BeadCrate Subscription Box Review – June 2016

2 comments!
Hello Subscription independently researches and reviews the best subscriptions and products. Things you buy through our links may earn us a commission.
Go to commentsNotification

IMG_5661

BeadCrate is a monthly subscription box for bead enthusiasts. Every month you’ll receive a curated collection of beads, findings, and other goodies to enhance your beading creations! There are three box sizes – Hobbyist ($7.99), Enthusiast ($15.99), and Collector ($35) [prices don’t include shipping] to choose from. This is the Enthusiast Crate!

IMG_5664

The theme of this month is Boho! And look at the cute elephant, so adorable.

IMG_5665

The crate comes with a chart that tells you exactly what you’re getting, along with a curator’s note. I really like that we know where each bead come from. Next month’s theme was revealed on their instagram : Lava !

IMG_5668

IMG_5671

The beads come well package in a red organza bag that fits the theme.

IMG_5672

Lots of beads this month! Most of them are wooden beads, and there’s even a piece of leather in it! Everything comes in plastic bags (or a plastic tube) and well labelled.

IMG_5686

Czech glass beads : 25 opaque red faceted rounds beads (6mm), 25 medium topaz daisy disks (9mm), 100 amber rounds beads (4mm). I love the colours! The yellow is very rich and reminds me of honey! The tiny beads are great as spacer beads or as component in a fringe type necklace. The daisies are so cute! I will use them on a bracelet, but they would make cute little earrings. The red beads are very bright, but not too shiny.

IMG_1777

About 3 yards (approx. 2.5 metres) of 1mm brown leather cord from India. That leather is a joy to work with, it’s sturdy but very soft and flexible. It’s easy to make knots with it. That would be perfect to make a knotted bracelet with big beads or a lariat style necklace. The tiny golden leaves are delicate and would make a perfect charm on a bracelet, or a nice earrings if paired with seed beads. The recycled powder glass from Ghana are very interesting. I have yet to think of what to do with them.

IMG_5673

6/0 Toho Opaque Turquoise (tube) and Toho Opaque Matagama. I love the turquoise seed beads. They are even, and big enough to be used with cords and the leather. The Matagama are oval seed beads with an off center hole. They would make perfect end of a seed bead fringe design. The colours are deep and fit nicely with the theme. There’s about 30-40 beads of each colour in the mix I received.

IMG_5683

Wooden beads. About 88 green dyed wood rounds (4-5mm). The colour is amazing, it reminds me of malachite and leaves. The grain of the wood is still visible and I would pair them with malachite or green magnetite beads on a chunky bracelet. 25 hot pink dyed wood rounds. (8mm). I wasn’t sure about the colour at first, but they would look great with the yellow dyed ovals (15 beads, 6x9mm) on a macrame-style bracelet or necklace. Together, they look fun and summery.

IMG_5678

Assorted printed bamboo beads. I love having a mix of these beads. The holes are quite wide so they would look great strung on big leather or cotton cords, or in a knotted design. I’ve tried them on the leather cord from the box but I found that it is not thick enough for a single knot to keep them in place.
Heishi wood beads (3mm). They would make great spacer beads or by themselves in a multi-row necklace or bracelet.

IMG_1763

Patikan saucer beads (15x5mm). Oval 4 face robles wood beads (10x25mm). Patikan is a type of palm tree growing in the Philippines. Usually, the beads will be cut in a way to emphasize the darker lines of the wood. These ones show little dots. They are very nice and I would see them in a tassel design, on a lariat style necklace with the leather cord. The robles wood beads could be strung by themselves on a simple cord, to be used in a layered necklace.

IMG_5681

White wood. Round (5mm) and coins (15x5mm). They could either be dyed (I would go for a deep burgundy) or left as is and use as a contrasting colours with the other beads. I love the feeling of the wood, they are very smooth and light.

IMG_5706

For this box, I decided to use the different type of glass beads (and a leaf) from the box, simply strung on a wire. I’ve only added the golden findings to go along with the leaf.

IMG_1803

I also wanted to try something new, so I did two macramé bracelets. I’ve never done macramé before, but I was inspired to try it to go along with the theme of the box.

IMG_1800flip

I really enjoy this month’s BeadCrate’s box. It actually pushed me into trying something I had never done before (macramé) instead of sticking with what I know best. There’s still a lot of beads left from my box, and I really want to use the green and the white wooden beads together with some gemstones.
What do you think of this month’s box?

Visit BeadCrate to subscribe or find out more!

The Subscription: BeadCrate
The Description: BeadCrate wants to be a spring board to your own creative journey. Each month we will send the latest curated collection, could be a specific theme, could be things that inspire us, or some really cool random bits we had to share. Each box contains a varied selection of beads and styles (and possibly a few extra goodies).
The Price: $11.99 per month

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • Valerie
    06.30.16

    Ahhhh, so pretty! I love those leaf charms!

    • Catherine
      07.04.16

      They are lovely! I wish I had one more to make light earrings with them and one or two tiny green crystals. Now that I have one left, I’ll probably just use it as is to make a pendant on a golden chain. So many things I could have done with them!