Gem and Bead Storage

If you are looking for the Bead Soup Blog Party, please click here. 

While participating in the Clean-Up, Fix-Up Challenge, I had to find ways to store some of my gemstones and beads.  Whenever I purchased gemstones, I would keep them in the bag from the store or gem show and stuff it in to a large shoebox (no pic of this mess, thank goodness).  Soon, I had no idea what I actually had.  After much searching through hardware, bead and department stores, I finally found a solution - boxes with bottles inside.  I found these boxes at a small bead shop and at Walmart.

These boxes and bottles come in two sizes.  The shorter boxes are great for the smaller beads or small amounts of beads.  The taller boxes work for larger gemstones or a larger amount of small beads.  I further organized by sorting the bottles by color in the boxes.   

I also discovered that I could hold the box and bottles to the light and look through to see the color of the beads.  This makes finding the stones I need or auditioning for color much easier.  I also put a sticker on the bottle lids showing the kind and price of each bead, which saves time in pricing a finished piece of jewelry. (Hint:  Put the sticker on the jar, not the lid, as the lids can get mixed up. Don't ask me how I know.)

The boxes stack together and fit neatly in my desk drawers or on shelves.  So one storage issue solved. 

Organize for creativity,
Carol