Treasures by Louise

I have been sorting through my hoard for the Lori Anderson's Bead Hoarders blog hop , and it appears my storage strategy is sorely lacking. I have three under-bed storage boxes, and inside there are loose strands, as well as some nicely sorted beads in divided storage containers. Storage bin and random beads Some beads were stored in empty prescription bottles that my dear mother gave me. Well, I thought it was a poor solution since the bottles are amber and you can't easily see what you have. I have also learned these bottles are fairly breakable when you quickly stack lots of bins on top of them. :( Don't try this at home! I now have one six-drawer storage unit with plastic drawers from Office Depot. I am transferring beads, and will probably need at least one more. These can be labeled with categories, such as: seed beads, wire, stringing materials, wood beads, glass, and miscellaneous. I'm sure there are more categories that will come to mind. Making...

B een thinking for a while that I need to get my bead table organized. But I have to do more than think about it to get it done! There are at least two ways to approach this challenge, that I am considering: 1) Sto p buying beads and work with what I have - this is an "Organic" way to work through the beads, and also a challenge to be creative : not run out to the store to get the 'right' focal, but work with what I have. I have tried this approach at times whe n making quilts, and gotten good resul ts. (Al though, I still have plenty of fabric in my stash.) 2) My alternative approach would be to stop creati ng for several days and do a "su rgical approach" and just sort and purge until I have cleared up my working space. The question is, shou ld the beads be arranged in colorways such as reds, green s, blues, etc. or should I keep all the projects and shopping sprees together ? My usual creative process often begins at the store, picking and choos...

I was promising myself that I wouldn't buy beads for a while, but, I went to a Bead Show this past weekend, and just stopped in with a little to spend, on purpose, to limit myself. The nice people at Bella Venetian Beads provided irresistible temptation. These beads looked good enough to eat, if you know what I mean. There's a problem with the camera/computer interface right now, but I hope to share pics soon. Meanwhile I'm sharing a link, so you can check them out. My favorite are the beads called Aventurina, which have a bit of copper added, and really sparkle. bellavenetianbeads

Happy July everyone! I hope you are using the hot weather to energize your crafty urges. It's nice if you have air conditioning or a cool basement for creative pursuits. If not, maybe a nice fan at the window.  The beginning of a project   I love summer, I get so many ideas. Now to follow through...Inka over at Altered Artifacts Blogspot  has some free printable organizers that can help get you started if you need to sort your supplies. I love Inka's Etsy store, too. I recently purchased some of her images, and plan to create all sorts of collages and altered realities!  Click here to visit Inka's store .