I’ve discovered that browsers at my yard sales frequently are looking for beads and other craft supplies. My granddaughter had several containers of beads she no longer needed, so placed them in the yard sale this weekend.
My curiosity often gets the better of me, and I ask what the customer plans to do with them. This leads to interesting and informative conversations.
Various uses for beads acquired at yard sales:

Enlarge an art supply stash
An art teacher planned several beading projects and found these perfect for what she had in mind.
A homeschooling mom thought the colorful beads would be great for teaching …read more

I always enjoy having my readers share their ideas about various craft topics, including what projects they’re working on and providing tips that might help others.
Shawnery commented on my post, Organizing Beads and Embellishments, and shared her inexpensive methods of storing these items:
When I first started, we didn’t have a lot of spare money so buying a lot of new containers was out of the question. We were on [a] diet at the time so we ate a lot of eggs. I had a ton of the two dozen egg containers laying around and it turns out to be the perfect containers. …read more

Embellishing quilts, fabric art and mixed media has become very popular.  The artist might use simply a few items or can almost cover the piece in a technique called encrusted embellishing.
What types of embellishments are there?

Beads
Buttons
Charms
Scrapbook stickers
Handmade fabric buttons
Pieces of wood
Decorated CDs
Foil
Artificial flowers
Keys
Advertising buttons on pins
Postage stamps
Rubber stamping

Do you have any other interesting embellishments that you use? How do you use them?  What are your favorites?

How do you organize your beads and buttons for your artwork so you can find them easily?  Do you have great organization?  Or are yours scattered here and there in containers, in drawers, and on shelves?
What’s a good way to organize?

By size
By color
By color and size
By design
By artist
By era

My daughter has separated the small beads she uses for her embellishing into containers.  They are organized by color, then by size and design.  She puts these into small clear plastic containers she can see through.  Then she stores the smaller ones into a larger clear plastic box.  Thus they’re easy to …read more

 QuiltingAndPatchwork.com
  More quilters are discovering the fascination of art quilts, those you hang on the wall and use for decorative effect.  You might place them on a bed but generally use only for adornment.  Perhaps you’ll use fabric art pieces in clothing, too.
To embellish their art quilts, quilters and fabric artists often choose beads and buttons, some of which they may make themselves.  I ran a poll to determine whether my readers are into this type of embellishment.
Question – Do You Use Beads and Buttons to Embellish Your Quilts?
10%  – Yes, frequently
70% – Yes, occasionally
20% – No, never
It would seem …read more