Seed Bead Storage From a Reusable Container

I've noticed in the craft shops it is easy to spend as much on good storage as the materials themselves - especially when it comes to bead-work. There are items around the house which work as well as craft shop solutions. Why not reuse and save or invest money in buying useful tools and nice beads rather than paying for storing raw materials?

There are many household items which can be reused for seed bead storage. My favourite reusable container is a transparent cake decorations container. It has four separate compartments which open individually and the perfect solution for keeping colours seperate.

Things to consider

Size - Will it hold enough beads to be useful?

Transparency - Is it important to have a clear view of the contents?

Material - Glass containers will break if not looked after properly. Plastic is less likely to break.

Ensure the container is empty, clean and completely dry.

Carefully pour the seed beads into the container, but do not over-fill it.

The cake decorations container is great because it allows multiple colors of beads to be kept separate in one container.

These are the benefits and drawbacks to other reusable containers I've tried before using a cake decoration container to keep seed beads.

Empty Spice Jar - We regularly have empty spice jars so this was an easy one to try. I like the transparent glass but I don't like how heavy it is when filled with beads. It seems unnecessarily bulky.

35 mm Film Case - This is the first household container I ever used for storing beads. The size and weight are great but the transparency is very poor.

Balm Container - More compact than the Empty Spice Jar. The texture on the outside of the container means the contents are not as clear as the spice jar. It is made of glass.

Tic-Tac Box - Excellent size, weight and transparency. The only drawback I see with this is that someone could confuse the seed beads for Tic Tacs and eat them!