BeadCrate is a monthly subscription box for beading enthusiasts. Choose from “The Hobbyist” for $7.99 a month, “The Enthusiast” for $15.99 a month, or “The Collector” for $35 a month. You can also buy a single box to see if this subscription is for you.
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This review is of The Enthusiast, $15.99 a month, box.
The Subscription Box: BeadCrate
The Cost: “The Hobbyist” for $7.99 a month, “The Enthusiast” for $15.99 a month or "The Collector" for $35 a month. Save with longer subscriptions.
The Products: A selection of beads curated around a monthly theme (or beads that are just cool and random).
Ships to: US (free for “The Collector,” $5 for “The Enthusiast,” and $4 for “The Hobbyist”)
Check out all my BeadCrate reviews and the Craft Subscription Box Directory for more great beading, craft supply, and DIY project boxes.
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This letter/information sheet accompanied the shipment. The theme this month was “Feast” and the beads were mostly in earth tones.
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!
12 mm Amethyst Firepolish Faceted Rounds (Czech glass, 4 beads)
Sometimes I have trouble figuring out what to do with small numbers of beads, but I came up with an idea this time (see below). I like the variation in size these provided.
4 mm Carnelian Rounds (10 beads)
I rarely work with semi-precious stones because they are expensive, but I am always happy to get some in a box. I like the fall colors here.
5 x 7 mm Garnet Cubes (Czech glass, 50 beads)
These are very dark garnet glass. I think they’re lovely.
9 mm Topaz Flat Squares (Czech glass, 25 beads)
I have this obsession with flat squares and rounds so of course, I was happy to see these.
5 mm Olivine Firepolish Faceted Rounds (Czech glass, 50 beads)
These are a nice basic bead in a color that goes well with the overall theme of the box.
Artistic Wire 24 Gauge Copper Wire (Assorted Colors, 5 yards)
I know this says “copper” and it is. Artistic Wire is coated copper; this spool just happens to be coated with a silver color. I know this because I just bought about 40 spools of artistic wire in different gauges and colors. You will usually get one supply of this sort in a typical Bead Crate.
6 mm Firepolish Garnet Faceted Rounds (Czech glass, 25 beads)
These go nicely with the same-colored cubes pictured up above.
8 mm Olivine Rounds (Czech glass, 25 beads)
These just called out for me to use them with bead caps so I did (see below).
5 x 17 mm Brass Floral Filigree w/Two Loops (12 pieces)
I am super low on findings in this color right now so I didn’t use them in this piece, but I like how dainty they are and I do have some stuff on order that I can use them with.
4 mm Amber Druks (Czech glass, 100 beads)
These are good accent beads and go nicely with all the other colors this month. I used a few in the bracelet I made.
Toho 11/0 Transparent Amethyst Seed Beads (5.5” tube, Japanese glass, 18 grams)
You will generally get one tube of seed beads in BeadCrate. I hesitate to use seed beads in my projects for you because it takes so much time to finish seed bead projects. But I do like working with seed beads and 10/0 and 11/0 are my two favorite sizes, so these are going into my stash.
14 x 11 Fleur de Lis Brass Filigree with 4 Loops (12 pieces)
These go well with the links up above. I’m coming up with a design in my head for these as I write this, too.
Here is a bracelet I made with some of the beads from the box as well as some copper stuff from my own stash.
Verdict: I did not calculate a value for BeadCrate, as explained above in my note about prices. If you divide the cost of the box plus shipping by the number of items, you get $1.75 an item, which seems reasonable to me. The information sheet gives a total retail value of $30.72 for the shipment, which is about $10 over the cost of the box plus shipping. One thing I particularly liked this month was how well the colors went together, so I am able to make additional coordinating pieces in the future. They are just nice, warm fall colors (plus they go with copper, which I have been hoarding lately). Anyway, this was a pretty good month for me from BeadCrate.
Please note that no directions are given and you have to supply your own needles, stringing materials, tools, and findings.
What did you think of the November 2016 BeadCrate? Do you subscribe to any beading or craft boxes?
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