Gone Fishin'

I've been having fun re-organizing all my little findings and such into my new tackle box and I still have room to spare which is a good thing!  This is how I have three of my boxes sorted.

Silver Findings:

Gold (and Copper) Findings:

Czech Crystals:

We love combining Czech fire-polished crystals the most with our clay as they just add that extra bling and sparkle.

I still have one more box that is empty yet and deciding what to use it for.  You will probably notice the small little plastic boxes that say "breakfast, bedtime, etc.".  These are pill boxes I found in the dollar store that are my favorite storage item.  I love to use them for my tiny crimps, findings and seed beads.

While we were on holidays, someone asked a question pertaining to finishing our clay pieces into jewelry -- specifically using the softglass cord.  I have to apologize for not answering as I cannot recall if it was a comment on our blog or an e-mail and I hope they don't think I was ignoring them.  I have been searching my computer for the message and it is nowhere to be found.  If you are reading this, please feel free to contact us again or leave a comment here.  I would love to share some tips on finishing our pieces into chokers, earrings, etc.  If any of you are interested, leave a comment and let us know you are and then we will consider it.

New Storage Ideas

We are finally back from our mini-vacation.  We made a trip south of the Canadian border to Spokane, Washington and Coeur D'Alene, Idaho -- two of our favorite cities in the U.S.

We had a chance to visit with family, do some shopping and just kick up our heels for a few days.  The Swedish massage Dave treated me to was an extra bonus and very much enjoyed and appreciated!  We came back with lots of goodies for claying and organizing the studio.  The only thing I brought back with me that I wish I could've left behind was the lovely head cold I came down with.

I'm still unpacking and catching up on things but can't wait to get back to my clay table.  I've been working out a plan for re-designing our studio.  After a year and a half I finally decided it needed some revamping to make it a little more organized and functional.  It will be a major moving job with the furnishings but should be much better after it is complete.

After the last huge show we did, I got to thinking about looking for a type of "case" to organize some of my beads and jewelry findings.  I want it to sit on my beading table but quickly pack up and go with me to a show if needed.

All the craft supply cases seemed so small and didn't seem to suit my needs.  Our niece suggested to us that we maybe should be looking at tackle boxes used for fishing.  I never would have thought of that so we started looking in some of the sporting goods stores in the area.  We were so overwhelmed when we walked into some of these stores.  Some of them were bigger than a Walmart and they contained nothing but supplies for fishing, hunting and camping.  They had several aisles of different tackle boxes to look at and we finally found just the right one.  It has four large cases with the little dividers in them as well as storage up top which is perfect for tools and other bulkier supplies.

The cases fit into the tackle box like drawers and also lock up so the little pieces won't fall out and go all over the place.  One thing to look for in these type of cases is the bottom to make sure the edges are curved.  This makes it much easier for picking out tiny beads from the compartments.

I just started to organize my findings in it and will share more on that with you as soon as it is done.