Dollar Bead Box Subscription Review – May 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 May 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! (This list seems to have undergone a format update lately.)

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 Czech Glass Lucerna Bicone (25)

This is a good color for spring and summer and these would be interesting in a pattern that otherwise called for crystal bicones as the smoother, less-faceted surface of these would make for a more organic-looking design. These would look nice with pretty much any color of metal, too.

Beadalon Groovy Tubes Size 2 Crimp Tubes, Silver Plated (1g)

Crimp tubes are just handy to have around in a variety of colors and these are from a well-known brand.

6mm Czech Glass Druk, Transparent Peridot (35)

Druks are just round beads (specifically Czech ones). I like to keep some on hand for patterns or to use as accents in more complicated pieces. This is another good spring/summer color.

16mm Resin Flower Button (6)

Last month, we received some larger acrylic (?) flowers, and now we have received these button-style beads. I wanted to make earrings with these but didn’t have two that matched so I will have to come up with something else. These might work as closures in wrap bracelets.

5 x 7 mm Czech Glass Oval, Ocean Green Opal (10)

I used these in a bracelet this month. I didn’t actually need any other beads because I have very small wrists, but you could intersperse them with other bead types (there were a lot of possibilities this month in spring pastels) to extend the possible length a bit.

15mm Pewter Hamsa Bead (2)

How funny, I also received one of this exact item in Bead Crate this month. They are currently sitting all together, waiting for me to come up with an idea. You can put a smaller bead in the hole and use these as bead frames.

8mm Czech Glass Faceted Barrel Bead, Multi-color (3)

These have an odd color combination going on but I find it kind of fun. I actually would like to see this type of glass in other shapes as well. I used some of these in a bracelet this month.

8-12 mm Coin Pearl (2)

Dollar Bead Box has been getting some interesting pearls lately (look at my past few months of reviews to see what I mean). If you want just a few of this type of bead, Dollar Bead Box’s store is a good option for getting them in just the quantities you need. I used these in a bracelet; like all pearls, the drill holes are narrow so you will need a thin eyepin if you are going that route.

32mm Pewter with Copper Square Resin Blank (1)

I so wish I had space to spread out all my resin supplies (I even have a little Crock Pot for warming it to reduce bubbles) but right now I don’t, so I am hanging on to this for later use. One of these days, when I have space, I’ll paint the back of this with glitter nail polish and then pour a doming resin (like ICE Resin) into the top.

3 x 5 mm Czech Glass Gem Cut Rondelle, Violet Opal (25)

You’ll usually get a few strands of Czech glass with this subscription. Often at least one of the strands includes small, gem-cut rondelles like these. I used two of these in a bracelet but I still have a lot left to try other projects with.

20 x 24mm Czech Glass Tabular Bead, Purple Velvet (1)

I thought this went nicely with the violet opal rondelles (see above), although some subscribers received a different color (more of a blue, based on the color name I saw). I used this in a bracelet with the violet opal rondelles and the pearls.

6mm Czech Glass Tabular Square, Red Opal (10)

At first, I thought it was strange to only get 10 of these, but then I realized they are not Czechmates tiles. These are dainty and delicate and I think they will look especially nice with some partially-oxidized brass findings.

3mm Brass Rounds, Antique Copper Plated (100)

These are just very useful to have around as accent beads. I do have a lot of antique copper findings and these will work as spacers or even as part of a pattern that calls for 3mm rounds.

0.7 x 8mm Split Ring, Bright Copper Plated (100)

I am collecting split rings in every color from Dollar Bead Box and that is fine by me. I like to use them opposite lobster claw and spring ring clasps because they feel more secure to me than just regular jump rings (which have a little opening through which thread can slip).

0.8mm Crystal Tec Stretch Cord (10m)

We received stretch cord from this brand in a previous month but I think this is a different diameter. It is good to have some stretch cord around; this is not an item I buy often because I have found that it degrades over time (though it takes a good 15+ years for that to happen).

10mm Czech Glass Tabular Square, Opaque Red Travertine (23)

I love anything with the “travertine” finish and have been collecting specifically opaque red beads with travertine lately, so these fit right into my collection. (I think this finish is pretty popular right now; turquoise shades of glass seem to sell out faster but I think the red also looks nice.)

10 x 12mm Czech Glass Triple Cut Turbine Bead, Red Opal with Bronze Luster (2)

I have seen these around in the online shops but this is my first time actually handling some beads in this shape. I actually thought the colors here went pretty well with the multicolored beads from up above, so I used them in a bracelet together.

3 x 5 mm Czech Glass Gem Cut Rondelle, Transparent Jonquil (25)

Here is a second strand of gem-cut rondelles, this time in a lovely spring yellow color. This goes nicely with any of the greens from this month, as well as with the purple.

I had just finished two complicated beadweaving projects for other subscription boxes, and I also wanted to try to use some of the single beads and pairs this month, so I just made a few simple bracelets with this month’s beads.

Verdict: I did not calculate a value for the May 2018 Dollar Bead Box, for reasons explained above. There were 18 items (if I counted right) so if you divide the cost of the box by the number of items, it is about $1.08 per item. The mix was eclectic this month, but that’s usually the case.

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 $1.08 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 May 2018 Dollar Bead Box?  Do you subscribe to any beading or craft boxes?