A Better Bead Scoop

by Tricia Dutton
(Bead Booty)

Scoopin' Up the Beads!

I have an alternative to those narrow metal bead scoopers found in most jewelry supply stores.

I use drinking straws! They cost just about nothing and come in lots of sizes.

Pinching an end and snipping diagonally creates the perfect little tool to scoop up your leftover beads to be put away.

A bonus....the point created by the cut slides perfectly along the grooves in your bead board so picking up even the smallest seed beads is a cinch!

Tricia Dutton
Bead Booty
Bead Booty on Flickr

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A Better Bead Scoop

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Excellent jewelry tool idea
by: Rena

What a great way to make a custom jewelry tool from something most of us have around the house already!

It's handy that the straw can also contain the beads, so they don't spill all over the place after being scooped up.

And what a nicer way to get beads out of the beadboard channels, instead of digging them out with a fingernail and trying not to lose sight of the ones that flip out and fly away.

Thanks so much for sharing this excellent beading tip here, Tricia!

Better Bead Scoop
by: Tricia - Bead Booty

Thank YOU, Rena!!

Alternative Beading Tools
by: Helen

Thanks for this great tip! I love finding low tech and unusual things that morph into beading tools. My bit? I have a lot of sterling tableware just sitting around. And I was finding the old pick up with sticky tape just wasn't working for me. I now use those sterling teaspoons, the wee ones, to pick up my beads from the rugs. It works like a charm and I'm using the wee un's in a different way.
Thanks again. helen

Silverware Scoopers
by: Tricia

Hey Helen! What a great use of your silverware. Thanks for sharing...

Your straw idea
by: Shirley Chase

Tricia,

I love your idea of using a simple plastic straw to pick up loose beads from your bead board. It is such a simple but great idea plus an inexpensive one.

Bead Scoop
by: Tricia

Thanks, Shirley!

Picking up small beads quickly
by: Virginia Vivier - Esprit-Mystique.com

When I have been working in my Studio and don't have time to stop and pick up each tiny item that falls on the floor, I use a vacuum with a nylon pantyhose scrap taped over the end of the vacuum hose. The suction of the hose picks up all those precious tiny findings that have been lost over time. The scrap of nylon panty hose filters them and keeps them from going into the vacuum. You wind up with a handful of precious findings that were once lost.

This also works great for sucking up lost jewelry (and contact lenses) from bathroom sink drains. Just make sure you use a Wet-Dry Shop vacuum in case it sucks up water from the drain. Water is not good for regular vacuums with hose attachments.

It's amazing what you find when you periodically vacuum out each drain in the house.