New beading tool from Elizabeth Turner

Love to bead, but hate having to wrangle with the slippery little escape artists?  I know I vacuum loads of beads and sequins from my sprawling workspace (I get the 1/2 of the couch that our dog Morgan doesn't claim).

ET has a new Needle Buddy--a small box with a (just right) tacky surface inside.  The box attaches to your canvas with a magnet, so it your beads are right where you need them.  I slipped one in my purse to use tonight--can't wait!

Non-Tacky Solutions for Holding Beads

Alice Borge gave this tip for holding your beads while you stitch with them. Start with a 20% off coupon from Bed, Bath & Beyond. Buy their hotel blanket and cut it into a rectangular shape. Pour your beads onto one side and bead away. When you are ready to take a break, just roll up the rectangle like a jewelry roll and tie with a ribbon or thread. No sticky beads!

To make Tacky Bob Just Plain Bob, cover one side of the inside with paper. If you want to make it special, choose a scrapbook paper to coordinate with the exterior design. I don’t know if the hotel blanket material will work because I haven’t seen/bought it yet, but take a fabric that will hold beads (not felt) and cut it to fit the other side of Tacky Bob. The sticky side will hold the fabric and the fabric will hold the beads.

Bead-utiful! (sorry, youngest daughter has begun family punning competitions...)