Adornable Elements Beads of the Month Club Review – May 2018

Adornable Elements Beads of the Month Clubs are the original beading subscription boxes (they’ve been around since 2000). Choose from “Hot and Trendy” beads, “2-Hole Beads,” “Superduos,” “11/0 Delicas,” “11/0 Seed Beads,” “Swarovski crystals,” or a rotating club where you get a different selection each month. The cost varies depending on the club selected and whether you choose the single or double club.

This is a review of the Single 2-Hole Beads of the Month, which is $22.95/month.

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

About Adornable Elements Beads of the Month Club

The Subscription Box: Adornable Elements Beads of the Month Club

The Cost: $22.95/month. Save a bit more with the double clubs.

The Products: 8 different types of color-coordinated 2-hole Japanese and/or Czech shaped beads

Good to know: I actually subscribe to several of these clubs and they all come in the same package (that’s why the box is so big). I’m going to do a rotation with these reviews so you’ll see something a little different each month. Also, please note that you can cancel or add clubs by calling, emailing, or using the contact form on their website.

Ships to: US, cost varies depending on the number of clubs subscribed to (shipping is $4.50 for one club; refer to their FAQ for shipping costs for additional clubs)

Adornable Elements Beads of the Month May 2018 "Beach Glass" Review

With this subscription, you receive a selection of 2-hole beads (in case you didn’t know, these are pretty trendy right now in the beading world) in coordinating colors each month:

The package came with a list of the beads included as well as retail values. Note: I am using the retail values from this list. They seem reasonable to me, plus it is pretty much impossible to find each color from the same online shop, let alone the same exact package size, so things like quantity discounts are not going to apply here. This month’s theme is “Beach Glass.” (For what it’s worth, I really think the colors fit the themes and go together nicely with these subscriptions.)

There was an insert in this month’s package advertising a new club, firepolished beads of the month. I will probably switch to this for awhile at some point when I feel I have too much of some kind of beads or other.

Matte Opaque Turquoise Green AB Half Tilas (6.25 g) – Listed Value $4

Tilas and half tilas are pretty common with this subscription. You can actually use half tilas in a lot of patterns meant for tilas if you want a narrower band (though you may need to reduce the number of accompanying seed beads). I haven’t used these yet but they fit nicely with the color palette I’ve been working with lately.

Matte Opaque Turquoise Green AB Tilas (6.5 g) – Listed Value $4

Here are some matching tilas. It is actually handy to get these and the half tilas in the same color as there are sometimes (particularly at the edges of loomed pieces) when that can come in handy. I used some of these in a bracelet this month.

Crystal Matte Miniduos (6.25g) – Listed Value $2

Miniduos are also pretty common in this subscription. I am getting quite the collection of them (although I didn’t have any like this already). You won’t get superduos (a larger version of these) because there is a separate superduo of the month club, which I have reviewed in the past. This color and finish will match a lot of other beads.

Crystal Matte Twins (7.5g) – Listed Value $1.75

I think this is the first time I’ve received twin beads, though. They’re a Czech version of this basic two-hole bead type, and they are a little less regularly-shaped than miniduos (I think they are meant to directly compete with superduos, which are slightly larger). It is a little odd to get both twins and miniduos in the same color and finish, but if you have ever wanted to compare the two types, now you can. I tried these in a bracelet pattern this month.

Matte Green Tiles (28 count) – Listed Value $2.50

The tilas up above are Japanese 2-hole squares, whereas tiles are Czech 2-hole squares (just to complicate things, Preciosa, a different Czech company, was advertising yet another type of 2-hole square in one of the beading magazines this month). I have quite a lot of this color in my collection as I think it looks good with copper, which I’ve been hoarding lately, so these will be easy to use up.

Metallic Matte Beige Tinos Par Puca (6.25 g) – Listed Value $4.50

Tinos par Puca are a relatively new (like maybe within the past 6-8 months) 2-hole bead shape; I think they are really the only trapezoids out there. They go nicely in geometric, angular patterns, including with some of the other par Puca beads.

Metallic Matte Beige Kheops Par Puca (7.5g) – Listed Value $4.25

Kheops par Puca are 2-hole triangles (with the holes in a different position than with tango beads; if this gets confusing, well, new multi-hole beads are coming out all the time and it is hard for even me to keep up with them…). These match the Tinos exactly in color, which makes coordination for patterns super easy.

Matte Blue Luster Honeycombs (28 count) – Listed Value $2.75

And as you can see, honeycombs are 2-hole hexagon-shaped beads. They come in a lot of really cool finishes these days, including some fun laser-etched ones. I actually don’t think I have any in a matte finish like this, and very few (if any) that are transparent or translucent, so these definitely fill a niche for me.

Here is a bracelet I made using the twin beads and tilas as well as some size 11 seed beads I had on hand. This is from Deb Roberti’s Tila Twin Wiggle Bracelet pattern. If this looks a little familiar, I also used this pattern in February. But then, I used miniduos. The pattern calls for twin beads, so I thought I’d see how they compared to the miniduos.

Here are this month’s bracelet and February’s. I actually think I prefer the miniduos in this pattern, they are a bit more regular in size/shape and lay flatter. This was my first time working with twin beads. I do have some more on order as I want to try a few things, but I decided to join the superduo/miniduo camp a while ago for this shape/style of beads and I’m not really regretting that decision.

Verdict: I calculated a value for the May 2018 2-Hole Beads of the Month Club of $25.75. This is a little bit short of the cost of the box plus shipping, which is about standard for this subscription. (I note that many of the larger bead retailers do have free shipping starting in the $25 to $40 range, but that Fire Mountain and Etsy sellers generally charge shipping for these sorts of items.) The way to make up the difference here is to buy more beads! I save on shipping because I get three clubs (I just review one per month) and you can also save a little more by going for the double clubs.

More importantly, I really, really love 2-hole beads, and they can be expensive. There are so many great patterns coming out with these beads lately and it’s great to have enough to just work up a bracelet or some earrings in a day or two. The color coordination means all I usually need to add are some seed beads and I’m good to go with lots of different patterns.

To Wrap Up:

Can I still get this box if I sign up today? Yes, in my experience you’ll get your first shipment shortly after you sign up, and then this ships early in the month after that.

Value Breakdown: At $25.75 (including shipping) for this box, you are paying about $3.22 per item.

Check out all of our Adornable Element Beads of the Month Reviews and more great beading, craft supply, and DIY project boxes in the Craft Subscription Box Directory!

Keep Track of Your Subscriptions: Add this box to your subscription list or wishlist!

What did you think of the May 2018 2-Hole Beads of the Month Club? Do you subscribe to any beading or craft boxes?