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. (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.)
The Subscription Box: Dollar Bead Box
The Products: Beads and beading-related items including but not limited to stringing materials, Swarovski crystals, vintage glass, freshwater pearls, buttons, and more
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 shipping with 3- and 6-month subscriptions (plus get an additional discount on 6-month subscriptions)
Ships to: US ($4.50 on a month-to-month subscription, free with longer subscriptions)
Visit the Craft Subscription Box Directory for more great beading, craft supply, and DIY project boxes. Also, make sure to add Dollar Bead Box to your subscription list or wishlist!
The box included a letter inviting subscribers to share their projects online. The back of the letter included a list of items in the box.
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!
And, this is the March box. It took me a long time to finish the necklace I came up with (like three weeks). My fault entirely.
3 mm Fire Polish Matte Purple Iris
I like getting fire polished beads in smaller packages. Usually they come in massive quantities and I never know what to do with them all.
5 mm Fire Polish Beige Travertine
These are a little earthy feeling so I’m going to save them for something with more greens and browns.
5 mm Fire Polish Peach AB
A nice spring color here and I like the AB finish.
Aqua Silver Luster Drop
These really need to dangle so I am still thinking about how best to use them. I should really buy some titanium or niobium earring findings because these would be perfect in earrings.
Transparent Pink Drop
Another great spring color. These would also be good in earrings.
Dragonfly Bead: Black with Travertine
I like how small this is. I tend to wear more delicate necklaces and fewer statement items, so this is a good size for a centerpiece. Or a bracelet. I’m having a lot of ideas for this one.
Pewter Spiral Charm (2)
Pewter these days is usually lead free although there was no statement about materials on the information card. At any rate, these are shiny and I have a couple of ideas for them.
Pewter Corrugated Spacer (20)
More spacers are always welcome. They’re a good way to add variety or to extend the length of a gemstone strand if you’re low on gemstones.
Pewter Drop Bead (16)
These will be nice accents. I’m still thinking about how to use them.
6 mm 2 Hole Square: Matte Peridot
I was seriously excited to see these. I have this thing for flat squares and discs. And they have two holes! How fun.
6 mm 2 Hole Square: Northern Lights Finish
More squares. These made me happy.
3 mm Fire Polish Pink Opal AB
Another good spring color but a bit bolder than some of the others.
3 x 5 mm Pinch Bead: Orange Red
Here is another odd-shaped bead but I love them. And I love the variegated finish.
Aqua Dagger with Gold Wash
These are cool. They are sort of vintage looking and I think they will look awesome with some gold chain.
Vintage Look White and Blue Leaf Bead
I used to spend far too much money on real vintage beads back in the day, when eBay was new. Now there are so many vintage look beads at a fraction of the price, it’s great. I wear a lot of aqua/turquoise so these will fit into my wardrobe well.
Here is a necklace I made from some of the beads in the box and some clear seed beads I had on hand. I need to stop envisioning these multi-strand necklaces because they take me forever to finish. I think I worked on this one for close to three weeks!
Verdict: I did not calculate a value for the March 2016 Dollar Bead Box, for reasons explained above. However, I thought there was a great variety of beads and I was especially enamored of the flat square beads. I like the idea of getting a little bit of a lot of different items rather than a ton of the same item.
Please note that no directions are given and you have to supply your own needles, stringing materials, tools, and findings.
What did you think of the March 2016 Dollar Bead Box? Do you subscribe to any beading or craft boxes?
Please do not enter your email address in the Name field or in the comment content. Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *. Remember to post with kindness and respect. Comments with offensive language, cruelness to others, etc will not be approved. See our full comment policy here.