Darn Good Beads of the Month is a monthly subscription for jewelry makers from Darn Good Yarn. (You don’t have to be able to knit or crochet for this subscription!) Every month you’ll receive materials to complete a quick beading project. You will need some basic tools of your own (pliers, crimping pliers, glue) but they provide all the findings, beads, and stringing materials!
In addition to their Bead of the Month Club, Darn Good Yarn also offers a Yarn of the Month Club, Fabric of the Month Club, and Sock of the Month Club.
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 Darn Good Beads of the Month
The Subscription Box: Darn Good Beads of the Month
The Cost: $20/month plus shipping
ACTIVE DEAL: Save 15% off your first order when you sign up for the newsletter. No coupon needed - just use this link.
The Products: Materials and instructions to complete one beading/jewelry-making project.
Ships to: The continental U.S. for $4; Hawaii, Alaska, U.S. territories, and international for $13
Darn Good Beads of the Month Southwest Waters Beaded Earrings Review
I’ve been receiving Darn Good Beads of the Month for quite a while now. I expect to get a simple project with instructions that will be easy to complete in under an hour or two, but the projects have been pretty varied.
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Every box comes with an instruction booklet. This one was pretty complete. I do have some suggestions on how to assemble the project in a different order that makes a lot more sense, but we will get to that below.
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Southwest Waters Beaded Earrings
First off, I think the person who wrote the instructions was working with slightly different hoops than we were provided in the box. What we got appeared to be memory wire. So if you have memory wire bending pliers, that will be really helpful, but if you don’t, you should be able to manage with regular round nose pliers, it will just take a bit of extra effort. Anyway, first make a loop in one end of one of the wires. (Or do both. I actually worked on my earrings in parallel rather than one at a time.)
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Then they have you stringing on beads and jump rings. This is what I started to do but I ran into a problem. You get to the end and all the beads and jump rings are added to the wire and there is a bunch of extra space left on the wire, so I did what I thought was sensible and cut it off. Then I made a loop in the other end and continued on with the project.
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Well. Don’t do that. Instead, make all your dangles that will go with the jump rings, and attach them to the jump rings BEFORE you string all the beads and jump rings on the hoops. Because if you don’t do that, things get too tight and you can’t actually add your dangles.
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I rescued everything by getting some wire I had out on the table near me (any beading wire will do, this happens to be a jeweler’s bronze color that I got from Fire Mountain, although if you follow my suggestions instead of the booklet, you won’t need any wire because you’ll be able to get it right the first time). I cut a couple of lengths and strung beads and dangles attached to jump rings, formed into a circle (sort of), and attached the earring hook and dangle.
You will need: pliers for opening and closing jump rings and/or making loops, a basic pliers set with cutters will do. Nice to have: memory wire cutting pliers and memory wire bending pliers. These are made of harder stuff than regular jewelry pliers, to deal with the steel of the memory wire. I actually marred my regular cutters because I got lazy. So, don’t be like me…
Here are the finished earrings:
Verdict: I did not calculate a value for Darn Good Beads of the Month because the materials were unbranded and not labeled. I think this was a good project. However, I think it would have benefited from giving the exact materials and instructions to a handful of people unfamiliar with the project and having them try to complete it, because I think some questions or issues could have been dealt with in terms of the order of assembly, leading to a less frustrating experience. (I almost gave up at one point, until I had the idea to redo the wire.) Although the projects in this subscription are generally ones that ought to be suitable for beginners, sometimes you need to substitute a different item from your stash or come up with a fix, and several years of beading experience definitely come in handy there.
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? No, you’ll most likely receive the April box. More from Darn Good Beads:
If you place your order by the 1st, then your box will ship on the 20th (or the next business day during weekends). If you place your order after the 1st, then your box will ship the next month.
ACTIVE DEAL: Save 15% off your first order when you sign up for the newsletter. No coupon needed - just use this link.
Check out my past reviews of Darn Good Beads of the Month and see the Craft Subscription Box List for more great beading, craft supply, and DIY project boxes.
Keep Track of Your Subscriptions: Add this box to your subscription list or wishlist!
What did you think of the Southwest Waters Beaded Earrings from Darn Good Beads of the Month? Do you subscribe to any beading or craft boxes?
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