Adornable Elements Beads of the Month Club Review – December 2017

Adornable Elements Beads of the Month Clubs are the original beading subscription boxes (they’ve been around since 2000). 

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

This is a review of the Single Superduos of the Month Club, which is $22.95/month for 12.5 grams of each of 8 different Superduo colors. (Superduos are the most popular 2-hole beads and you will see what they look like below, if you are unfamiliar.)

About Adornable Elements Beads of the Month Club

The Subscription Box: Adornable Elements Beads of the Month Club

The Cost: This subscription (Single Superduos Beads of the Month) is $22.95/month + $4.50 US shipping

The Products: 8 packages of color-coordinated beads; choose from “Hot and Trendy” beads, “2-Hole Beads,” “Superduos,” “11/0 Delicas,” “11/0 Seed Beads,” “Swarovski crystals,” or a rotating club where you get a different selection each month. This is a review of the Superduos version of the subscription, which includes 8 tubes of 2-hole Superduo beads. Each color coordinated collection comes in 12.5 grams per tube for the Single Collection. 

Good to know: I actually subscribe to several of these clubs and they all come in the same package. I’m going to do a rotation with these reviews so you’ll see something a little different each month.

Ships to: US, cost varies depending on the number of clubs subscribed to (shipping is $4.50 for one club; refer to their FAQ for shipping costs for additional clubs)

The package came with a list of the beads included as well as retail values. Note: I am using the retail values from this list. They seem reasonable to me, plus it is pretty much impossible to find each color from the same online shop, let alone the same exact package size, so things like quantity discounts are not going to apply here (plus Fire Mountain Gems doesn’t sell Superduos, anyway). This month’s theme is “Sandstone.”

This month’s shipment had some extra papers in it.  One of the additions was this letter, explaining everything else.

There was also a survey that asked for some feedback on one of the extras in this month’s box as well as subscriber preferences for new clubs.

And this month, there were patterns! I got three patterns because I have three club subscriptions (or at least, that is my assumption). These are not exclusive patterns yet, though they are hoping to do that someday. Even so, I think it is useful to include them for people who may like to bead but not have time to come up with ideas. These rely on some of the beads in the subscription, but you may have to supply a few other beads (i.e., the pattern I used required size 11/0 seed beads) of your own.  You’ll also need needles, findings, and thread.

(Patterns are not shown in their entireties due to intellectual property issues.)

You’ll also get one of these plastic cases every few months.  The little containers for the beads fit in them, or you can repurpose them for other storage needs.

Superduo Duets in Black/White Travertine Dark, 10 g. - Listed Value $3.00

If you wanted, you could use these in the Superduo pattern this month, since it called for duets. I hung onto them for future use. Travertine (sometimes called “Picasso” or “marbled”) finish is one of my favorites, and I have been collecting a ton of beads with this sort of look to them lately.

Superduos in Chalk Rembrandt, 12.5 g. – Listed Value $3.50

These also have a mottled appearance that I like a lot. I did use some of these in a bracelet (see pictures below). These were easy to work with and I didn’t run into any blocked holes.

Superduos in Jet Bronze Matte, 12.5 g. - Listed Value $3.75

This is a good, basic color to have around. Matte beads like this tend to work well when you want to emphasize a small number of shiny beads. I think these would look particularly good with brass findings.

Superduos in Jet California Gold Rush, 10 g. - Listed Value $3.50

This is a color combination I have a lot of in my stash, so these will come in handy. (I also have a lot of both the coppery and golden colors, individually.) Note that you get slightly smaller amounts of some of the beads (e.g., 10 g instead of 12.5 g) if they are more expensive.

Superduos in Jet Full Capri Gold, 12.5 g. - Listed Value $4.50

This is another color that will go great with my collection of findings, many of which are copper in color. I also have a lot of other shaped beads and seed beads in similar tones.

Superduos in Jet Travertine Dark, 12.5 g. - Listed Value $3.25

More travertine! You could use these with the first duets shown above if you wanted. I used some of these in my bracelet this month. I wouldn’t normally pair browns and blacks together, but I think it came out looking pretty good, actually.

Superduos Duets in Navy/Ivory Bronze Luster, 10 g. - Listed Value $4.25

More duets!  These are pretty dark in color. I think they would look good with the jet bronze matte beads from up above, but I also have been hoarding navy colored beads lately because I am kind of fascinated with that color after receiving some navy/ivory duets in a past Adornable Elements Beads of the Month shipment.

Superduos in Tweedy Light Copper, 12.5 g. - Listed Value $3.00

I think these might be my first “tweedy” finish beads. These have elements of a coppery brown, black, and white. The tweedy finish can lead to a few blocked holes, as I found, but that’s not knocking the quality of the beads at all. It is to be expected with many of the shaped and 2-hole beads that there may be a few with issues. I found over 95% of these to be usable, though. I used these in my bracelet this month, as well.

Here are some photos of a bracelet I made using a couple of colors of beads from this month’s shipment. Since I get the single club, I didn’t think there were enough beads for a full necklace, so instead, I just used the pattern provided to make a couple of short segments of Superduo rope, and then I connected it to a carved bone bead I had in my stash and added a coordinating clasp. I didn’t attempt the ombre appearance using any of the duets, but I still like the spiraling pattern you end up with.

The Verdict: I calculated a value for the December 2017 Superduos of the Month club of $28.75. That is actually a little bit higher than the cost of the subscription plus shipping. You can get a somewhat better deal by subscribing to multiple clubs and/or the double clubs since a double club counts the same as a single when it comes to shipping. I also like getting patterns, I think that is a nice development and a bit of added value. (If nothing else, I don’t have a color printer, so even if I could find them elsewhere online, it is nice having them on paper to work from!)

I had to change my billing information this month. I called, but for example if your credit card is expiring or if it gets stolen or something and you get a new number, they told me it is also possible to just resubscribe online with the new card if you don’t want to call and they will make sure there aren’t any duplicate charges or shipments. (You can always change clubs or add new clubs by emailing them, too.)

To Wrap Up:

Can I still get this box if I sign up today? Most boxes are shipped out by the 20th of the month, so most likely not. Sign up now to get the next upcoming box!

Value Breakdown: This box has a value of $28.75 and cost $27.45 after shipping. That means that proportionally, I paid about the following for each product:

• Black/White Travertine Dark Beads - $2.86
• Chalk Rembrandt Beads - $3.34
• Jet Bronze Matte Beads - $3.58
• Jet California Gold Rush Beads - $3.34
• Jet Full Capri Gold Beads - $4.30
• Jet Travertine Dark Beads - $3.10
• Navy/Ivory Bronze Luster Beads - $4.06
• Tweedy Light Copper Beads - $2.86

Check out all of our Adornable Element Beads of the Month Reviews and more great beading, craft supply, and DIY project boxes in the Craft Subscription Box Directory!

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

What did you think of the December 2017 Superduos of the Month club?  Do you subscribe to any beading or craft boxes?