A SNEAK PEEK OF BEADY BLING...

LOL.  Okaaay...I'll be nice, lol........

Not perfect...but I'm okay with that.  It took me a good long while, but it was FUN...and I only needed 3 Band-Aids!  I think I will avoid sharp objects for a while, though, LOL.

Toodles...

CRAFT ROOM STORAGE...

If you do any type of sewing, quilting or crafting you know that finding an organized, cheap and accessible method of storing your supplies is not easy.

As a design element in my Perky Petal Project, I decided I wanted a bit of beaded "bling" added to the flower center.

When I was a kid in the '60s, beading was all the rage and I had a good supply of beading supplies.  Over the years, however, all of my embellishments were given away or trashed.  If I wanted to add a bit of "bling" to my project I was going to have to buy some supplies.  Using the LAST of my free gift cards I ordered an assortment of seed beads from Amazon.  Unfortunately, the clasp on the plastic box is not very tight and I had visions of my craft room strewn with teeny, tiny flecks of color.  I DO have a problem with dropping things! 

Wanting to keep all of my beading supplies in one place, I went searching through my stash of "containers" for something big enough to hold my new assortment and any other beads I may purchase in the future.  I found this plastic container that I have had for YEARS.  Controlled hoarding is a GOOD thing!

As a diabetic, I always keep a supply of glucose tablets in my purse and in both cars.  A low sugar spell can be dangerous and feels HORRIBLE!  After I empty a container of tablets, I remove the label and wash out the tube.  I have been tossing them into a box in my craft room closet.   I knew for sure I would find a problem that could be solved by these little tubes!

I placed my assorted beads and my supply of tubes into the plastic box.  As I buy more beads I will store them in the tubes.  I still have room to add several more empty tubes.

Over the weekend I began adding a little bit of beading to my project.  An online tutorial advised wetting your finger and dipping it into the beads, and then transferring the tiny little things to the sticky end of a post-it.  Their advice works wonderfully.  Since I don't have "beading needles", I have been using a small generic needle I found in my sewing box.  It isn't quite thin enough and there have been a lot of seed beads that won't fit over the eye of the needle.  I've been dropping them into a small Altoids tin to keep from trying the same beads over and over again.  Annoying, for sure.  I have beading needles on order, lol.

Everything fits well into the plastic box, but I needed something to keep the loose fitting lid closed.  I searched through my ribbons for something I could use to hold my beading kit shut.

With a few quick measurements, a bit of Liquid Stitch to hold the two ribbons together, and some free elastic I made a strap to hold everything in place.

My beading kit is cute, organized and "available" whenever I want to stitch a little beady goodness onto my sewing/quilting projects.  If I hadn't saved this plastic box years and years ago, I would not have had the perfect container to corral my supplies!

So, the moral of the story?  Save any and all decent containers that you find throughout your home.  Hoarding these little gems can provide the perfect storage for craft items and save TONS of money as you work to make your craft room neat and organized!