Dollar Bead Box Subscription Review – February 2017

Dollar Bead Box is a monthly delivery of beads and beading products. During a given month, reorder your favorite items from the Dollar Bead Box shop for just $1. (This deal is only available to subscribers.)

My helper. Who was grabbing strands of beads in his teeth and trying to run off with them.

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

This review is of the $19.50 a month, Dollar Bead Box. 

The Subscription Box: Dollar Bead Box

The Cost: $19.50 + $4.50 shipping for the Dollar Bead Box or $8 for the Dollar Bead Bag (4 strands of 3 mm Czech Fire Polish Beads and 4 strands of 4 mm Czech Fire Polish Beads in every bag); free shipping with 3- and 6-month subscriptions (plus get an additional discount on 6-month subscriptions)

The Products: Beads and beading-related items including but not limited to stringing materials, Swarovski crystals, vintage glass, freshwater pearls, buttons, and more.

Ships to: U.S.

Check out all of our Dollar Bead Box reviews and the Craft Subscription Box Directory! 

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

In January, Dollar Bead Box sent an email to subscribers indicating they were planning a re-vamp for February, but that ended up not working out just yet, according to the letter that came with the box this month.

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!

6 x 11 mm Chinese Crystal Briolette in Peach (2)

6 x 11 mm Chinese Crystal Briolette in Medium Topaz (2)

Whenever I get pairs of beads, I think earrings. I used these in some earrings, which you will see below. Note: it is not easy to put jump rings through these. I am still looking for a good way to attach drop beads to chains without breaking glass…

Czech Glass Hand-Pressed Flower (2)

These are pretty big.  I don’t yet have an idea of what to do with them, but they’re in the back of my mind and I am sure I will come up with something soon.

15 x 21 mm Antique Brass Stamped Butterfly (2)

I used these in some earrings as well. I was so excited, I got to use rivets and copper blanks for this project (see below). Turns out I am not so good at using rivets but I will learn…

3 mm Czech Firepolished Glass Beads in Crystal (50)

4 mm Czech Firepolished Glass Beads in Alexandrite (50)

You’ll usually get a few strands of basic beads in Dollar Bead Box. I am spending a lot of time on Pinterest and doing Google image searches of jewelry with firepolished beads to come up with new ideas of things to make. It is fun to reverse engineer beaded jewelry. And these are two good colors that will go with a lot of other beads in my collection.

8 mm Mixed Semi-Precious Rounds (10)

I’ve been really into making wrap bracelets lately and semi-precious stones are great for those. That’s probably how I’ll use these.

11 x 13 mm Czech Glass Flowers (4)

These seem perfect for earrings, either in the same pair or two different pairs in different colors. (I have six piercings in each ear so I can wear two or three pairs of dangle earrings at the same time if I want.)

10 x 12 mm Multi-Colored Leaf (10)

I really like the shape and texture of these but I’m not sure how I’ll use them yet. I think they would look good with copper, though.

10 x 40 mm Antique Silver Key (2)

I am collecting quite a lot of key-shaped charms. I think they would be fun on a bracelet all together once I get a few more.

6 mm Czech Glass Bicone in Turquoise with Travertine (40)

I used these in a bracelet. It didn’t turn out quite like what I had intended, but actually better than my original idea for once. It helped that I had some seed beads in a matching color and finish in my stash. I’ve been obsessed with this finish lately (sometimes you see it called “Picasso,” “tortoise,” or “marbled”).

6 mm Czech Glass Lentils in Light Sapphire AB (50)

I made a bracelet out of two-hole lentils once that I really liked but I haven’t done much with one-hole lentils (which these are) before. I am going to Google some possibilities, though. This is a great color.

3 x 5 mm Pinch Beads in Opaque Red (40)

I was just looking through my jewelry collection the other day and thinking I needed more red jewelry. So these will be used sooner rather than later. Probably in something with right-angle weave.

6 x 4 mm Chinese Crystal Rondelle in Topaz AB (50)

These are a nice, basic bead. I ended up using every last one of them in a bracelet (see below).

9 x 10 mm Triple Cut Turban Bead in Aqua Opal with Rose Luster (2)

I have something in mind for all the pairs of blue glass (mostly lampworked, but some others like these) beads I’ve been getting in subscription boxes. Just need to collect a few more and I can get started with it.

9 mm Antique Brass Bead Cap (6)

Bead caps are always appreciated. There aren’t too many of these but there are probably enough for a simple bracelet, a pair of earrings, or I could always order a few more from the Dollar Bead Box shop. One of the challenges I give myself with this box (most of the time) is to try to come up with things I can make without ordering more from the shop. Just to see if I can. But if there is something you really like, you can always get more to complete a project. (The $1 price tag on shop items is an especially good deal for some of the Czech glass shapes they offer.)

Here is a bracelet I made. I really like how this turned out. These are the seed beads I used.

And here are some earrings I made. My husband called them “different.” I had fun, though. I got to use two different punches to make holes in the copper blanks, plus rivets, plus 2-part epoxy and some vintage Swarovski flatbacks, some Tierracast earring findings (hypoallergenic, forget if they’re titanium or niobium), some copper chain and jump rings I had on hand, and of course the briolettes and stamped butterflies from this box. I am trying to get more into cold connections and mixed metals and these were not so bad for an early attempt.

Verdict: I did not calculate a value for the February 2017 Dollar Bead Box, for reasons explained above. There were 16 items so if you divide the cost of the box by the number of items, it is about $1.22 per item, which is not so bad. The strands of beads, especially, are going to go for a lot more than that from your average bead supplier. This is a good stash-building subscription and I also enjoy challenging myself each month to create something using at least 2 or 3 of the items from the box, which can be interesting since the contents often seem a little random.

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 February 2017 Dollar Bead Box? Do you subscribe to any beading or craft boxes?