Thursday, May 6, 2010

I used to keep all my cabs in a candy bowl.  Everytime I got a new one, I'd drop it in.  Then when I wanted to design a new piece of jewelry, I'd start rummaging through the bowl to find what I wanted.

This was OK for a while, but when my collection grew, I started forgetting about what I had.  And sometimes cabs would be missing because it was so easy to leave them lying about all over the house. 

When I  showed my cabs to someone,  I'd just spill out the contents of the bowl on a table and we'd sift through all the pretty stones.  Fun, yes, but not very efficient or professional.

What to do with them?!

I thought of organizing my cabs in those acrylic organizer boxes that are used for beads or embroidery thread.  But that would just mean that the cabs would still be strewn in little containers - just more of them!  Then a friend of mine suggested using a scrapbook.  Why didn't I think of that!

I found a couple of scrapbooks for $1.99 on a clearance rack.  These look like photo albums but have clear plastic sleeves that you can slip things into. 

And I found the best time to do a little organizing.  Our family was planning a long car trip, so I brought along my cabs and the scrapbooks for the ride.  Rather than sitting around bored or looking at scenery, I spent several hours happily organizing the cabs into the books and labeling them:


The cabs are roughly organized by color or type of stone and each has been labeled with the type of stone, where it was purchased, and how much I paid for it.  I secured them with double-sided foam tape which holds the cabs firmly, but allows me to easily pull them off when I need to.  Plus they're protected in the plastic sleeves. These scrapbooks are expandable which is helpful, as the cabs are bulky and they're easy to page through.

And, happily for me,  I still have plenty of room to expand.




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11 Comments:

  1. Marion B. said...
    I like your storage idea, I especially like the space to make notes, except I don't have much to store yet. Only 2 cabochons! But I'll keep it in mind though :-)
    Anonymous said...
    A nifty idea - certainly makes it easier to view the differences to make a choice.
    littlecherryhill said...
    What a fab idea!
    Virginia said...
    Awesome storage idea! Now when I convince my husband to contact you to make a custom ring for me (my birthday is in December), It will be easyfor you to help him choose a stone of the right size. ;)
    KayzKreationz said...
    What a great way to organize your cabs. And isn't it fun to do something like that on a car trip. You have fun, but feel like you're doing something useful also. Love your idea.

    http://KayzKreationz.blogspot.com
    http://KayzKreationz.etsy.com
    Contrariwise said...
    Virginia,

    I like the way you think.

    ;-)

    Hopefully he'd be able to "guess" what kind of stones you like and the style of ring you'd like.
    Contrariwise said...
    KayzKreations,

    I get carsick if I read, so I usually can't do anything other than listen to the radio and look out the window. This was a fun way of passing the time AND doing something useful.
    Som's Studio said...
    This is a fantastic idea for storing cabs. Thanks for sharing.
    Anonymous said...
    What a cool way to keep your cabs. Although, the looks of that book, you are going to need another one soon :)

    There is nothing worse than having an element you need for a design and not being able to find it! This totally solves that problem for you :)
    DVArtist said...
    I am with everyone else here. I love this storage idea. I will need 30 or 40 photo albumns. LOL
    Nicole/Beadwright
    Andrew Thornton said...
    What a clever and smart idea! I also love the magical look of it! Beautiful and functional!

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