BeadCrate Subscription Box Review – September 2018

BeadCrate is a monthly subscription box for beading enthusiasts. Choose from “The Enthusiast” for $18.99 a month or “The Collector” for $35 a month. You can also buy a single box to see if this subscription is for you.

This review is of The Enthusiast, $18.99 a month, box.

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

About BeadCrate

The Subscription Box: BeadCrate

The Cost: $18.99 a month + $5 shipping. 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 September 2018 “All That Glitters” Review

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

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

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 Firepolished Rounds in Matte Apollo Jet (Czech Glass, 25)

I don’t have too many matte beads in my collection. These are similar to some of the popular etched beads in appearance but without quite the same degree of surface texture. I don’t always pair black with copper, but I think these would look great with some bright copper (or perhaps rose gold) findings.

9 x 10 mm Violet Rainbow Briolettes (Czech Glass, 4)

I have been meaning to get more of these. They are nice to add as dangles to round bead woven earrings since they are not too heavy. I have found quite a lot at Artbeads if you are interested in purchasing your own.

3mm Antique Gold Plated Hematite Rounded Cubes (50)

I liked the contrast of these with several of the other beads for this month and wanted something a bit shiny in the piece I made. So I incorporated quite a few of these into a bracelet, which you can see below.

3 x 6 mm Pale Gold Farfalle (Czech Glass, 8g)

There are actually quite a lot of beads out there with a similar shape. I get this particular larger size/shape in bead subscriptions sometimes, but I actually don’t know where to buy them. (Smaller versions at different stores and from different manufacturers are called peanut, berry, and just for the sake of confusion, also farfalle.) Anyway, I used some of these in a bracelet this month.

8mm Patina Olivine Rounds (Czech Glass, 25)

These are larger than I usually work with, but I took that as a challenge. (I tend towards designing delicate jewelry because I am pretty small-boned and I don’t know if I can pull off larger/heavier designs.) I used some of these in a bracelet this month. I really like the color (it is easier to see the “olivine” part of things in real life).

8 x 10 mm Dark Topaz AB Leaves (Czech Glass, 25)

Back when I started beading in the late 1990s, leaves were one of the few shapes available and I have a lot of similar beads in other colors (I may have spent waaaay too much money on such things at this bead shop that was near my college campus back then). These are a fun reminder of those days, and I think they will look good with some brass findings and “coral” red and turquoise beads from my stash.

3mm Firepolished Rounds in Metallic Emperador (Czech Glass, 50)

Emperador is a color name I haven’t heard of before but these are basically an antiqued brass color (sort of). Although these matched the color scheme of the bracelet I made, they were too big to use as an embellishment so I am saving them for another project. They should work well in a pattern.

3mm Luster Mix Rounds (Czech Glass, 50)

You’ll often get a strand of mixed druks (pressed rounds) in BeadCrate. I think these will be great in a wrap bracelet. (I am hesitant to use them in a pattern because I don’t know what the effect would be when all the colors are different.)

Toho 8/0 Silver-Lined Crystal Seed Beads (Japanese Glass, 16g)

You’ll usually get some seed beads in this subscription, either 8/0 or 11/0 (occasionally other sizes). I didn’t use these this month because I was going for something a bit darker, but this is just a good color combination to have on hand, in general (especially for use with silver-tone findings).

9 x 6 mm Montana Blue AB Vertical Hole Teardrops (Czech Glass, 25)

This is a shape I don’t have much of (I have a few from my earliest days of beading in various reds, I suppose). I can think of a lot of possibilities for these, and I think they would look especially good as necklace or earring dangles with fancy headpins (you know the kind with metal shapes on the end instead of just a flat bit).

Toho 8/0 Lavender Lined Rainbow Topaz Seed Beads (Japanese Glass, 16g)

This month, we received two different kinds of seed beads. I used these in my bracelet because they were just a bit closer to the color scheme I was aiming for. Plus, I have a lot of them left over for other projects.

14 x 14 mm Luster Triangle Nugget (Czech Glass, 3)

These are fun, and a new shape for me. I really like the luster finish. Not sure what I will do with them yet although I’m thinking of a simple Y-necklace with some chain to really show these off.

4mm Firepolished Rounds in Snow Shimmer (Czech Glass, 50)

If I had gone the route of using the silver-lined seed beads instead of the topaz ones, I definitely would’ve figured out how to incorporate these as well because I think they go together nicely. Instead, I think I will find some nice super duos in my stash that look good with these and make something from a pattern.

Here is a bracelet I made with the large rounds, the darker seed beads, the small cubes, and the farfalle beads for embellishment. I used a basic right angle weave stitch and I tightened it up really well, which I actually later determined I shouldn’t have done, because the farfalle would’ve fit better with a looser weave. Oh well.

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 $1.85 per item. The colors this month appealed to me quite a bit (and were perfect for fall).

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 October box. Destash items and excess inventory (and sometimes whole boxes) may occasionally be available in the BeadCrate Etsy shop.

Value Breakdown: At $23.99 for this subscription (counting shipping), you are paying about $1.85 per item.

Check out all our 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 September BeadCrate? Do you subscribe to any beading or craft boxes?