wah Yew Shelving & Racks ... Voila! My bead strands had all been hanging nicely and professional just like in a beadshop showroom eversince . Nice.. nice.. nice
4). Vials / Tubes
a). Vials
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Plastic Bead Containers, Round, 5 Vials, about 3.9cm in diameter, 10.2cm high |
Each vial is crystal clear so I can see inside and find what I need right away. It's stackable so i can interchange the position of the containers to fit my preferrences for colors and type of beads to group together. Ideal continer for beads of smaller amounts like Superduos ( a relatively new line of two-hole beads made in the Czech Republic ). Each vial can fit about 250 pcs Superduos beads.
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My own designed " Inner Circles Earrings" created with Superduos , Swarovski Pearls & Crystal beads ... |
b). Tubes ( Screw Top Lid )
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This type of Tubes comes in 3 sizes . S, M, L |
All 3 pieces are easily Stackable when empty ...
b) Tube Hangers
Some seed beads come packed in this type of tubes which are available in several different sizes. I enjoy buying beads in this type of packaging coz I can nicely hang them on hooks installed on wire mesh I had placed behind doors or inside wardrobe cabinets. It's my way of maximizing the space I could find in and out of cabinets ! I can also recycle the tubes once empty by filling it up again with other beads . Smart right ?
One good advice I would share with you regarding tube containers is never to buy those with this type of lid. See this photo below :
Why ? Aside from you cannot hang them up and being way too small to put your beads in, they don't even last long and the plastic lid cracks leaving your materials prone to spilling all over the place. So avoid using them . Always consider to use the screw type lids coz they would keep your beads secured at all times. Trust me... you don't want to spend your precious day or night kneeling on the floor picking up thousands of beads one by one ! Never torture yourself like I did to myself before... please avoid this stuff as much as possible !
Ok, I had become a big bead addict but my experiences with my beads , tools and materials led me more to a self taught beading knowledge and ideas that had progressed in a span of say... 10 years ? So on the good side, give me some credit on this part LOL! Although I had invested much on beading stuffs , at least I could share some of my ideas and beading experiences free of charge as a good samaritan to my fellow beaders. So sweet of me ...
I hope you enjoyed reading this article and got enough tips on how to store and keep your beads & art supplies tidy at all times.
I hope to share more ideas with you so ,
Please Come and visit my blog again soon !
Time to sleep for me .. it's now 48 mins past midnite . Uh oh ...
Goodnight everyone !
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