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 March 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!
0.6 mm Crystal Tec Stretch Cord, 10m
Dollar Bead Box often provides chain or beading wire or some other kind of stringing material. This is the first time we’ve received stretch cord. This is clear (kind of hard to see on the white spool), which will work with a lot of different beads. Just be aware that stretch bracelets do break down after some number of years (all the ones I made back in the 1990s are broken now) so watch for wear and restring if necessary.
Hand-Dyed Chinese Silk Cord in Violet, 32-36”
If you’re not sure what to do with a cord like this, one thing that works really well is making a pendant with shaped beads and fire polished beads (lots of examples are available in beading magazines or can be purchased on Etsy) and hanging it from this cord. Then just add some ribbon crimp ends and a clasp and you have a necklace! You’ll receive cord like this fairly often with this subscription.
3 x 5 mm Czech Glass Gem Cut Rondelle in Yellow Opal, 25
You’ll always get a few strands of glass beads with this subscription. I don’t have too many rondelles in my collection for whatever reason, so I’m happy to get more of this shape, and what a wonderful color for spring! (Sorry about the cat hairs, Angus got ahold of the beading mat.)
4mm Czech Firepolished Rounds in Crystal AB, 50
You’ll also usually get some fire polished rounds in Dollar Bead Box. Crystal AB will go with nearly any color scheme, so I appreciate getting these. Next time I need 4mm fire polished rounds in a pattern, these will come in handy.
6mm Lava Beads, 60
I’ve been wanting to play with lava beads for a while. You can add a drop or two of essential oil to these (they’re porous) and the scent will be released all day. How fun! I used these in some stretch bracelets.
8 x 10 mm Czech Glass Tulip, 19
Subscribers received these in either ice blue or opaque turquoise. This is another fun bead for spring; I think the shape is particularly suitable for use in dangles (i.e. for earrings or in a charm bracelet).
6mm Czech Glass Bicone in Turquoise with Travertine, 35
These beads are right up my alley. I’ve been hoarding beads in turquoise and/or with the Picasso/travertine finish for a while, so I’m always happy to get more. I’m not sure what I’ll do with them yet, but this is a size and shape I don’t have much of in my collection, so I know they’ll come in handy.
14mm Czech Glass Striped Triangle in Crystal and Blue, 4
How fun! I like flat discs and squares and flat shapes in general. I rarely get triangular beads so these make for a nice change of pace. These are so delicate, I think they will be best used in an earring design where they won’t experience a lot of friction or wear.
12mm Czech Glass Table Cut Beads in Opaque Blue and Purple with Travertine, 2
These are fun. I am a fan of table cut beads. I tend to buy them in quantities greater than 2, but I found a way to use one of them in a bracelet this month (see below). I think I might use the other in a mismatched bracelet with a lot of different table cut beads.
12mm Lapis Rounds, 2
These are very smooth and super polished. Lapis can have white inclusions (calcite) or more golden ones (pyrite). It is more expensive than I usually want to pay for, but I am always happy to receive it in a subscription box.
Freshwater Stick Pearl
This is fun and quite large. See how it compares, size-wise, to the lava beads in one of the bracelets I made below.
12 x 16 mm Table Cut Czech Glass Rectangle in Opaque Red with Travertine
This one has some fun details. Since there was only one, I used it as a bracelet centerpiece (see photo below).
26 mm Pewter Buddha Pendant
Subscribers could have received this in an antique copper or antique silver finish. With this subscription, you may occasionally receive a charm or pendant with religious significance (every now and then, there’s a cross). I tend not to wear jewelry with religious connotations, but sometimes I make gifts for people, and I save these components to use when I know the recipient would appreciate it.
0.7 x 23 mm Headpin Silver-Plated, 100
You’ll always get some findings with Dollar Bead Box. The finish may not match among the different items in the box, but this isn’t of huge concern to me because I have a massive stash of coordinating findings. I actually needed some more silver-tone headpins so these come at a nice time.
4mm Chinese Crystal Bicone, 100
Subscribers could’ve received various colors but mine were peridot. This is another color I’ve been hoarding (I like the way it looks with brass and copper) and there are quite a lot of these, so there is a possibility to use them in a pattern or a right-angle weave bracelet.
0.6 x 6mm Split Ring Antique Brass, 100
I never quite know what to do with split rings, but one use I have found is in beaded bracelets. I never like stringing jump rings on bead thread because I’m afraid they’ll come open and fall off, but that is not a problem for a split ring. I have some matching lobster claw clasps I can use with these, too.
Here are some stretch bracelets I made with the lava beads and some of the other beads from the box. I have super tiny wrists for an adult so I was able to make three bracelets with the number of lava beads provided. I used a big-eye needle to help string these as the stretch cord was a little too flexible on its own. I secured the knots with GS Hypo Cement (please note this stuff takes a long time to dry).
Verdict: I did not calculate a value for the March 2018 Dollar Bead Box, for reasons explained above. There were 16 items (if I counted right) so if you divide the cost of the box by the number of items, it is about $1.22 per item. The stretch cord and lava beads provided a lot of opportunities to use the beads that came in quantities of only 1 or 2, which is nice as I’m not always sure how to use beads in small quantities.
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 $1.22 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?
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