You may remember we learned about the bead storage system that has Tick Tack boxes inside larger boxes. I discovered something similar at Michael's my local craft emporium when I went shopping with my 40% off coupon. The Jolee's sets have inner boxes with removable lids. I'd prefer the Tick Tack box lids but I'd have to mail order those and wouldn't have a coupon, so I bought the Jolee ones instead and I'm happy with my choice.
http://www.michaels.com/art/online/displayProductPage?productNum=bd0767
I bought two sets, one that is half the large size boxes and half the small ones, and one that includes half large sized boxes and half medium sized ones. (I think there is a third set with all small boxes.) In the photo above you see a pile of discarded Mill Hill and other brand boxes. Everything in those boxes went into the Jolee box shown, so you see this is a very efficient way to store beads in a compact area. I can see the colors pretty well even if all the boxes are in the big box since all the boxes are clear. This photo shows one large box and one of the medium sized boxes that stores up to three boxes of Mill Hill beads in one half the medium box. I also put the label from one storage system in the photo, just for you to see.
The one drawback to this system is that once you remove your beads from the original packaging, you won't know what size/color/brand you have. I solved that problem by using stick on labels. I wrote down what was in a box, put the label on the clear new box, used an arrow to indicate that this was in the half box section on the right or left, and labeled the other half of the box with its color number, etc. If you put all Mill Hill Magnifica beads in the halves of a box, you just have to write down "MH" and "Magnifica" once. There's plenty of room for the color number and arrows for the two types of beads. By the way, the photo above shows both of my Jolee boxes and the large and small boxes. You can't see any of the labels I put on the outside as I turned those to the back so you could see how the boxes are constructed. I'm happy with this system, even though it isn't perfect, as my beads are easily visible yet stored in a small place. The next time I have a 40% off coupon I'll pick up a third box and then all my beads will be put away with room to spare. By the way, the original pricing on these boxes is $9.99 each at my local Michael's.
On a related topic, Needle Works of Austin has S-Lon beading thread sets in assorted colors on their What's New Page (if it disappears, try searching on S-Lon). This is nice for those who like to use beading thread instead of regular thread to attach their beads and want an assortment of colors.
http://www.theneedleworks.com/catalog/
Written by Jane/Chilly Hollow
Blogging at http://chillyhollownp.blogspot.com
Archived Yahoo 360 postings at http://profiles.yahoo.com/chillyhollow
