Great ideas! Another one for you...the plastic cases from Schick Intuition Razor Blades. When you put a new blade on your razor (for personal use:) keep the small plastic case to store tiny jewelry beads, needles, etc.  I create a lot of custom bracelets with seed beads. I always keep the extra beads from the mix in one of these cases.Write the project or customer's name on it and stash it for repairs or matching pieces. The cases are fairly clear and the lids are nice and tight.

Hi Adrienne, thank you! I used to use those little containers that film comes in for beads, but who uses film anymore? So they are hard to come by. Yours is a great tip. Thank you!

Just a reminder- ammonia works well when cleaning sterling,  gold, or platinum, but remember not to use it on copper or brass, unless you want patina.  

Also, do not store saw blades in a plastic bag if you want them unbroken.  They require a sturdy container.  (I use an old cigar tube.)  If you put anything sharp, such as sheet solder, wire, or scrap metal, in a plastic bag, sooner or later you will end up with holes in the bag.  

And, for those of you just starting out, do not use metal screen in the rolling mill without using a protective sheet of metal next to the roller, on the other side of the screen, away from the metal you are imprinting, so the roller does not get scratched.

Best regards.

If you can't find film canisters for beads and are diabetic, use the containers the test strips come in.  

I find that my tool set is incomplete without a pair of Toe-Nail Clippers.

They cut Tigertail and the like very quickly and easily, and they cut pins well also.

Additionally, because they have a curved edge, it's easier to get in close to a bead to snip.

At times I like to take projects with me on-the-go, so I have my Peppermint Bark Tin from Trader Joe's to stuff full of beads and strings and such to take with me.

I am hard-of-hearing and while I really would like to hear well, I have found a benefit. To make hearing aids fit really well into your ears they use a two part molding material, similar to what we use for mold-making with metal clay. They throw the jars away when they are empty. My audiologist now saves the jars for me and I get 2 new jars (never measured them but about 1.5 to 2 cups) about every 3 months.

I think the Milky Way mini candy bars are for when you have been working so long,  enjoying yourself, loosing track of time, then you get a sugar low or you get hungry, you have a candy bar on hand  to pick you up,  then you can keep on going!!!!

The little clear plastic boxes that business cards come in for storing findings.

Ask all your office-bound friends to collect them for you - they stack so neatly!

If you travel frequently, start collecting the paper covers that most hotels place on clean drinking glasses. They are perfect for beading projects when you are using a number of different beads. They are flexible so it's easy to return the beads to their container, and they are stackable as well.

Hello, here are my list of tips:

- I use rubbing alcohol to final squeaky clean before soldering.

- empty face cream pots, well washed, to keep liquid in small quantity to save space around my work area; eg. - cleaner for polish compounds - alcohol - pumice paste - flux - salt - etc. Bigger jar for clean water.

- hockey pucks for drilling in water, hammering, etc

- a dollar store, long and narrow plastic basket, I used a wood dowel to 'saddle' my most used hand tools, pliers, cutter, etc. The narrownest stops the tools from spinning of the wood and keeps them up-right.

- I keep all sorts of foams with different density to work on unfired metal clay, 'some' are soft enough to conform and cushion the piece to sand delicately and firm enough to not crack. Still need care, but it works well for me.

- a salvation army find, a old metal lazy-susan for soldering, it is high and turns when I need.

- a 4x2 piece wood that I drilled to hold my most used shanks, burs, center punch, dremel access of all sizes. Cheap than some already made for jewelers.

- shop storage tubes for saw blades, reamers, etc. I can identify each and they stand up right for easy reach. (See www.leevalley.com/.../page.aspx)

- a dollar store plastic basket to hold all my tumbling needs, the tumbler, ivory soap, jar with my dry stainless steel shots, a strainer for the shots, a small towel to spread my wet shots to dry. I pick up the basket & bring it to a sink (my studio has no water) do my thing and store things back in the basket & store on my shelves.

- I bought, at a potter's supply store, a slab used by potters to fire in kiln, I cut in pieces to form walls (held together by wire) on my fire brick when I solder.

- various food storages (dollar store) boxes, all sizes, to protect organic material (similar kinds together, wood, delicate dry plants, etc). I use the same type of boxes to store my stock of jewelry in between shows with little silica bags in them.

- fan in my window to evacuate fumes as much as I can outside.

Well, those are unstudio-like things I use almost every day in my studio. I hope it help someone....:o)  Mireille

Hi!

I collected hundreds of baby food containers from the time when my babies were babies!:-) Very handy for storing all kinds of beads , finished projects as well as unfinished ones...the lids are super sturdy too.

Another great storage solution...prescription meds containers. Excellent for storing head pins, eye pins etc.

It is a wonderful way to recycle and reuse!

Hi Everyone,

I save the Tic Tac containers after using the mints inside. They make wonderful containers for beads and they are clear so you can see the colors you want to work with better.

Also for texture and a one of a kind pattern when working with fabric in jewelry, I save the netting that comes off hams and turkeys. Secure it down on top of your project and air brush for a most unique pattern. I also use laces for this too.  It works great when making a focal point for a necklace or bracelet.

I use egg cartons to store entire projects in.  The individual "cups" where the eggs go are great for holding the different beads, clasp components, focal, etc.  When you get tired or have to stop, just close the top and everything will be safe and sound and waiting for you!  They cost nothing and this keeps them out of the landfill!  Every little step we take to save a bit of our Earth becomes a giant leap if we are all doing it together!!

Connie/geminidesigns

Ice cube trays are great for sorting beads and findings. I also like the transparent square containers that replaced baby food jars to store beads and small findings too.

I think this may have been noted but, the little plastic Gerber baby food containers are perfect for not only storing beads in general but beads for an unfinished or planned project. If not too full, they stack into each other nicely. I also purchased several of the office desk drawer organizers from Staples, the ones that have multiple compartments. These are perfect for when I am starting a new project and not sure exactly what beads, etc I want to use just yet. You can pull out a variety of stuff, have it all in one container, and still keep your beads separated (which makes it easy to put up the ones you decide not to use). And, if you are like me, when you are pulling out beads to start a new project, it never fails that I come up with a couple of other great ideas from the stuff I have pulled. These tray organizers are great for storing these new ideas. If I decide to not make something, its easy to put everything back in my inventory. If I do decide on moving forward with the idea, I have plenty of space to pull out the rest of what I need. These tray organizers also stack easily on top of each other. However, I never stack more than two when I have them out on the table, etc. Just to prevent any accidental spills. But, when putting everything back in my cabinets, I can stack 4-5 at a time and not have to worry about them getting knocked over or falling over. One last thing which is probably a given. Crazy Glue (super glue). I love my Crazy Glue! This handly little friend has helped me in so many quick fixes and repairs to where I did not have the time for jewelry glue to set.

Thanks for the great ideas everyone! Happy beading!!