Dollar Bead Box Subscription Box Review – February 2018

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 $1.00. (This deal is only available to subscribers.)

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 full Dollar Bead Box, which is $19.50 a month. 

About 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 US 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: US

Dollar Bead Box February 2018 Review

You’ll get a variety of different beads with this subscription. You can count on some strands and Czech glass nearly every month, but half the fun here is seeing what other random things show up. Let’s see what we got this month:

You’ll always get a brief letter and an item list from Dollar Bead Box. The item list is useful if you are looking to reorder something but don’t know what to call it; use the name to search their shop!

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!

3mm Czech Fire Polished Rounds in Light Amethyst (50 pcs)

You’ll always get a few strands of Czech glass with this subscription and they typically don’t overlap with the Dollar Bead Bag strands (so you’re fine if you want to get both subscriptions). 3mm fire polished rounds are useful for patterns with shaped beads, and light amethyst is a color that goes with a lot of items in my stash.

8 x 24.5 mm Flat-Back Bail in Antique Copper (1 pc)

I’ve been buying a lot of bails lately. This appears to be the glue-on type and I do have a gemstone donut that I think would work nicely with this to make a simple pendant.

6 x 8 mm Czech Firepolished Ovals in Jet AB (30 pcs)

It’s nice to occasionally get fire polished shapes that are neither rounds nor rondelles, just for the sake of variety. We got some fire polished rounds in Dollar Bead Bag in the same color and finish and I think the two bead types would look good together, perhaps in dangles on headpins.

5 mm Czech Glass Melon in Aqua (42 pcs)

Melon beads have grooves (kind of like a Bundt pan or an acorn squash) but are otherwise round. They can be used anywhere you’d use 5mm rounds and offer some interesting texture possibilities. This color is well-represented in my stash so there are a lot of design possibilities here.

30-40 mm Brass Butterfly Stamping (1 pc)

I have bought SO MANY brass stampings lately (both vintage and contemporary) but I think this is my first butterfly. I’m teaching myself how to do different patinas on the plainer, smaller ones, and if I get good at that, I’m going to add some fun green and blue colors to this before using it in a piece of jewelry.

15 mm Czech Glass Button Bead in Aqua Rainbow Iris (2 pcs)

These go well with the melons and also the teardrops below if you are interested in using multiple bead types from this box in the same piece of jewelry. (Also, I love flat rounds…)

3.5 x 4.5 Acrylic Bead Storage Box

This is super small in the context of my bead collection but what I think it would be great for is collecting different beads for one pattern all together in a convenient and portable container for travel (or just for working in different parts of the house).

3 mm Czech Firepolished Rounds in Crystal (50 pcs)

Here is a nice, basic bead type. These could go in a pattern or could be used as accent beads in a strung piece. Crystal is such a versatile color, really you can do almost anything with it (especially in combination with other transparent beads).

3mm Czech Glass Druk (72 pcs)

Subscribers could have received green luster, bronze luster, or hematite luster. I’m not sure which one this is. I used a handful of these in a necklace this month but I have a few left over. Maybe I will make some matching earrings?

30-40 mm Brass Floral Stamping 

Here is another brass stamping. I am thinking of riveting this to something else and then decorating it with flatback rhinestones for a bit of color. I’ve been buying a lot of metal flowers and leaves lately so this made me happy.

15 mm Lobster Claw Clasp, Sterling Silver Plated (3 pcs)

You’ll usually get a few clasps in this box. These are pretty basic but also pretty useful. The finish is super shiny and I have a lot of matching findings.

3 x 5 mm Czech Glass Gem-Cut Rondelle in Light Peach (25 pcs)

These are definitely a spring color. Although the color name is light peach, I think they look pink enough (in real life as well as in the photo) to use with some of the vintage pink beads I’ve been buying lately.

Hand Dyed Chinese Silk Cord in Hot Pink (32-36”)

You’ll often get a stringing material in this subscription, as well. This ribbon/cord is great for hanging pendants made from shaped beads. Just add some ribbon crimp ends and you have an easy necklace.

5 x 10 mm Czech Glass Teardrop in Pearlized Teal (24 pcs)

Subscribers could have received one of several pearlized colors. These go great with some of the other teal/aqua beads this month so I’m glad I got this color. This bead type appears in Dollar Bead Box every now and then.

14.5 x 24.5 mm Toggle Clasp in Antique Brass

I used this clasp on my necklace this month (see a picture below). Metal beads and findings in this subscription often don’t match; you’ll get a variety of different ones. Luckily I have a lot of antique brass findings already.

4 x 6 mm Czech Firepolished Drop in Opal Travertine (30 pcs)

I also used some of these in a necklace this month. I love the travertine (aka Picasso) finish and I have a ton of beads that match these so the rest will get used pretty soon as well.

5mm Czech Glass Melon in Jonquil (42 pcs)

Here are some more melons in a bright, spring color. I could see these as the middles of flower elements.

I saw the drops and thought of a necklace I made from a past Dollar Bead Box, so I decided to do something similar. It gets kind of confusing, dealing with all those jump rings between the links (especially when there was absolutely no planning involved…). But I like how it turned out. The back isn’t too exciting but I did use the clasp from the box so I figured I’d show it.

Verdict: I did not calculate a value for the February 2018 Dollar Bead Box, for reasons explained above. There were 17 items (if I counted right) so if you divide the cost of the box by the number of items, it is about $1.15 per item. There were several possibilities for color-matching, especially among the glass strands, which was nice (that is not always the case with this subscription, which can sometimes seem a little random).

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, but if there is an item that appeals to you, if you become a Dollar Bead Box member, you can order items from past Dollar Bead Boxes from the Dollar Bead Box shop for $1 each (plus shipping).

Value Breakdown: At $19.50 for this subscription, you are paying about $1.15 per item.

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!

What did you think of the February 2018 Dollar Bead Box?  Do you subscribe to any beading or craft boxes?