Facebook PixelBlueberry Cove Beads Subscription Box Review – January 2018 | MSA
My Subscription Addiction
My Subscription Addiction
Our reviewers research, test, and recommend the best subscriptions and products independently; click to learn more about our editorial guidelines. We may receive commissions on purchases made through links on our site.

Blueberry Cove Beads Subscription Box Review – January 2018

Ragan Buckley
ByRagan BuckleyFeb 10, 2018 | 4 comments

Blueberry Cove Beads January 2018 Box closed

Blueberry Cove Beads
4.8 overall rating
4 Ratings | 2 Reviews

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!

Blueberry Cove Beads January 2018 Black Bag cinched

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

Blueberry Cove Beads January 2018 Review

About Blueberry Cove Beads

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!)

Blueberry Cove Beads January 2018 “The Celestial Sky” Review

Blueberry Cove Beads January 2018 Booklet Front

Blueberry Cove Beads January 2018 Booklet back

There isn’t a traditional information card with this box. This month’s theme was “The Celestial Sky.”

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!)

Black, White, and Clear Rounds

Black, White, and Clear Rounds

These are matching beads in two different sizes. I think Blueberry Cove Beads always does a good job of sticking to a theme, but this month, every piece really fits. These remind me of stars in the night sky and there’s also something vaguely planet-like about them. I think they would look great with either gold or silver accents.

4 Blue Ovals beads

Blue Ovals

Sorry about the names of the items here, the information card doesn’t say. So I am coming up with them on my own and they are not always particularly imaginative. I really feel I am not doing justice to how pretty these are by calling them “blue ovals.” There is a glitter effect there (it’s on the inside; these have a smooth surface) that is just really pretty.

3 Frosted Rounds beads

Frosted Rounds

These may be some kind of semiprecious stone due to the marbled colors and the fact we only got three (semiprecious stones are a lot more expensive than most glass). I also think these kind of remind me of planets. There are a lot of rounds this month and these definitely coordinate with all the others pretty well.

6 Glass Ovals beads

Glass Ovals

These are cool and I’m really glad the camera captured the effects you see in them when you look at them in real life. There is like an oil slick look or something. These remind me of some of the colorized photos of outer space from NASA satellites.

Yellow Metal Sun Links

Yellow Metal Sun Links

I’m not kidding myself that anything in a subscription at this price point is actually gold-plated. But these do have a nice, even finish and I had a lot of ideas for them. I used a couple of them in a necklace, which you can see below, but I have a few left over to try something else with.

White Metal Moon Charms

White Metal Moon Charms

These are pretty dainty but that just makes them great for inclusion in a charm bracelet since I have small wrists.

1 strand of Multicolored Gemstone Rounds

Multicolored Gemstone Rounds

I don’t know what stone these are. Some of the beads have chipped away around the drill holes so they weren’t 100% usable, but most of them were. I used a lot of them in a necklace.

8 Red Rounds beads

Red Rounds

These are another semiprecious stone. The banding makes me think of a planet, which was probably the idea behind including these. I think they’d look pretty good in a bracelet with some other warm-toned accent beads and gold or brass findings.

3 White Metal Sun Charms

White Metal Sun Charms

These could either go with the moon charms or be used as pendants or in earrings. It is nice to get a couple of different metal plated items in the same finish (you’ll get a variety of metal finishes in this subscription, in pretty much every shipment).

4mm Frosted Black Glass Rounds

4mm Frosted Black Glass Rounds

There were a lot of these! I used quite a few but still have some left over. But that’s cool because I hoard 4mm rounds for use in patterns. These seem to have been coated in some way if you look at the strand holding them together, but none were stuck together and they were evenly colored all over their surfaces.

Hematite Stars

Hematite Stars

I don’t have much hematite in my collection so I was happy to see these. At one time, I seem to have had an obsession with star-shaped beads as I found a lot of them when recently going through my stash. I’m thinking of using these along with some of my glass stars for a variety of materials and sizes in the same piece.

1 Yellow Metal Sun Charm

Yellow Metal Sun Charm

This has a bit of weight to it. It is definitely pendant material, not charm bracelet material. Alternatively, I was thinking of putting it on an extender chain at the back of a necklace (though I’d have to wear my hair up for someone to see it in that instance).

4 Yellow Crackle Glass Rounds beads

Yellow Crackle Glass Rounds

These may be glow in the dark, I keep forgetting to look at them under the right circumstances. I was surprised to find out just how many yellow beads I have when I sorted my stash recently, but that means it will be easy to find something to coordinate with these.

Here is a necklace I made. I had planned to do the right-angle weave all the way around but realized partway through that I would run out of the larger round beads, so I stopped and added a chain. This is a bit longer than I usually do for necklaces (the chain is pulled behind so you can see the beaded part clearly) but I am happy with how it turned out.

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 13 items so you are paying about $2.08 an item once you factor in the cost of shipping. I feel that the quality of the accent beads was high this month (definitely appreciate getting glass and semiprecious stones) and I loved the variety of smaller rounds and charms. Also, I feel the per-item value is reasonable (plus I happen to like the theme a lot).

To Wrap Up:

Can you still get this box if you sign up today? No, your first box would be February’s. From Blueberry Cove Beads:

Members are billed on the 3rd of each month and boxes are mailed out around the 9th of the month.

Sometimes leftover monthly boxes show up in the Blueberry Cove Beads shop and they occasionally have sales, too!

Value Breakdown: This box cost me $22 + $5 shipping, which means that each of the 13 items in the box has an average cost of $2.08.

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!

What did you think of the January 2018 Blueberry Cove Beads? Do you subscribe to any beading or craft boxes?

Starting at $27.00
Subscribe Now
The monthly subscription service for everyone with a bead addiction has arrived, delivering a surprise themed selection of beads directly to you every month!
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).

Join the Conversation

Please do not enter your email address in the Name field or in the comment content. Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *. Remember to post with kindness and respect. Comments with offensive language, cruelness to others, etc will not be approved. See our full comment policy here.

4 comments

Sharon

That necklace you made is LOVELY. My god.

Reply ButtonReply

Jessvii

I love these reviews! You’re so creative!

Reply ButtonReply

NikitaMarie

The sparkly ones I believe are sandstone, and the red I think may be either carnelian or Jasper. My sister does a lot of beading, and they’re similar to some she has.

Reply ButtonReply

Virginia

I’ll take a necklace with some of the beads that look like planets, stars, sky. Thanks!!!!!

I thought most of the beads/stones were lovely. Maybe because I could visualize planets, stars, sky, etc. in them.

Reply ButtonReply