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BeadCrate Subscription Box Review – March 2018

Ragan Buckley
ByRagan BuckleyMar 20, 2018 | 8 comments
BeadCrate
5 overall rating
2 Ratings | 0 Reviews

Bead Crate March 2018 Box

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 March 2018 Organza

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 March 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 March 2018 “Wonderland” Review

Bead Crate is great for stash-building if you are into seed beads and Czech glass, and you’ll also usually get some useful supplies:

Bead Crate March 2018 Booklet

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

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!

Bead Crate March 2018 Rondelles

7 x 5 mm Black Diamond Gemstone Donut Czech Glass, 25

I always like this shape; it’s less common to receive rondelles in Czech glass (as opposed to Chinese crystal) and I think the faceting is really nice here. I used a fair number of these in my project this month.

Bead Crate March 2018 Pink Ovals

6 x 10 mm Frost Pink AB Twisted Barrels Czech Glass, 25

I’ve been seeing a lot of ovals and barrels in BeadCrate lately, but that’s OK.  It’s not a shape I think to buy very often but they are always great as accent beads. I used some of these in a bracelet this month.

Bead Crate March 2018 6mm FP

6mm Luster Faceted Rounds Czech Glass, 25

I needed some 6mm rounds for a project from a different bead box and these were handy and matched the color scheme I was using. When I finish my project for Adornable Elements Beads of the Month (hopefully in a few days), you will see these there. There’s no rule that says you have to use only beads from one box in a project!

Bead Crate March 2018 Red

9mm Light Siam Ruby Flat Pansy Czech Glass, 25

I love red and I love flat shapes, and I do believe I don’t have any of this shape at all in my collection. I used quite a few of these in a bracelet this month (see below).

Bead Crate March 2018 Seed Beads

8/0 Toho Gold Lustered Peach Seed Beads Japanese Glass, 16g

You’ll always get some seed beads with this box, usually 11/0 or 8/0. This is a color that will go with a lot in my stash so, while I haven’t used any yet, they will definitely come in handy with patterns down the road.

Bead Crate March 2018 Drops

10 x 8 Matte Luster Rosaline Chunky Table Cut Drops Czech Glass, 6

I don’t think I’ve ever seen this exact shape before, but I’m a fan. I used all of these in a bracelet this month as the color worked well with my other color choices.

Bead Crate March 2018 Teapot

12 x 15 mm Ceramic Teapot Peruvian Ceramic

I believe subscribers could’ve received various colors but I got this cute green one. I haven’t used this yet. It doesn’t seem too fragile so it might work to add interest in a charm bracelet (you’ve got to be careful about what beads you use in bracelets as those tend to get more wear than earrings or necklaces).

Bead Crate March 2018 Tweedy Red FP

6 mm Tweedy Red Faceted Rounds Czech Glass, 25

I don’t have much in the “tweedy” finish, although I do think I have some super duos that match this color, so I am going to look for a pattern that uses both bead types. I do appreciate getting some of the newer and more interesting finishes along with the classics.

Bead Crate March 2018 Duet FP

4 mm Duet Black and White Faceted Rounds Czech Glass, 40

I have a lot of super duo and rulla duets, but I’ve never seen fire polished duets. These are pretty cool. I think I have both black and white fire polished rounds from Dollar Bead Bag, so I’m going to incorporate these into something with a gradient look to it. I’ll have to think about the design a little bit more, but I think it could be fun.

Bead Crate March 2018 Peridot Vitrail FP

3mm Milky Peridot Vitrail Faceted Rounds Czech Glass, 50

I don’t have much with the milky finish but I do have a lot of other greens and some color-coordinating seed beads. The milky/vitrail finish combination is interesting and something I haven’t seen much of before.

Bead Crate March 2018 Druks

4 mm Spring Flowers Druk Mix Czech Glass, 100

I am hoarding 4mm rounds as they show up in so many patterns. This mix has a nice selection of colors that can be used together (or I can pick out matching ones for specific applications).

Bead Crate March 2018 Yellow FP

4 mm Crystal Yellow Rainbow Faceted Rounds Czech Glass, 40

I used a few of these in a bracelet this month. I think they’d also be great as the centers of flower elements using pips, rose petals, or similar beads.

Bead Crate March 2018 Scallops

9 x 9 mm Light Blue Coral Shells Czech Glass, 20

These would be fun to use with some other sea-themed beads. I have a lot, including some drilled shells as well as a ton of metal charms shaped like crabs, fish, and such.

Bead Crate March 2018 Bracelet 1 Bead Crate March 2018 Bracelet 2

Here is a bracelet I made with brass wire, chain, and findings, and various beads from the box. Although it was not necessarily my intention, this ended up looking like Valentine’s Day jewelry.

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 13), you get about $1.61 per item. I thought the color coordination was wonderful this month and I liked that there were multiple color combination options. I feel like I resort to this type of bracelet often with BeadCrate, but it’s just a fun way to use lots of Czech glass, and I wear my other bracelets like this fairly often. The package insert gave a retail value of $28.24 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 April 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 $1.61 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 March 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

Virginia

Lovely bracelet. Do you ever worry that you might get buried by all your beads one day??

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Ragan

They are only taking over two rooms right now. Although I did have to order a bunch more storage containers this week.

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Kim

Me too! Ragan, you should do Youtube videos on beading.

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Ragan

I don’t watch YouTube videos. I am totally a paper pattern sort of person.

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Kim

Actually I meant, you should make instructional videos on beading and put them on youtube. I bet they would be very helpful for people like me, who know little to nothing about it.

Jessica

I love seeing your projects that you make!

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