Bargain Bead Box is a monthly subscription promising over $40 worth of quality jewelry-making supplies every month.
My Subscription Addiction pays for this subscription. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)
The Subscription Box: Bargain Bead Box
The Cost: $15.95 a month
The Products: Designer quality beads in materials ranging from crystal to glass to semi-precious gemstones, plus metal beads and findings. Bargain Bead Box does not send any plastic beads or seed beads.
Ships to: US (free), Canada for $7.50
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There was a letter in the box with some more information on the theme (“autumn harvest”). The back contained a list of the month’s beads.
The beads were sorted into groups in these little paper envelopes. Of course, I immediately mixed everything together for one of the photos above. But, I am pretty good at identifying items like these so no worries!
A note on prices: Items like this can come from a variety of different suppliers at many price points depending on how many you buy, etc. I couldn’t find a lot of these exact beads from common sources (e.g., Fire Mountain Gems) and it’s of questionable value to pick something similar because a slight difference in grading or size or material and you are looking at half or double the price (or an even greater difference). Even different colors of the same size and shape of glass beads are priced differently due to materials needed to make the colors!
40 Pieces 6 mm Leaf Bead Caps
You’ll pretty much always get some bead caps in Bargain Bead Box. I hadn’t worked with bead caps much before, but I am a huge fan of them now. I used some of these in the necklace I made with items from this box.
40 Pieces 5.5 x 4.5 mm Swirled Spacer Beads
These are good, basic beads to have on hand. They look nice with the bead caps and they match my antique bronze/brass findings pretty well, too.
20 Pieces 10 mm Ornate Leaf Bead Caps
More bead caps! These were nice because they could be used with some of the larger beads from this box (see necklace photo below).
5 Feet 3 mm Steel Rolo Jewelry Chain
I am holding on to this. I made a necklace with items from this box after spending a very long time working on a chain piece, so I didn’t want to see any chain at that time. But I will get over it, and this will be waiting when I do!
6 Sets 18 x 21 Classic Toggle Clasps
These are so basic, and yet, I used them in multiple pieces made with beads from multiple bead subscription boxes this month. I don’t actually have too many left!
6 Pieces 22 x 20 mm Floral Chandelier Findings
I have some earring ideas for these, but I also think they could be made to work in a necklace if you want to increase from 2 strands to more (and then back down again on the other side).
3 Pieces 48 mm Leaf Cutout Pendants
These aren’t *quite* as big as they look in the photo. 48 mm is just shy of two inches. You will usually get some larger centerpieces with this subscription and these were what came for October. I like them. I can’t decide whether to go simple or complex, but since there are three, I can try a few different things.
12 Pieces 17 x 13 mm Leaf Beads
I am growing a rather large collection of leaf beads and charms. I really like them, though, so that’s just fine.
2 Pieces 29 mm Feather Charms
Feathers fit right in with the owls (see below) and leaves! And I like that the metal finish matches on everything, too.
6 Pieces 19 mm Owl Charms
These are adorable. I had to order something in order to complete the project I had in mind for these, so I haven’t used them yet. But soon…
6 Pieces 34 x 15 mm Leaf Vine Link Components
These will be great to link together with chain, and there is also room to dangle a few beads or charms from them.
5 Pieces Handmade Lampwork Glass Pumpkin Charms
These are so cute. And perfect for this time of year.
2 Pieces 10 mm Light Peach Rhinestone Beads
These are super sparkly. I will get around to making some earrings with them one day.
35 Pieces 8 x 6 mm Chinese Crystal Rondelle Beads, Metallic Evergreen
These are super pretty. I used some of them in the necklace I made this month, but I have a few left over, so I get to use them again!
45 Pieces 6 x 4 mm Chinese Crystal Rondelle Beads, Opaque Bisque
These are a good, neutral color for those times when I don’t want to use clear beads. And I don’t have anything quite like them in my stash.
15” Strand 8 mm Jade Green Serpentine Round Beads
I almost never buy semiprecious beads because of the expense. So I won’t turn them down in a subscription box! These are a nice shade that goes well with the other fall colors from this box.
15.5” Strand 6 mm Cat’s Eye Glass Beads, Salmon
I think cat’s eye glass is another type of bead I don’t often buy, but I liked working with these quite a bit (see below).
18 Pieces 10 mm Red Quartz Round Beads (Dyed)
These went well with the larger bead caps from up above. The bronze color looked quite nice against the red (see below).
10 Pieces 10 mm Lampwork Glass Round Beads with Glow-in-the-Dark Specks
These were a little different. See a close-up photo below. I have to figure out how best to use these but I know I will come up with something.
Here is a closer view of one of the yellow rounds so you can see some of the detail. Apparently these glow in the dark but I didn’t realize that until much later (yeah, I tear open the bead packages before reading the information sheet)…
I decided to keep things simple this month and make a single-stranded necklace. (I had just spent two hours making an elaborate chain thing for Dollar Bead Box, which may have influenced my decision.) I think this will go nicely with a solid-colored sweater or top in a warm color.
Verdict: I did not calculate a value for Bargain Bead Box, as explained above. The letter that came with the package says the retail value is $55, which is more than three times the cost of the subscription. I just really feel like there was a TON of stuff this month and it all color-coordinated really well, too (in colors I like a lot), so I’m happy.
Please note that no directions are given and you have to supply your own needles, stringing materials, tools, etc.
What did you think of the October 2016 Bargain Bead Box? Do you subscribe to any beading or craft boxes?
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