Blueberry Cove Beads Subscription Box Review – October 2017

Blueberry Cove Beads is a beading subscription from Canada. Every month they ship beads and supplies and post a challenge incorporating one or more items from the box. If you choose to enter the challenge, you can share photos of your project and may win your next month’s box free!

My Subscription Addiction pays for this subscription. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)

The Subscription Box: Blueberry Cove Beads

The Cost: $22 per month plus $3.50 shipping to Canada, $5 shipping to the US, or $8.50 shipping internationally

The Products: A curated selection of beads and findings centered on a theme.

Ships to: U.S. and Canada

Good to know: You will receive this towards the end of the month or the beginning of the next month if you live in the U.S. since it is shipping from Canada. (Blueberry Cove Beads did recently start using a new shipping service so now you can track your packages, though!)

Check out all of our Blueberry Cove Bead reviews and the Craft Subscription Box Directory for more great craft supply and DIY project boxes!

Keep Track of Your Subscriptions: Add this box to your subscription list or wishlist!

There isn’t a traditional information card with this box. This month’s theme was “Dia de los Muertos.”

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. Even different colors of the same size and shape of glass beads are priced differently due to materials needed to make the colors! So I have opted not to provide prices in this review.

Please note that no directions are given and you have to supply your own needles, stringing materials, tools, and findings. Also, note that you will receive this towards the end of the month or the beginning of the next month if you live in the US since it is shipping from Canada. (Blueberry Cove Beads did recently start using a new shipping service so now you can track your packages, though!)

Coated Black Beads

I am not sure what these are made of. They appear to have been dipped in some kind of paint because the strand holding them has black on it too, plus some of them are stuck together. They look nice enough as accent beads although the material is not my favorite – glass would definitely be preferable.

Gunmetal Plated Dangles

These would work in earrings or to go from a single strand to a multistrand necklace. I have almost no other gunmetal findings in my collection but I am seeing this color more and more lately so perhaps it is time I acquire some? I do think these would look all right with my natural titanium earring hooks.

Plastic Flowers

I don’t know what kind of plastic these are but they are very lightweight (and also very colorful). These would be great in some bold earrings due to the weight, but I kind of want to use them in a necklace. It is getting cold where I live and I think a flowery necklace would put me in mind of warmer weather.

Glass Flowers

These are some of my favorite beads this month. I love the color and I don’t have anything else in this style. I used a few of these in a necklace (see below).

Silvertone Heart Charms

These actually matched one of the other items in finish and I thought of a way to use them in a necklace together. It is a little different from what I usually make but I think it turned out nicely (and it gave me some ideas for the future, too!).

Purple Ceramic (?) Melons

Sorry if I am guessing on most of the materials here, but the information card doesn’t say what the items are. Apparently, this information is posted in a Facebook group sometime later? I don’t have a Facebook account so I can’t access Facebook groups and really wish the information was included with the shipment. Anyway, these are some melon-shaped rounds that would go great in a simple bracelet with some crow beads (crow beads are like really big seed beads, size 1/0 or thereabouts) in between.

Coated Orange Beads

These are more beads that have been dipped in paint or something. Again, many were stuck together (some even stuck to the strand holding them). They look all right from far away, and they are lightweight (so good for right angle weave or other stitches that use a lot of beads) but again, not my favorite material. The color coordinates nicely with the other beads in the box.

Painted Shell Rounds

These are cool. They are definitely light enough for some statement earrings, or they would also work as pendants. I am all about flowers and bright colors right now and I have bought a lot of shell in the last few months that will coordinate with these.

Silvertone Skull Charms

These are a bit large for a charm bracelet, but they work as pendants (I tend to prefer small pendants). I used one in a necklace but I may make some more necklaces to layer with it since I have a few of these left. I like that they match the heart charms in terms of color and finish.

Strand of Skull Beads

This is probably my favorite thing in the box. I can’t explain why as this is not something I would normally go for. But I think they are kind of fun and I used a bunch of them in a bracelet (see below).

Coated Teal Beads

These are the largest of the paint-dipped beads this month. It’s a great color and it coordinates with a lot of other items in the box. These seemed to stick together less than some of the other dipped beads (or maybe they were easier to get apart because they’re larger).

Imitation Turquoise Teardrops

These look too nice to be real turquoise (which is super expensive if you find a large piece in good condition) but I am just as happy with faux turquoise. I think I might make a right angle weave collar with these hanging down in the center.

I went for an asymmetrical necklace this time with the heart charms, one of the silver skulls, and some of the glass flower beads. I actually like the way this looks in real life more than in the photos.

And here is a bracelet I made with some of the other skull beads. (It looked better on my wrist than the bracelet display.)

Verdict: I did not calculate a value here because it is hard to find similar items when you don’t know the precise materials the beads are made from (I do wish there was more information on the card that comes with the box, in case I find something I’d like to order more of). There were 12 items so you are paying about $2.25 an item once you factor in the cost of shipping. I was a little disappointed to get three sets of the beads that were dipped in paint, as that is somewhat lower quality than I prefer to work with, but I liked the painted shell rounds and orange flowers and small skulls a lot, and it was fun getting outside my comfort zone with the pieces I made this month.

What did you think of the October 2017 Blueberry Cove Beads? Do you subscribe to any beading or craft boxes?