Dollar Bead Box Subscription Review – April 2019

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.)

About Dollar Bead Box

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)

Dollar Bead Box April 2019 Review

You’ll get a variety of different beads with this subscription. You can count on some strands and Czech glass nearly every month, but half the fun here is seeing what other random things show up. Let’s see what we got this month:

The box usually comes with an information sheet that has a letter on one side and an item list on the back.

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!

8 x 23mm Pewter Banjo, Antique Copper (2)

Banjos are a pretty specific instrument and I only know one person who plays (an uncle in his 60s, so probably not someone I’d use charms in a handmade gift for…). However, I think these would go well in an overall music-themed piece like a charm bracelet (with music notes, bass and treble clef charms, etc.).

16-20mm Baroque Pearl with Peacock Finish (1)

I think baroque pearls are great; they have a lot of character. This one is of a size that would make it a good centerpiece for a bracelet, maybe with some white or cream-colored freshwater pearls for contrast.

6mm Czech Firepolished Rounds, Matte Copper (20)

You’ll always get a few strands of Czech glass with this subscription. Matte copper fits nicely into the color palette I tend to stick to and use most often (which I have named “things that look good with copper”) so these will probably end up being used in a pattern sooner or later.

8 x 20mm Czech Glass Drop, Red Opal with Travertine (1)

It’s a bit weird to get only one of these, as it’s a particularly good size for earrings and somewhat small for a necklace. Anyway, this is a style I’m seeing a lot of lately and it should go well with other new-to-market Czech glass.

8mm Howlite Rounds, White (10)

Howlite may be best known in its turquoise color, where it is often used as an inexpensive substitute for the gemstone of the same name. However, it comes in other colors as well; this white one is pretty common. I used some of these in a necklace this month, which you can see below.

8 x 12mm and 10 x 14mm Lapis Beads (1 each)

I sort of want to use these in an asymmetrical bracelet with some delicate silver chain. But they’d also be good in a Y necklace (or you could buy an extra set and make some earrings).

6-10mm Large Hole Pearl, Assorted Colors (4)

Most pearls have tiny, tiny holes. These are actually drilled out enough that you can put them on some 1mm leather cord (or other material of your choice). Not sure how I will use them yet but I am sure I will find some other large-hole beads if I go through my stash.

4mm Mixed Gemstones, 15-16” Strand

This is probably my favorite item of the box, which is not what I would have expected from reading the item list. But the variety of colors and stones appeals to me. I saw, at a minimum, green aventurine, rose quartz, unakite, brown goldstone, and quite a few others. I used quite a lot of these in a necklace this month, which you can see below.

Gemstone Pendant (Varied, 1)

This was a really gemstone-heavy box but I am not complaining. There were enough different types of items that nothing felt repetitive. This is a freeform pendant with a bail already attached. If you had a finished chain, you could string this and have a simple necklace all ready to go (and good for layering).

6mm Czech Glass Pyramid, Jet Hematite (20)

We also received this type of bead last month but in a different color. I believe this is a Preciosa item and I do have some others in my stash. These don’t appear in many patterns but that is just a reason for me to come up with something original. (I learned recently that the jet hematite coating is formed in a vacuum deposition process – it’s rare that I get to think of beads in terms of physical sciences, so that was kind of fun.)

8 x 16mm Pewter Drop, Antique Silver Plated (2)

You’ll usually get a couple of charms and/or findings in this box; the metal tones don’t always match. I used these as dangles in some earrings, which you can see below.

12 x 16mm Czech Glass Voodoo Bead, Jet AB2X (2)

I like the faces on these. I’m finding this bead type in a lot of places now, but Dollar Bead Box was the first time I ever saw these. They have a 2X AB coating, which is why they look a bit teal instead of just jet (black).

2mm Czech Glass Pearl, Coral Luster (42)

I’m collecting more 2mm beads; they’re coming out in more styles and colors and can even be substituted for certain seed bead sizes in patterns. I don’t have any in this color yet, though. I haven’t used them yet but I do have plenty of coordinating beads in my stash.

6mm Czech Glass Pearl, Mint Tea (25)

Here is another strand of glass pearls. I used a couple of these in my earrings, but I still have a lot left. I thought they matched the AB2X voodoo beads nicely.

6mm Czech Glass Druk, Light Topaz (34)

Here is another strand of Czech glass. Druks are pressed rounds and work equally well in stringing (especially as spacers between more elaborate and expensive beads) and bead weaving (they often form central elements of patterns). I think these might look good with just some onyx rounds and some silvertone spacers in a simple strung bracelet.

16 x 20mm Stabilized Turquoise Ovals (2)

More gemstones! These ovals are thin enough that they’d work in earrings (thin means not too heavy!). I’d say these would look good with the usual complementary pieces – coral, silvertone findings, etc.

The necklace I made this month (see below) was sort of similar to items I made for other bead boxes, so I did a bonus project here using the voodoo beads, some of the teal pearls, and the pewter drops, as well as some metal spacer beads, eye pins, jump rings, and earring hooks from my stash.

I was fascinated with the multi-gemstone strand this month and knew I wanted to use those in a piece of jewelry. Here is the necklace I made, in which I also used some of the howlite beads as spacers. Still working on my technique with this type of beading but I am getting there.

Verdict: I did not calculate a value for the April 2019 Dollar Bead Box, for reasons explained above. There were 16 items (if I counted right) so if you divide the cost of the box by the number of items, it is about $1.22 per item. There was a little something for everyone this month. One thing that I like about Dollar Bead Box is that if you don’t find a use for something right away, a lot of times you can just hold on to it for a while and then the perfect complement will come along in another Dollar Bead Box, so it’s a good stash-building subscription. This month was fun with all of the real pearls, faux pearls, and gemstones. Of course, I love Czech glass, but the variety of other items this month was pretty strong.

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, but if there is an item that appeals to you, if you become a Dollar Bead Box member, you can order items from past Dollar Bead Boxes from the Dollar Bead Box shop for $1 each (plus shipping).

Value Breakdown: At $19.50 for this subscription, you are paying about $1.22 per item.

Check out all of our Dollar Bead Box reviews and our best Craft Subscription Boxes! 

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What did you think of the April 2019 Dollar Bead Box? Do you subscribe to any beading or craft boxes?