Yep, I’ve run out of space again. I don’t want to go back to my plastic ice cube tray storage system so I asked OHM for a ‘More Bead Less Play Tray’. It’s $50 USD and is really sturdy and holds piles of beads. Fortunately I have a drawer in my bead area so can slip in right in there. After having used it for a couple of days I’ve decided that it will work really well for me for a couple of reasons. I like how I can see the beads all at once, for one thing. Secondly, the rods come out nicely but then you can pop them back in for a snug fit. You can see in the photo below I forgot to push the second rod back down on the left hand side. Even though lots of beads fit on here and you might think it unwieldy to get at one in the middle, I haven’t found that. For me the key is to not worry about getting the bead back to where it was. So after a while they are definitely going to be a bit more mixed up in their colour groupings, but I think it will be fun to every now and then sit down to rearrange them.

There are a couple of newer items that I also have, including the glass bead called Wisdom Texts ($50 USD) shown here in the middle. I’m in a phase right now where I actually prefer beads that have no meaning for me, but this one definitely touched me in an emotional way. This year I am teaching young English Language Learners and have a lot of Yazidi students who have gone through extreme trauma. I see the Wisdom Texts bead as representing the language that they now have to learn to further their education and help them live happy and productive lives. The True Beadz True Touch Castle Stone beads match up beautifully.

Now for the Slim beads! They are very interesting and I like the narrow width. They cost $35 USD each and I have four colours here today, although there are five. The red one is called Sour, the purple is Ape, the green is Sage and the blue is Mist.

The blue one is a perfect match for the older Blue Hole beads.

I really like the purple one in between my Purple Haze beads. I’ll definitely wear this bangle this week.

I’m not sure I like this look below, but I thought I’d see if two Slim beads would equal one regular one. I don’t think they do, but it’s a different look that can make for a nice change. The blue bead on the left is called Current ($45 USD).

Lastly, here’s a happy bangle that has a pop of colour. It is snowing yet again, so these vibrant colours are just what I need right now.

I’ve seen lots of nice combos using the Slim beads on the Instagram page of @storyinthebead.cz if you want to check them out. I think they lay very well in between a couple of glass beads, so I will be using them on bangles in the future. Wouldn’t two blue ones look fabulous on either side of Confetti Upchuck in the picture above? Has anyone thought about getting any of these beads?

Disclosure: For this blog post I may receive some items as promotional samples.