Question:
I have a question for you all. I now use what I think is called a "Bead
Hive" It is plastic see thru drawers that go into holders which slide
together. They are rectangular shaped.
Anyway a couple times when I have vacuumed the dresser where I keep the
beads, I have sucked out a drawer with beads. Now I'm not that cheap, but I
will not go pawing thru a dust bag to retrieve the beads and drawer. (I
have a whole house system, so it would not be too easy anyway)
So....I am in the process of trying to find a new system which is reasonable
and easy to use. Can anyone give me some ideas. I have been looking on
e-bay, there are a couple systems there, just don't know anything about
them--if they work well, etc.
Any thoughts, anyone????
Answer:
- I go really lo-tech and use those strips of little plastic mini-tubs. I
think Darice makes them and there are about 6 in a strip. Each little tub
holds several pkgs. of Mill Hill beads. The little plastic tops snap on (sorta
like Rubbermaid -- LOL) and there are little "feets" on the bottom of one side
of the strip that fit into little holes on the top of the other side of the
strip.
Now, I realize that this set up is not convenient if you want to take just
one container of beads with you. I only use this for the actual storage of the
beads because you can drop the whole shebang and nothing falls apart. That is
assuming you have put the little snap on lid on properly.
When I need to take beads to stitch with, I will put a bunch of each color
needed into an Altoids tin that has double stick tape on the bottom. I have
been known to transfer beads from one little tub to another if I am going to
use a whole lot of beads. I'll fill up an entire strip with the different
colors I need and just take that with my stitching.
- I use a bead caddy from Michaels. You have to push a button on the end to
open the snap tops. There are 14 compartments in each box. When I am
working on a project I pour some of the beads into a contact lens case which
is low enough to get the needle in and has a screw on top and then I pour
them back in the compartment.
As for vacuumning, put a knee high on the end of the hose while you are
around the beads.
-I have something called Stack Packs. Clear acrylic containers,
approximately 1 inch diameter, 3/4 inch deep. Each stack comes with 6
containers that screw into each other - so that bin #1 is the lid for
bin #2, etc. - and has a single lid to screw onto bin #1. All 6 are
molded the same so you could combine stacks or switch order if so
inclined. I bought mine at Michael's for roughly 2 dollars per stack.
Because they screw together, there's no edges of lids that don't quite
close right for escape artists - something that I had a real problem
with when I tried using a small fishing weight box that claimed to
seal tightly. And as long as they are screwed together, there's no
spillage if knocked over or laid on a side for storage.
As for ease of use - I'm still adjusting to them. Sometimes it's a
bit difficult to hook out a single bead with my needle, but maybe the
issue is more about my method of working with beads than the
container. Maybe what I should be doing is transferring some beads to
a saucer or something. What I'd really LOVE to find is soemthign
sticky enough to hold the beads in place on the side bar of my scroll
frame but not sticky enough to leave residue on the beads!
