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I am absolutely in love with subscription boxes, but I'm not one for accumulating a lot of unnecessary stuff. My minimalist tendency trumps the excitement of getting a monthly surprise in the mail. Therefore, the subscription boxes I am signed up for are either food or DIY oriented i.e. things I know will get consumed or will occupy my time in a productive way. That is why I sought out a couple of craft subscription boxes to put them to the test!
1. Chic Maker
Chic Maker is a subscription box for DIY jewelry. I've never tried to make my own jewelry and the jewelry section at Michaels always looked so intimidating to me, so Chic Maker has been a really helpful way to get into it. I get all the materials and instructions I need to learn how to make jewelry, and I feel more confident I will able to tame my own jewelry projects soon! And my favorite thing is I'm pretty certain the resulting product will be one I can use frequently.
Sample contents: I received two kits to review, both bracelets. The first one was the less involved of the two, and I was able to finish it within one episode of Doctor Who. The kit contained four silk cords, one golden aluminum chain, two rings, one spring clasp, and one small chain for the clasp to attach on.
The second one, the 5-band bracelet took me a couple of evenings to finish. The kit contained a real leather black cord, three faux suede cords, a magnetic brass clasp, crimps, crystal beads, turquoise beads, brass beads, glass seed beads, jump rings, and nylon crystal thread.
The kits contained clear instructions with a lot of pictures, both the packaging and the photographs looked very professional. Somehow I ran short of two cords in the first kit, I'm not sure if I did something wrong or what. On the second kit, there were more than enough beads left over for me to make quite a few more bracelets. I really like the look of both bracelets and even more so, considering I'm able to say I made them myself!
Monthly subscription cost: $29.90 per month, and if you sign up for 3 months up front you also get a starter kit valued at $25. The starter kit contains two jewelry pliers, a cutter, a tube of jewelry glue, and a tape measure.
2. Craftistas
Craftistas is a subscription box for crafts. It's pretty open-ended and past projects have included purses, gloves, ear warmers, journals, whatever happens to be trendy.
Sample contents: The box I received to review was a yarn-wrapped wreath. Items included in the box: straw wreath, more than enough yarn cover it up, four squares of burlap to make hearts, a whole sheet of alphabet stickers to spell out the word or quote of your choice (instructions said "love"), six strips of burlap to make flowers, and two ribbons to hang and decorate the wreath.
I wrapped the yarn around the wreath for the better part of another episode of Doctor Who, made flowers from burlap, and added my own adaption of a quote from Serenity. The instructions also included hearts, but since I received the kit on Valentine's Day, I felt already hearted-out so I skipped those. In the end, I'm pretty happy to hang the result on my front door!
Monthly subscription cost: $24 monthly, or $21 per month if you sign up for one year.
For more subscription box reviews, Subscription Boxes for Gamers, Crafters, and Etsy Enthusiasts, Subscription Boxes For Healthy Living, Five Subscription Kits For Kids, La Bella Box, Knoshbox, and Enjoy Quality Fruits and Vegetables From the FruitGuys.
