Making a Scoop for Tiny Beads | Recycling Wire | Quick Seed Bead Cleanup

Don't waste your small pieces of leftover wire and a seed-bead cleanup tip that only takes seconds.

1 visual aids
There are no bead shops where I live, so I buy beads online. Visualizing projects is sometimes difficult because I don't have the beads in front of me. To make shopping easier, I create a desktop folder and put the pictures of all my favorite things from a Web site in it. I use the computer's thumbnails feature to look at all my potential purchases side by side.
- Chantal Edwards, via e-mail

2 power cleaning
Thrift-store beads sometimes require a more thorough cleaning than just a swipe of a cloth. An old electric toothbrush and a drop of dish soap in warm water will usually do the job.
- Karen Fox, Broken Arrow, OK

3 instant scoops
A sticky note folded adhesive-to-adhesive will serve as a pliable, inexpensive, and disposable scoop for tiny beads.
- Linda Paul, Shorewood, WI

4 recycling wire
I use small pieces of leftover wire to make small charms, jump rings, and clasps. If the wire has nicks, I hammer it flat to hide the flaws and create an artistic look. This way, I have custom-made, inexpensive findings.
- Mollie Chen, Bloomington, IN

5 quick clean up
An adhesive lint roller will quickly pick up seed beads, crimp beads, and tiny wire bits from your work surface. You can remove anything you want to keep and throw the
rest away.
- Marie Rankin, Ontario, Canada

Related Issues

May 2007