Don't chuck the beads

Pokey came, Pokey saw and Pokey partied at the St. Pete Pride festival yesterday. And like the thousands of others who joined her out on Central Avenue, she went home laden with dozens of beads and other plastic tchotckes. Now what?!!

You don't want to add them to the landfill and can't recycle them, but they can be re-used. For some creative ideas, I consulted a couple of the gals from the Florida Etsy Street Team, a group of cool local crafters who make and sell everything from stained glass skulls to funky t-shirts.

• Connect them in long strands to make a 60s-style doorway bead curtain, said Coralette of The Crafty Hag.
• Jazz up a plain a plain wood birdhouse, flower pot or on a lamp shade for a kid's bedroom by gluing on a strand of beads.
• Use as garland for the Christmas tree. Just cut the necklace and glue ends together using a heavy-duty plastic or all purpose glue like E6000, said Shannon Shafer of Boogiebead.
• Hang them on a trellis or in garden to make an eye-catching decoration.

Not the crafty sort? Consider donating your beads to an organization that will re-use them.

• Check with the theater department at your local high school.
• The Depot for Creative Reuse can find a home for just about anything. Don't pass up the chance to experience the packrat's paradise if you ever find yourself in Oakland, Calif.
• New Orleans, home to the bead-filled frenzy known as Mardi Gras has also found a way to re-use their beads. The American Red Cross of Greater New Orleans has been employing mentally-handicapped people to sort and repackage used beads for close to 20 years, said Vance Levesque, controller of the organization. Last year, said Levesque, over 30 tons of beads from the ARC were sold and then thrown back into Mardi Gras festivities around the country. Donations can be sent to 925 S. Labarre Rd. Metarie, LA 70001.
• And of course, there's always Freecycle.

Then again, you could just keep on wearing your beads. Ms. Pokey will no longer leave the house without two around her neck. Got more ideas? Please share.

--Catriona Stuart, Times staff writer