How to Organize Beading Projects and Calendars

I have come to the realization that I have way too many project sheets that I have collected over the last few years. Therefore, today I decided to start a project that would allow me to organize everything.

Here are some tips for beading enthusiasts that like to pickup all of those free project sheets when they are at the local craft and hobby store.

Supplies you will need:

(3-5) ½" to 1" binders, preferably black, as white ones tend to show dirt. In addition, you want to make sure that there is a spot for a cover sheet or a side slip for identification.

(1-2) packages of sheet protectors that can usually be found in packs of 200 at Office Max, Office Depot or whoever your local office supply store is.

(1-2) packages of sheet protectors that have identification tabs on them, which usually come in counts of 8-12 at Office Max, Office Depot or whoever your local office supply store is.

Your Word Processing program will come in handy to create cover sheets that will identify what craft store you got the projects from. For example, I have projects from Michael's, Jo-Ann Fabrics, and Hobby Lobby.

You will now want to separate each store's projects. I find that organizing them by the type of project is also very helpful. For example, put all of the necklaces together, then bracelets. I find that this helps to keep things easier to locate.

The next thing that I did was break down some of the projects from my beading calendars. I ended up needing at least 4 ½" binders in order to hold all of the 2007 projects.

There seems to be 3 different categories for the beading calendars; How-To's, Projects, and Inspirations. How-To's have instructions and pictures, as do the Projects. Unfortunately, the sheets marked Inspirations are nothing more than pictures, but they are still worth putting in the finished binder.

My recommendations are to organize these in the same way that you would organize your projects from the craft stores. Get ½" or 1" binders, and label them for each type of project. This way everything is easier to find. Try breaking up the necklaces from the bracelets, or specialty items from the earrings. It will avoid confusion down the road.

You can also start a binder for things that you find online. Many sites offer free patterns. If you find something you like, print it out. This is especially great if you have a color printer.

Here are some websites that my beading group uses for ideas:

www.firemountaingems.com

www.joann.com

www.hobbylobby.com

www.beadstylemag.com

Many groups on Yahoo! also offer free patterns from their members. So, don't forget to continue to add those that you are interested in to your collection.

I hope that my tips help you further organize your beading projects! Good Luck and Happy Beading!