Blueberry Cove Beads Subscription Box Review – March 2019

Blueberry Cove Beads is a monthly beading subscription box from Canada. Every month they ship beads and supplies and post a challenge incorporating one or more items from the box. If you choose to enter the challenge, you share photos of your project and may win your next month’s box free!

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

About Blueberry Cove Beads

The Subscription Box: Blueberry Cove Beads

The Cost: $27 ($22 for the subscription + $5 shipping)

The Products: A curated selection of beads and findings centered on a theme.

Ships to: the US and Canada

Blueberry Cove Beads "Signs and Symbols" Review

Blueberry Cove Beads shipments always center around a theme. This month’s theme was “Signs and Symbols”:

There isn’t a traditional information card with this box (i.e., you don’t get an item list). The card typically contains a photo or piece of art on one side and information about the theme on the other. There was a URL to learn more about the meanings of the items included in the box, but when I went to it, it was a blank page, so I guess they didn’t have that ready yet.

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. Even different colors of the same size and shape of glass beads are priced differently due to materials needed to make the colors! So I have opted not to provide prices in this review.

Please note that no directions are given and you have to supply your own needles, stringing materials, tools, and findings. Also, note that you will receive this towards the end of the month if you live in the US since it is shipping from Canada. (Blueberry Cove Beads uses the Chitchats shipping service so now you can track your packages, though!)

Goldtone Acorn Charms

You’ll usually receive a few charms in different metal tones in this subscription. These acorns are pretty small and I think they’d be great in a bracelet. I’m pretty sure I have some other forest-themed charms in my stash (owls, leaves, etc.) that would look good in the same piece of jewelry with these.

Bow and Arrow Charm

This is a bit larger than the acorns and also a different metal tone (antiqued silver). I think this would look good as a focal in a simple, delicate necklace (it’s a bit big for a bracelet).

Goldtone 4-Leaf Clover Charms

These are also small enough and lightweight enough to use in a bracelet or earrings. And there are a couple of directions you can go with them since the leaves are shaped like hearts.

Carved Elephants

I’m not entirely sure what the material is here, probably some kind of resin or possibly lacquered wood. At any rate, I was drawn to these when I opened the package and I used one of them in a necklace, which you can see below. Still thinking about how to use the other one.

Glass Evil Eye Beads

These are roughly marble-sized, maybe a little smaller. There really are quite a lot of design options for these and I have a bunch of smaller ones I could use together with them, also.

Goldtone Infinity/Heart Charms

These almost look like they have Celtic knotwork going on, but you can clearly identify the open hearts and infinity symbols. These are also small and lightweight and would be suitable for a bracelet or earrings. There were really a lot of charm options this month!

Hematite Rounds

You’ll get a few strands of accent beads each month. The dark, shiny color of these hematite beads appealed to me this month; I liked the contrast with the red elephants. I used quite a few of these in a necklace this month.

Jasper (?) Rounds

Here is another strand of accent beads. These are pretty small. I think they are some kind of jasper but there was no identification key, so that’s just a guess. I have some other beads in my collection that look similar in other sizes so I will probably use them all together in something or other, once I come up with a good idea.

Glass Ladybugs

I don’t tend to use beads like this in my own designs very often, but they seem to be pretty good quality and I will hang onto them for making a gift. I’d be more likely to include them in a necklace or earrings as opposed to a bracelet because they’d get less wear and keep all the dots and such for much longer.

Resin Beads

These are some kind of resin. It might be a natural resin instead of a synthetic one (it has that look to it, anyway). It might even be some kind of tree sap (don’t forget, that’s where amber comes from). But I really have no idea. These are pretty lightweight and also very smooth and I find it interesting to examine the inclusions.

Rose Quartz Rounds

Here is our third strand of accent beads for the month. I like rose quartz and have quite a lot in my collection so I already have quite a few coordinating beads. The pink is a good color for spring, too – makes me think of cherry blossoms.

Quartz Round

I’m kind of making a guess as to the material here, though it is an educated guess (i.e., this has the feel of some kind of semiprecious stone and that is the most likely clear one). This goes with pretty much anything and I did find a place for it in my necklace this month.

Imitation Turquoise Beads

These are too smooth to be real turquoise (which is super expensive and has to be stabilized anyway) and are probably dyed magnesite or howlite. They are not as heavy as you might expect and could be used in earrings if you are going for a bolder look. Or they’d work on either side of a focal in a necklace.

Yin Yang Rounds

These are small(ish) rounds with a yin yang design applied to them. This is a good fit for the “signs and symbols” theme (and it seems more obviously related than some of the other items, though I think a detailed item list could help with that). I haven’t used them yet; I have to go through my stash and hold them up next to things and start to try to pair things up with them that way.

Goldtone Tree Pendant

I was puzzling over how to finish the necklace I was making (see below) and I decided to use this. I had already decided I wanted goldtone findings with the necklace I was making, so this was an easy choice – all I needed was a jump ring, which of course I already had in my stash!

Here is a necklace I made. It is nothing terribly complicated, but I liked the way the hematite beads looked next to the red elephants when I was taking photos, and I thought they would look nice with goldtone findings. Using the eyepins was a way to get more mileage out of the hematite beads, which wouldn’t have reached all the way around my neck otherwise. And I threw in the tree pendant and the quartz round just for the heck of it.

Verdict: I did not calculate a value here because it is hard to find similar items when you don’t know the precise materials the beads are made from (I do wish there was more information on the card that comes with the box, in case I find something I’d like to order more of). There were 15 items (if I counted right) so you are paying about $1.80 an item once you factor in the cost of shipping. I was very happy to get three separate strands of semiprecious stones this month, and there were also quite a lot of delicate charms (which is what I tend to prefer).

To Wrap Up:

Can you still get this box if you sign up today? No, your first box would come in April. However, sometimes leftover monthly boxes show up in the Blueberry Cove Beads shop and they occasionally have sales, too!

Value Breakdown: At $27 for this box, including shipping, you are paying about $1.80 per item.

Check out all of our Blueberry Cove reviews and the best Arts & Crafts subscription boxes of 2019!

Keep track of your subscriptions: Add this box to your subscription list or wishlist!

What did you think of the March 2019 Blueberry Cove Beads? Do you subscribe to any beading or craft boxes?