Busy Bee Stationery is a monthly subscription box that offers stationery items that are normally themed.
This box was sent to us at no cost for review. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.
About Busy Bee Stationery
The Subscription Box: Busy Bee Stationery
The Cost: $39.90 a month + free US shipping. Save with 3 or 6-month subscriptions!
ACTIVE DEAL: Save 20% off your first box!
CODE: MSA20
The Products: The contents of the box will vary month-to-month but always include 5-10 items that help with journaling, letter writing, and planning.
Ships to: the US for free, Canada for $7.50 and Worldwide for $12.50
Good to Know: There is no style profile, all boxes are the same and tie into each the month’s unique theme.
Busy Bee Stationery May 2019 Review
Each month we are presented with a card that introduces the month's theme. May’s Busy Bee theme is "Colorful!"
Glitter Markers
The first item I received is this set of glitter markers in blue, yellow, green, silver and pink. The way they write looks like there is glitter over the ink. The best markers are the green and pink markers; the glitter is super glittery and I can actually see the color of the marker below it. The yellow looked like I colored over black marker before using it, the blue wasn’t really glittery and the silver appeared dried out. I was unable to find this product online for a good price estimate. Busy Bee tends to use discontinued items in their subscriptions and they are hard to find.
Icon Stickers (30)
This month’s box also came with some stickers. These are white squares with golden foil designs. With the emojis, @ symbol, and the Google Map location icon these really seem to take after cell phone icons and designs. They’re nice stickers, but I essentially have zero use for emoji style icon stickers.
Pink Stencil
Wow, it has been a while since I have received a stencil like this. I’m talking at least 20 years. This little stencil features all kinds of designs: crowns, penguin, car, star, snowman. It is totally random and bears no theme. I am not going to lie, I am disappointed with this inclusion. Stencils are fun, but I have no use for them. When I do doodle, its while I am on hold with Fannie Mae or the IRS and its usually freehanded. I was unable to find the value on this, but I doubt its price point is more than a buck.
The Cactus Mini Stickies
The next item I received are these tiny little stickies in 4 different designs. Two of them look like conversation bubbles, one a mini checklist and the other one a cactus. With their size, they are great for bookmarks in books, or for me, in files when I need to go back to something. I tried hard to count these, but the smaller ones are really hard. I got about 25-29 stickies in each design. They are cute and I like them and I will use them so that’s a win (finally).
Journaling Cards – Retail Value $5.99
I love these!! There are over 30 different colorful and fun designs! I can use these with my shaped stampers I got at Hobby Lobby. One fun project I did last month when I sent out my kid’s school pictures to family members was when I used my heart shaped puncher on the envelope flap. I then glued a colorful piece of paper on the inside. When I sealed up the envelope, there was a pretty, colorful heart in the middle. They looked amazing! It took me a couple of hours to do like 20 of them, but I really enjoyed making them. These will be great for those kinds of future projects.
Phrase Stickers – Retail Value $3.00 (found here for $1.00)
These are cute. I like the color scheme: turquoise, green and white. I also like the fonts and shapes of the stickers. I definitely can use these! I’ve got a bunch of greeting cards from others subs that are blank on the inside. The stickers add a little something without being over-done.
Cat Journal
I get a lot of notebooks with Busy Bee, but I am not complaining! I seem to have a “need” for journals when I don’t have any on hand so I am glad to build up a small supply. This one is cute, designed with cats. It looks to me like they are all at the park just hanging out; there is a cat flying a kite, a couple of cats at a picnic table munching on some fish, cats in boxes and cats listening to music. It is cute and the way that it is designed is to be colored. While this is a little out of my taste, it is one I can pass down to my daughter. She still has a journal she is using for doodles and notes, so I will put it up until she needs it. This journal comes with 80 lined page and measures 6x8.
Pen
The last item in the month’s Busy Bee is this pen. I normally get a lone pen in my box, especially if there are notepads or journals. This one is okay, not fancy not horrible. It is a retractable blue ballpoint pen in a white barrel with a green top. The pen also has a bird (is it a dove?) on the barrel. Other than that, there were no words or markings to indicate what kind of pen this was or who manufactured it.
Verdict: I was not impressed by this month’s box at all. While I liked the stickers and journal pages and will use them, I feel let down by the other items. Look, I love randomness and surprises, but I really don’t like the randomness of this box. Some of the items are obviously geared at crafters but I don’t understand when they send certain items that appear to be geared at children like the stencil. Since Busy Bee sends out items that are discontinued or are low stock, I was only able to find the values of 2 items that totaled $8.99 which means the other 6 items are about $4 each. While I am sure the value is there, it's just hard to believe. Honestly, I would not walk into Michael’s or Hobby Lobby and spend almost $40 on these items and be happy with myself. Hopefully, next month will make up for it.
The Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? No, will get the June box.
ACTIVE DEAL: Save 20% off your first box!
CODE: MSA20
Value Breakdown: This box costs $39.90 + free shipping, which means that each of the 8 items in the box has an average cost of $4.97.
Check out all of our Busy Bee Stationery reviews and more of our Arts & Crafts subscription boxes!
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What do you think of this month’s Busy Bee Stationery?
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