Darn Good Beads Of The Month Subscription Review – January 2019

Darn Good Beads of the Month is a monthly subscription for jewelry makers from Darn Good Yarn. (You don’t have to be able to knit or crochet for this subscription!) Every month you’ll receive materials to complete a quick beading project. You will need some basic tools of your own (pliers, crimping pliers, glue) but they provide all the findings, beads, and stringing materials!

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

About Darn Good Beads of the Month

The Subscription Box: Darn Good Beads of the Month

The Cost: $10/month + shipping

The Products: Materials and instructions to complete one beading/jewelry making project.

Ships to: US ($4/continental US) and international ($13/Alaska, Hawaii, US territories, and other countries)

Darn Good Beads of the Month January 2019 Review

I’ve been receiving Darn Good Beads of the Month for just a few months. I know I will get a simple project with instructions that will be easy to complete in under an hour or two, but the projects have been pretty varied:

The package came with this paper, which contained instructions for this month’s project.

Creative Roots Bracelet

This month, we received some silk thread (good stuff, too, the kind I would buy), a Tierracast charm, some size 6/0 seed beads, a couple of glass O beads, and a few findings. Monkey walked across the table and I lost the jump ring but I have a bunch of others so I just substituted one from my stash.

You need crimping pliers, a ruler, and scissors to complete this, as well as some pliers or a jump ring tool for the jump ring, but there are a couple of other things that I think would also be useful: a twisted wire beading needle and some superglue, as well as a few backup crimps.

This is the finished bracelet. It is kind of adjustable, though it’s not the easiest to adjust with one hand, which is what you would have to do if you were wearing it. A couple of things to keep in mind while working on this one:

(1) The silk thread has one end that terminates in a twisted wire needle. But the instructions tell you to cut a length of thread longer than you need to go around your wrist. You can either cut the thread still attached to the needle, which would make it unavailable for further projects using the leftover thread (there will be enough to do something else with) OR you can cut and use the thread from the far end, in which case you would not have the benefit of the needle. It is helpful to have the needle to go through the crimps, for what it’s worth.

(2) I could pass the thread through the O beads once without a needle, but not twice. So I had to dig a twisted wire needle out of my stash in order to pass through the O beads a second time as required to complete the bracelet.

(3) The crimps didn’t all stay on the thread very well. This was especially a problem near the ends. One fell off after being smashed with the crimping pliers and I had to dig another out of my stash. After experiencing this, I superglued around the crimps at the ends to keep them in place. (Superglue is handy to have around with this subscription anyway.)

Overall, though, this is cute and uses high-quality materials (Tierracast stuff isn’t cheap).

Verdict: I did not calculate a value for Darn Good Beads of the Month because the materials were unbranded/not labeled. I do feel that the physical materials provided were of good quality and included name-branded components like the Tierracast charm. I hit a few small snags while working on this, but nothing I couldn’t solve with an item from my stash. On the other hand, this subscription is perhaps less likely to appeal to an experienced beader with a large stash, in which case you might have a little trouble. Superglue solves most of the problems I have with this subscription, though, and if you lost a crimp, you could always tie knots in the ends, leaving a short tail, and glue the knots instead.

To Wrap Up:

Can you still get this box if you sign up today? This was January’s box and may no longer be available. In general, you’ll get your first box at sign-up and then you’ll move to the regular shipping schedule after that.

Value Breakdown: This box costs $14 (including shipping to the continental US) and you get all the materials to make one jewelry project.

Check out the Craft Subscription Box Directory for more great beading, craft supply, and DIY project boxes.

What did you think of the January 2019 Darn Good Beads of the Month? Do you subscribe to any beading or craft boxes?