Spent much too long sorting beads yesterday. I bought two assortment packs to cover the colors I needed to make a twisted gold wire crown I'll be needing for Amaranth. Lesson to remember -- sorted beads are worth much more than mixed beads. Next time -- if ever -- I do something like this, add two hours of my labor to the cost of each assortment and see if they are still a better value than buying individual bead packs.
Still, I also finished the crown. Total cost, under $20. Not counting labor.
Sorting beads reminded me of playing No Mess. Sometimes the easiest way to get the items you want together is to remove the ones you don't want. Also gained sudden insight into the use of a Mancala board -- a long stick with indentations would work very well for sorting grain sized beads.
Now I have a lot of remaining beads. Nothing comes to mind to do with them. Maybe later.