During the middle of April we purchased a house in an area we really love and started the process of totally redecorating it before we moved in.   We decided that we could do all of the cleaning, spackling, painting and etc. that goes with updating a house ourselves.  We forgot that we weren’t as young as we were the first time we redecorated a house and how busy our daily lives are too.  Now two months later the house is almost done and we have moved in.  What isn’t done right now is on the list of things yet to do.

During this two month period, I let my jewelry business take care of itself.  A little neglected and low on stock but KC Bead Designs survived both my absence and the move.  Now I’m back and ready to start work again! 

I want to share a moving tip I discovered while trying to move beads (or lots of small parts) easier.  In my new home, I have a room totally dedicated to my beads and beading.  This is a dream come true for me.  Previously I had made space in a guest bedroom for my “bead stuff” using a four foot table as my work area and having beads cramed into every corner and container I could find.   The idea of trying to combine and move my “stash” of beads and supplies was daunting.  I had visions of beads spilling out of my son’s truck into the driveway and all the way up the stairs at the new house.  My son was very patient while I sorted and combined bead containers (what he claimed were hundreds of plastic boxes) into larger bead cabinets.  I use cabinets with small plastic drawers that are used for hardware and craft storage.  After filling all the little drawers in each cabinet, I used poly stretch wrap (the kind they use to wrap merchandise pallets) to keep the drawers from coming out and spilling beads everywhere.    I chose the stretch wrap with the handle so it was easier to use and wrapped the cabinets all the way around with a couple of layers of stretch wrap so the drawers couldn’t spill their contents out front or back.  The cabinets were easy for my son to pick up and load in his truck and unload at my new home without fear of spilling Mom’s beads.  A quick cut through the layers and my cabinets were ready to use.  No sticky tape, extra boxes or missing drawers made the move pleasant for both of us. 

I found other uses for the stretch wrap during the move too.  When taking apart my display racks it was easy to “wrap” all the parts together and because it is clear, I could easily see what was bundled together.  I’m going to use it when packing my displays and stands for my next show.  I may never have to use packing tape, twisties or rubber bands again!

After years of working in a small space and dreaming of how I would arrange my work area if I had my own room just for beads, I have finally put everything in its place.  I am amazed at how many beads I had accumulated and the variety of beading supplies I actually have on hand now that I can actually see and find everything in one place.

Well that’s all for now, I’m off to work on my web store and update my Squidoo lens.  I’ll be sharing new jewelry soon!

You are invited to browse and shop in my store: KC Bead Designs anytime – 24/7. I hope you subscribe to “Reflections . . .” and enjoy sharing my passion for artisan jewelry.’till next time!

Cheryl Skeens,
Jewelry Artist/Designer

KC Bead Designs Website
KC Bead Designs Squidoo Lens
KC Bead Designs MySpace Page
Jewelry Artist Direct