Bargain Bead Box is a monthly subscription promising over $40 worth of quality jewelry-making supplies every month.
My Subscription Addiction paid for this box. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)
About Bargain Bead Box
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: U.S. (free), Canada for $7.50
Bargain Bead Box December 2017 "Artic Rose" Review
Bargain Bead Box always includes a few clasps and other findings in matching metal tones; this month they were in a rose gold finish, hence the theme name! Here’s more about the specific items in the box this month:
There was a letter in the box with some more information on the theme “Arctic Rose”. The back contained a list of the month’s beads.
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!
30 Pieces 10mm Round Full AB Glass Beads
There were lots of neutral colors this month (whites and grays, mostly) in a variety of different sizes and finishes. I am not quite sure how I feel about the combination of gray with rose gold, but I’ve been trying to work with some bigger beads lately so these will certainly be useful in some capacity. I like that they sparkle a little without having facets.
30 Pieces 8mm Rose Gold Finished Bead Caps
Bead caps pretty much always come in this subscription but I don’t mind because it’s given me a chance to build up my stash. They are such an easy way to change the look of a bead or to create a fancy drop. I used a few of these in a necklace (see below).
100+ Pieces 4mm Chinese Crystal Bicone Beads in Amethyst
It wouldn’t be a Bargain Bead Box without some Chinese crystal. There’s not as much as last month, but what’s here is super useful. There are so many patterns out there to try that call for 4mm bicones and while Swarovski is top quality, Chinese crystal is way more affordable and still manages to look pretty good.
1 m Steel Jewelry Chain
It doesn’t take much to get me excited about something new in jewelry-making and this box pretty much did it for me in terms of rose gold-finished findings. I’ve already used most of this chain (some in the necklace seen below) and I’ve been browsing the web to see if I can find more styles in this color.
2 Pieces Rose Gold Plated Stainless Steel Lobster Claw Clasps
You’ll always get clasps with this subscription. More often they are toggles, but I realize this is probably a difficult finish to find and I definitely appreciate getting matching clasps to go with the other rose gold items. I used one of these although it doesn’t appear in the picture below since it is around back.
12 Pieces 10 mm Puffed Coin Chinese Crystal Beads
I think the facets here really tie together the grays and purples from some of the other beads. Plus, this is a shape we don’t receive too often, and there are enough to make a decent bracelet with (along with some other spacer beads, of course).
2 Pieces 14 x 12 mm Cut Glass Crystal Snowflakes
There were a couple of options for snowflakes this month. I haven’t actually used any yet, but I’ve also received some snow-themed items from other bead subscriptions and I’m thinking of incorporating them all in the same piece for a mixed-media effect. These will be great there (plus I already bought a bunch of bails for hanging them).
30 Pieces 6 mm Chinese Crystal Cube Beads
Last year I went on a binge of buying cube-shaped beads, but I didn’t end up with any in this color. These will go nicely with some of the other cubes in my collection, though. I already have more ideas for them than I have time to make jewelry…
15.7” Strand 6” Permanently Dyed Lilac Jade Beads
I used a few of these in my necklace (see below). They really have more of a gray appearance than lilac, but at any rate, they color-coordinate nicely with other items from this month’s package.
100 Pieces 4 mm Rose Gold Finished Brass Spacer Beads
These were a nice addition to my collection. They do have a bit of weight to them since they are brass under a rose gold-tone plating. A few of them turn up in the necklace I made for this month, as well.
24 Pieces 8 x 6 mm Chinese Crystal Metallic Plated Rondelle Beads
I like the half-plated look of these. If you were unenthusiastic about using purple and gray with rose gold, you could still use these, as I think the color combination would work a bit better (in my opinion, at any rate). This is a shape I’ve been trying to collect more of.
2 Pieces 15 x 12 mm Rose Gold Pewter Floral Drop
These are floral but wouldn’t look out of place on either side of one of the larger snowflakes (see below for pictures of the larger snowflakes from this package). They are dainty enough for earrings or for a charm bracelet.
16” Strand 8 mm Freshwater Shell Beads
These are pretty basic white beads. I used a few because I feel like they will go with pretty much anything from this month’s box (and other colors from my stash as well). They looked pretty good in combination with the bead caps.
33 x 21 mm Rose Gold Pewter Snowflake Link
I like the look of the rhinestones with the rose gold finish here. I think this might make a nice bracelet centerpiece. I have some other rose gold-toned items on order so I will probably save this until those items arrive so I have a few more choices to work with.
19 x 15 mm Cubic Zirconia and Rose Gold Brass Snowflake
This is slightly smaller than the link above. You’ll usually get a pendant or two with this subscription. Often they’re quite large, so it is a nice change (for me, anyway) to be getting a smaller one.
36 Pieces 7 mm Rose Gold Pewter Snowflake Spacer Beads
These are fun spacers! They would be great for adding a little hint of color and/or warmth between larger rounds (like some of those that arrived in this month’s package).
This month, I thought I would try to make something similar to the Chan Luu necklace from the Popsugar Must Have x Neiman Marcus limited edition box. I didn’t have any rose gold headpins or jump rings (I’ve since ordered some) but bright copper was close enough (rose gold is up to 21% copper anyway). I will make some earrings to go with it once my peach anodized niobium wire comes in (I have metal allergies but niobium is no problem, I just didn’t have any in the right color).
Verdict: I did not calculate a value for Bargain Bead Box, as explained above. The information sheet gives a retail value of about $59 and I can believe that value if you were to go out looking for similar beads to purchase individually. Looking at it another way, you are paying a little over $1 per item (about $1.06) since the price is $15.95 and there were 15 items this month. And THAT is a pretty good deal. The colors definitely appealed to me this month, as did all the sparkling stuff, and I am now totally into the rose gold finish.
Please note that no directions are given and you have to supply your own needles, stringing materials, tools, etc.
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? No, you would receive the January 2018 box as your first one, although they do sometimes offer past boxes on their site, and individual items can sometimes be purchased from Bead Box Bargains.
Value Breakdown: At $15.95 for this subscription, you are paying $1.06 per item.
Check out all of our Bargain Bead Box reviews the Craft Subscription Box Directory for more great beading, craft supply, and DIY project boxes!
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What did you think of the December 2017 Bargain Bead Box? Do you subscribe to any beading or craft boxes?
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