The Creative's Container is a monthly subscription box by designer Terina Nicole McKinney and her teen daughter Jordan Alexis. Their goal is to make "designing beautiful things accessible to all."
Every month a new DIY design project will arrive at your home with everything you need to make chic home decor, jewelry & accessory design projects. Packaged in re-usable containers, each delightful delivery brings the opportunity to learn how to make beautiful things from the comfort of home as long you're subscribed.
My Subscription Addiction paid for this box. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)
The Subscription Box: The Creative's Container
The Cost: $29.99 per month with free shipping. The 3-month price is $84.99 and six months is $164.99.
The Products: Instructions and supplies in a reusable container for completing a home decor, accessory or jewelry project.
Ships to: USA
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The project for October was to make three choker necklaces! I love when multiple projects are included in craft boxes because it's nice to have extras for gifts.
The box included a list of supplies and a sheet with written instructions. I had no problems following the instructions, but it would have been nice to be able to see pictures of the final necklaces before starting. Also, their website promises 'online videos in case you get stuck', but it's November and there still isn't a video for the October box.
They also included a promo postcard. This is still a fairly new subscription, as it launched last July. This is their fourth box.
This month's reusable container is a tin box, which unfortunately arrived squished since it was sent in a padded mailer rather than a box. However, the contents were safe.
I was able to bend the box back into shape and will use it to store supplies. I like the tin, but some sort of jewelry pouch might have been a better fit for the theme and the envelope.
The supplies arrived organized into little bags, so it was easy to keep everything together.
Here's everything that was included: a long piece of suede cord, two fairly short pieces of black elastic ribbon/lace, a heart pendant, ten golden beads, and some findings for closures.
The first necklace used the heart pendant and black elastic ribbon. I should also have included the lobster claw clasp and two more jump rings in this picture. The pieces weren't grouped by necklace, so I wasn't initially sure which parts matched.
Assembly was easy – I added jump rings and the clasp to the brass closures. I ended up using pliers, but it would have been easy enough to do without them.
Next, I put the heart pendant on the ribbon and clasped the ends on each side of the ribbon. The brass ends have little teeth that grip the ribbon so that it won't come out.
Here's the finished necklace! It turned out pretty well, and I like the weight of the pendant, which is finished on both sides. The directions mentioned that you should trim the ribbon to fit your neck, but I used the full piece of ribbon and the finished necklace was around 15.5" long. I liked the length, but it would have been nice for them to include a bit more ribbon for people who want to make a slightly longer necklace or who need a larger size.
The next choker used this red suede cord and gold beads. I believe the suede cord is real leather, and last month's box used leather as well. If you are vegan, you may want to ask in advance whether the upcoming project is vegan.
Assembly was easy – just thread the beads onto the cord and knot it at the ends.
The nice thing about this necklace is that it can be as long or as short as you want.
The final choker used a piece of elastic lace. The assembly is basically the same as the first necklace since all it needs is a closure at the end.
I'll admit that I didn't actually make this one into a necklace, but this is what it would have looked like. The lace is 14" long, and the closure would add a little to the length. I like the simple look of the lace, but a pendant or some sparkly beads to sew on would have made it more substantial.
The nice thing about a subscription like this is that you can really make whatever you want, and I chose to repurpose some of the supplies to make a different necklace in the end.
I love the way the antiqued brass and red suede look together.
Verdict: The value works out to $10 per necklace. The chokers were easy and fun to make and didn't take much time at all. Projects like this are fun for people of any experience level. However, this would have been a stronger box if the value had been just a little better: a few inches more ribbon, a second pendant, a jewelry container instead of a tin. Often with craft subscriptions, the instructions are a key part of the service you are paying for, but here they feel like more of an afterthought. Overall I have mixed feelings about this box because the value and instruction are lacking, but the projects did turn out well and I like the finished result.
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? No, you will get the November project, which hasn't been announced yet. Signups for November last until the 15th and boxes ship at the end of the month.
Coupon – Get your first box for $24.99 plus free shipping; no coupon required, just link here!
What do you think of October's The Creative's Container?
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