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BeadCrate Subscription Box Review – February 2018

Ragan Buckley
ByRagan BuckleyFeb 28, 2018 | 8 comments

Bead Crate February 2018 Box closed

BeadCrate
5 overall rating
2 Ratings | 0 Reviews

BeadCrate is a monthly subscription box for beading enthusiasts. Choose from “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.

Bead Crate February 2018 pouch

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 Enthusiast, $15.99 a month, box. 

Bead Crate February 2018 review

About BeadCrate

The Subscription Box: BeadCrate

The Cost: “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: U.S. (free for “The Collector” and $5 for “The Enthusiast”)

BeadCrate February 2018 “Winter Blues” Review

BeadCrate is great for stash-building if you are into seed beads and Czech glass, and you’ll also usually get some useful supplies. This month had a new and interesting theme:

This letter/information sheet accompanied the shipment. The theme this month was “Winter Blues.”

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!

6mm Light Sapphire Rounds (Czech glass, 50)

I have some patterns that call for 6mm rounds, and it’s a size I don’t have much of (my collection is biased towards 4mm rounds), so these will definitely come in handy.

20 x 28 mm Quest Antique Gold Moon (USA pewter, 1)

20 x 28 mm Quest Antique Gold Moon (USA pewter, 1)

This would make a delicate pendant or you could also attach it to a clasp in the back of a necklace for a piece designed to be worn with the hair up. (It’s just a touch too large to be part of a charm bracelet, I’d say.)

14 mm Color Trends Satin-Metallic Blue Cushion Round (Czech glass, 4)

14 mm Color Trends Satin-Metallic Blue Cushion Round (Czech glass, 4)

I recently became obsessed with cushion rounds and bought a lot of them, though I didn’t have this color in my collection (yet). I am now on the hunt for patterns that use them. I did come up with something using these for this month’s project.

6 mm Light Sapphire Dime Beads (Czech glass, 25)

6 mm Light Sapphire Dime Beads (Czech glass, 25)

I love flat discs. Really couldn’t tell you why. But I was excited to see these. And they coordinate well with some of the other sapphire and light sapphire accent beads this month.

4 mm Caribbean Blue Druk Mix (Czech glass, 100)

4 mm Caribbean Blue Druk Mix (Czech glass, 100)

BeadCrate has been sending out a lot of these druk mixes in the past few months, but there are a lot of design possibilities for them, so I’m fine with that. Of course, many patterns call for 4 mm rounds, but you can also make wrap bracelets with them. (A druk is just a spherical Czech pressed glass bead.)

15 x 15 mm Crystal/Blue/White Heart Window Beads (Czech glass, 2)

15 x 15 mm Crystal/Blue/White Heart Window Beads (Czech glass, 2)

These are fun. You could make some quick earrings with them, or use them on either side of a central pendant in a necklace. Lots of possibilities here.

3mm Color Trends Saturated Metallic Navy Peony Firepolished Czech Glass

3mm Color Trends Saturated Metallic Navy Peony Firepolished Czech Glass

I don’t receive opaque firepolished beads too often so I was excited to see these. The matte metallic finish is really fun and I think these would look good with either silver or brass accent beads. I used a few of these in a bracelet this month.

10 x 8 mm Soft Blue AB Pinched Diamond (Czech glass, 25)

10 x 8 mm Soft Blue AB Pinched Diamond (Czech glass, 25)

This is a shape I definitely don’t have much of in my collection. These are just big enough that my inclination is to use them in a strung piece instead of a beadwoven piece. I think they would look good with some purples.

6 mm Sapphire Smooth Disk Rondelles (Czech glass, 25)

6 mm Sapphire Smooth Disk Rondelles (Czech glass, 25)

These are fun. Usually, when I receive rondelles, they are faceted, so getting these smooth ones is new and different. They color coordinate well with the light sapphire beads in this shipment, too.

Toho 8/0 Transparent AB Light Sapphire (Japanese glass, 16 g)

Toho 8/0 Transparent AB Light Sapphire (Japanese glass, 16 g)

You’ll usually get one or two bags of seed beads with this subscription.  8/0 and 11/0 are the most common sizes. I did actually use a few of these in my project, but they’re on the underside so you won’t see them in the photos. 8/0 seed beads are just the right side to put jump rings through.

Beadsmith Needle Threader with Cutter (2)

Beadsmith Needle Threader with Cutter (2)

I needed some new needle threaders. I tried to do something dumb with my last one (needle threaders do not defy the laws of physics, no matter how much brute force you put into your efforts…) and it broke. But now I have more! And they have little built-in cutting blades, too.

4 mm Aquamarine Faceted Rounds (Czech glass, 38)

4 mm Aquamarine Faceted Rounds (Czech glass, 38)

And, a final type of firepolished rounds. 4 mm firepolished beads show up in a lot of patterns. They’re a good size for use in earrings and bracelets, and this color is going to look great with copper accents. (I used a few of these in my bracelet this month, too.)

Here is a bracelet I made using the cushion rounds and some of the glass accent beads. The size 8/0 seed beads actually got used, too, but you can’t see them – they’re under the flower elements, providing jump ring attachment points. (This is modeled on this necklace but I had to figure out the flower motif on my own because I don’t have the pattern. Turned out pretty well!)

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 (I counted 12), you get about $1.75 per item. I thought the color coordination was wonderful this month and I appreciated getting a non-Valentine’s Day theme. I was particularly excited by the cushion rounds; I’ve been waiting for an excuse to do something with that type of bead. (The package insert gave a retail value of $27.64 and that seems reasonable to me.)

Please note that no directions are given and you have to supply your own needles, stringing materials, tools, and findings.

To Wrap Up:

Can you still get this box if you sign up today? No, your subscription would start with the March box. Destash items and excess inventory (and sometimes whole boxes) may occasionally be available in the BeadCrate Etsy shop.

Value Breakdown: At $20.99 for this subscription including shipping, you are paying about $1.75 per item.

Check out all my BeadCrate reviews and the Craft Subscription Box Directory for more great beading, craft supply, and DIY project boxes.

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

What did you think of the February BeadCrate? Do you subscribe to any beading or craft boxes?

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Ragan Buckley
Ragan Buckley
Ragan stumbled across My Subscription Addiction in late 2013 and immediately subscribed to way too many beauty boxes. She's now focused on boxes for her cats and dog, vegan/vegetarian food boxes, and craft subscriptions (and she didn't give up beauty boxes entirely).

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8 comments

Jessvii

Love the bracelet!! It’s so pretty.

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Michelle

Is the moon pleasuring the woman? Or am I just a gutter mind??

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Drminniecooper

Those beaded flowers are so pretty!

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Kim

Beautiful work on that bracelet. Love it!

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ks

Can that moon charm be bought on it’s own? It looks refreshingly naughty.

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Jessicups

Super naughty! haha

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justmissjamey

Hahaha that’s what I want to know as well!!!! I just want the charm!!

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Ragan

I don’t know, but I’m glad I’m not the only person who noticed that.

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