BeadCrate Subscription Box Review – May 2019

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

This is a review of “The Enthusiast.”

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: US (free for “The Collector,” $5 for “The Enthusiast”)

BeadCrate May 2019 “Flames of Passion” 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. This month has a lot of warm colors.

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!

14 x 10mm Rectangular Carnelian Cabochon (1)

I’ve been wanting to try some bead embroidery lately and gemstone cabochons like this are perfect for that application. But, I haven’t had any practice yet and didn’t want to show you a total mess, so I’m hanging on to this for now. I have some other carnelian beads I can use along with it for color coordination.

7mm Backlit Ruby Baroque Cabochons, Czech glass (8)

I love that the range of backlit colors has been expanding lately (you’re also seeing more beads with the backlit finish including even the new chevron duos); these ruby baroque cabochons are very pretty and can be used in any pattern calling for a 7mm 2-hole cabochon.

3mm Firepolished Rounds in Saturated Metallic Cherry Tomato, Czech glass (50)

I used almost all of these in a necklace but that’s OK because I went on a buying binge of saturated metallic cherry tomato beads at Artbeads recently. (Then I discovered saturated metallic aurora red, which I think I like even more.)

2mm Firepolished Rounds in Crystal AB, Czech glass (50)

I used most of these in a necklace as well. If I hadn’t, well, they’d be very useful in patterns or in any chenille stitch or right-angle weave project I could come up with, especially in a neutral color like this.

4mm Opaque Yellow Luster Cubes, Czech glass (50)

I also used most of these in my necklace this month. They made for a nice change of pace with respect to color and shape.

14mm Polychrome Orchid Aqua Cushion Rounds, Czech glass (2)

I love polychrome beads. They are so pretty in real life; this picture doesn’t capture them as well as I’d like. These would be especially good as central elements in a pair of earrings, though I likely have more of these in my stash already if I can just dig them up, in which case they could be used in a bracelet or necklace.

3mm Hyacinth English Cut Rounds, Czech glass (50)

I have never seen a hyacinth flower in this color, but with glass beads, it always refers to this lovely bright orange. I have also used almost all of these in a necklace this month (you can see a picture below).

4mm Caribbean Blue Mix Firepolished Rounds, Czech glass (30)

You might be wondering why a “flames of passion” themed box has blue beads, but if you have ever looked at a gas torch or the flame on a gas stove, you’ll see that the flame is blue. I haven’t used these yet but they will be nice to have in my stash as I try to build my collection of blues.

6 x 8mm Ruby Nuggets, Czech glass (25)

I don’t think I have any other beads in this shape. I really like them but I have always been a fan of ruby red beads, going back to my earliest days of beading. I think I will string them with some coordinating beads for a simple bracelet design.

Red Nymo Bobbin, Size D (64 yards)

I have SO MUCH colored nymo. It was all I used for stringing for years and years before I discovered Fireline. I haven’t used this yet but I do have a project I’m working on, off and on, using nymo and I will put this on the tray with that project. It is useful to condition the thread with Thread Magic if you are using nymo. It solves a lot of problems.

6mm Firepolished Opal/Orange Rounds, Czech glass (25)

These almost look like vintage givre glass. Anyway, they are almost all gone now as I used most of them in my necklace, as well.

8/0 Toho Opaque Pepper Red Seed Beads, Japanese glass (2.5” tube)

It was kind of nice working with 8/0 seed beads for a change. They are not as tiny as the 11/0 and 15/0 beads I’ve been using lately. And I really liked this color as well. I used quite a few of these in my necklace as well.

9 x 6mm Dark Amethyst AB Vertical Hole Teardrops (25)

These, in conjunction with the other beads from this box, make me think of a sunset, so while they are not exactly a “flame” color, they do fit the overall color scheme of the box. I’ll probably use these as dangles on a necklace one of these days.

I am still a little bit into the “brick stitch around a circle” kick but I decided to do something asymmetrical this month. This is a tiny bit floppy and I probably need to run a wire along the top outline to stiffen it up a bit, but overall I am happy with it. I also now see why you might want to buy some of those strange red and orange colors of Fireline, which wouldn’t have shown up quite as much as the “crystal” one I used here.

Verdict: I did not calculate a value for BeadCrate, as explained above in my note about prices. If you divide the $18.99 cost of the box plus $5.00 shipping by the 13 items, you get about $1.85 per item. I did my current favorite “beading around a ring” thing but tried to take it a new direction by making an asymmetrical piece, which was a lot of fun for me, especially with all the different shapes I was able to use. In general, I love reds and oranges, so this was a fun month for me.

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

Value Breakdown: This box costs $18.99 + $5.00 shipping, which means that each of the 13 items in the box has an average cost of $1.85.

Check out my past Bead Crate reviews and more of our favorite Arts & Crafts subscription boxes!

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

What did you think of the May 2019 BeadCrate? Do you subscribe to any beading or craft boxes?