Finding Inspiration | Enlarging a Bead Hole | Storing Beads |

A trip to the fabric store might just be the trick to inspire some new color combinations and this reader's tip for a storage solution lets you see all your materials while you're working.

1 fabric inspiration
If you are new to designing bead jewelry and unsure of how to select colors, go to your local fabric store and look at printed fabrics until one catches your eye. Buy a small piece and look at the colors. Then, match beads to the colors and work them into a jewelry design. This approach will work even if you like monochromatic color schemes, because you'll see the range of colors used to achieve that effect. - Beth Stone, via email

2 enlarging a bead hole
If the hole of a metal bead is too small for multiple strands of wire to pass through, place the bead on the tip of one jaw of your roundnose pliers. Twist the pliers gently a couple times to enlarge the hole. - May Frank, via email
Editor's note: We liked this tip so much, we used it in "Berries and Bubbly" (p. 54 of the September 2003 issue).

3 storage options
I like to store beads and stringing materials in electrical tape containers. The containers are small, so they don't take up much space, but they're large enough to store an entire project's components. The lids also double as handy trays while I'm working on a project. - Veronica Stewart, via email

4 missing links
If you do a project requiring many beaded links, consider using purchased eye pins. You'll save yourself a lot of work. - Yoshi Harper, Los Angeles, CA

5 unconventional tool
As silly as it sounds, I find that an unbent paper clip works wonders when you need a small, pointed tool. I use the clip to push knots into beads, move errant beads away from a bail, and straighten necklaces on displays. - Lisa Jefferson, via email

6 here's the scoop
I make jewelry on a padded board. After I'm done with a project, I use a clamshell to gather any stray beads. It's easy to scoop up beads by pressing the shell lightly into the board, and the shell's curved shape and narrow edge make quick work of pouring tiny beads back into tubes. - Lauren Procarione,
Greenfield, WI

7 spooling around
To simplify a stringing project, unroll a length of beading wire slightly longer than what you'll need. Put the plastic spool cover back on and begin stringing. Don't cut the wire until you're ready to add the clasp. Stringing onto the spool reduces the amount of excess wire you use, while keeping the nonworking end of the wire secure. - Gigi Burgess, Milwaukee, WI

Related Issues

September 2003