An eclectic blog about beads, beading and beyond


Monday, March 5, 2012

Sample Cards and beading organised - a free DIY tool to try

Organising beads seems an inevitable part of my life as a beader and ideas to ‘bead organised’ persistently pop into my mind. The latest idea to arrive was to create my own sample cards so that I could keep track of my stash. I felt more than a little daunted by this ‘popping by’ idea until I found a couple of beading sites that help you do just that. You can download templates to print on stock card that you can then add samples from your stash to.


I’m curious to know if anyone out there has done this and if, and how, it has worked for you.

I also found some organising software designed just for beaders:


Has anyone out there used it?

As always, one thing led to another and I found myself also checking out the sample cards you can access online and/or purchase. I thought I’d share where that little diversion led me as a way of making sure I don’t loose the information too:

Sample cards for purchase: (just put sample cards into the online store's search facility)

  • Bobby Bead - TOHO sample cards 
  • About Beads - Delica sample cards
  • Bead Cats - Sample cards for all their stock
  • Fire Mountain Gems - Sample Cards for Delica and some other manufacturers
  • GardenofBeadin – Sample cards including Czech beads 
  • Caravan beads - Myuki beads including Delica beads
  • RingsnThings - Swarovski Crystals

Manufacturer’s sites – online cards

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2 comments:

Lynn said...

Wow, thanks for the link to my software, BeadEnCounter!

It does do sample cards, for the beads you actually own. I built the software so the cards print on regular paper and you can fold them up and tape the sides to protect the backside after you sew on the beads.

Also, when you purchase new beads, you can print *just* the new beads onto cards, rather than having to re-bead everything.

I'll confess I don't actually use them. Once I get the beads entered in the software and labeled, I just want to bead! ;) But I do always carry and refer to what I call my "takewith" lists, for all my seed beads, so I don't keep buying the same color and size over and over. I suppose the sample cards would serve the same purpose even better.

So thanks for the mention. I hope you'll try out the free demo! Feedback is always welcome at the forum, linked from the BeadEnCounter website.

April 3, 2012 at 3:53 PM
Glenda of Dax Designs said...

Lynn always happy to share ideas for beaders that help them enjoy their craft and art more. Hope the mention works well for you. Glenda

April 3, 2012 at 7:42 PM

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