Blueberry Cove Beads: April and May Boxes

I realized I wrote this back in May, and still had not posted it. Me thinks my laziness chrysalis needs to crack off soon, leaving me an energetic butterfly.

I am listening to "The Bells" by Lowell, and it sounded like they said "where'd the heat go?" So, I thought I'd share it. Not that we need more heat... it was apparently 97 in Seattle over the 4th weekend!

On to the beads! I combined my April and May Blueberry Cove Beads box reviews, because I still haven't made anything with my April box. The theme was from an abstract painting, and while I did start several projects, I have only just completed a wrap bracelet using the Superduo beads.

April, Box 5: Abstract Colour [list of contents from site]

• One string of 8mm round grey glass beads with black detail (approx 65 beads)
• 10 blue grey teardrop glass beads, 13mm
• 1 oval white shell pendant, 36mm
• One strand of 4mm white round glass beads (approx 84 beads)
• 5 copper tone butterfly charms, 21mm
• 2 round disc white porcelain beads, 21mm
• 6 porcelain glazed white/grey ‘pumpkin’ beads, 13mm
• One string of natural gemstone 23mm oval beads, red line jasper (approx 16 beads)
• One string of natural gemstone 8mm round beads, red wood lace stone (approx 50 beads)
• 3 packs of approx 10g of Japanese seed beads – grey, frosted white and periwinkle blue
• 1 pack (approx 5g) of Superduo beads

April Blueberry Cove Beads Box

I liked the theme of this box! It was curated around a color theme, and I quite liked the original abstract painting the inspiration came from. Superduo beads were something I was seeing a lot, but had not yet used, so it has been fun experimenting with them [though it looks like I forgot to photograph them]. Seed beads in a variety of colors are always something I can use more of. Especially since I would like to start making some bead embroidered necklaces! While I was unsure of the periwinkle seed beads at first, once I put them into a bracelet with other colors, I enjoyed the effect.


May, Box 6: The Crystal Cave [list of contents from site]

• Aluminium Wire, 20 guage [10m]
• Strand of Sky Blue Faceted Round Glass Beads, 40 [8mm]
• Strand of Fluorite Gemstone Chip Beads
• Round Electroplated Glass Crystal Beads. 4 [18mm]
• Strand of Dark Purple Faceted Rondelle Crystal Beads, 100 [6mm]
• Agate Slice Pendant, drilled 
• Gray Druzy Crystal Pendant, drilled
• Burgundy Bicone Crystals, 30 [4mm]
• Beige Bicone Crystals, 30 [4mm]
• Faceted Champagne Drop Crystal Pendant [28 mm]
• Small Crystals, 2

The May box, as one Tweeter put it, made me "squeeee" with delight when I opened it! I love rocks, stones, and sparkles. Last time I was at my parents' home I cleaned out a small collection of rocks I had collected since childhood, and of course about a month ago I brought home a small pile from a beach. I can't help it!

Looking over the rest of the contents, I was really excited to experiment with the wire in this box! I see wire wrapped items all the time on Pinterest, and while I'm not really interested in doing the crazy intricate stuff, simple wire wrapping is fine. This guage of aluminum wire is a little too thin to do some of the ideas I'd tried, so I am not sure what to use it for now.

Overall, I loved this whole box, but I just wasn't wild about the chips because they're dull and scratched. I am guessing they're glass or plastic, but at any rate I've started a box of craft supplies for my nieces, and there are several strands of beads in there for them to create with!

My asymmetrical necklace made with the champagne tear drop stone, and wrapped with aluminum wire.

Blogging the depths of the abyss,
[a]

What I Won and What I Made

A bit late, but I was waiting to post this until I was happy with a piece, and even though I'm still on the fence I thought I would post anyway. My next Blueberry Cove Beads box should be coming this week hopefully!

Last month I found out I won the Blueberry Cove Bead box challenge! I got the March box for free, which was pretty exciting.

Blueberry Cove Bead Box #3: Vintage Tea Party Review

Hello! I haven't posted in a while, despite my having composed posts in my head on several commutes home from work. At first I was a little disparaged that I hadn't physically typed anything up. But, the book I've been listening to, The Upside of Irrationality, had a good point--most blogs are written for and read by the writer and are seldom read by anyone else. Which, to me, means that it doesn't matter when I write because I'm writing for myself. =)

February wasn't too terribly busy--I started my second semester of grad school, and was only able to take one class as I had taken my other three required classes last semester and have to have all four finished to start in on the real classes. Taking one course is way less stressful! I now have time to make jewelry. Which is great because I have been spending excessive amounts of money on beads!

My newest bead source also happens to be a subscription box. I'm not even sure how I came across it earlier in February, but I am glad I did! Blueberry Cove Beads is a new monthly bead subscription box that sends out beads [loose and strung], findings, and pendants for $22 a month + $5 S&H. The box ships from Nova Scotia, Canada and I got my first one within a week. They also recently opened up the first [Woodland] and second [Art Deco] boxes for purchase for $30 [$25 + $5 S&H], and I had to get the Art Deco box.

The subscription box that arrived was a thin rectangular book-shaped piece containing a black silky bag with the Blueberry Cove logo etched on a wooden tag. I was very impressed by the presentation, and the info card [which I forgot to photograph] of several ladies sitting down to a tea party.

My Shopping Addiction...

Welcome! I just spent five minutes revamping my blog--which is a miracle for me. I won't go into again, but I wrote a class post lamenting the loss of Xanga, which allowed users so much freedom to edit their sites that I was immediately spoiled and haven't been blog-satisfied since.

Over the past week I've been crafting up a small storm! [see next post for what I made] In addition, I checked out some bead stitching books from the library for inspiration and lessons, received several packages in the mail, and of course did more shopping.

I'm a little addicted to shopping. But, after reading the first couple of chapters in Delivered from Distraction, I decided I'd rather be addicted to shopping than alcohol, drugs, or gambling. Though, I do have a drink a few nights a week and I sometimes buy scratch cards, thankfully I am not addicted. Back to the shopping... I'd like to show you some of the neat things.

• These bronze elephant clasps finally arrived from China, and I am super excited about putting them on my bracelets and necklaces as a fun little element. But they're stubborn to open and close, so, I will have to do a wee bit of sanding to make them suitable for others! I plan to eventually start selling some of the items I make. The last items I made were feather fascinators, and they just sat on Etsy month after month accruing fees and dust. I have more hope for my bracelets! [pictured later]

• While I do love Birchbox's website, customer service, and the variety of products they sell, I always felt a little disappointed by what I got in my box. Many months I would get hair products like dry shampoo [I can't comb my curls] or foil packets, perfumes from Harvey Prince [which I haven't liked yet], or another primer/lotion for my face that I added to the pile to swap with my sister. I ended up canceling after my January box, and after reviewing my products I had $10 to spend. Most of their items are pretty spendy, and for some reason their site just overwhelms me with products so I was super happy to find a body butter for $15, of which I paid $5. The site did not provide any description of the scents, but I liked the container and found the Camille Beckman website with descriptions. Amazingly, the No. 25 is a smell I approve of! [have I mentioned I am picky?] The smell is faint and lovely--sort of a baby powder, fruity... oh just read what the site says. 

• One of my shopping addictions is all the fault of Liz from My Subscription Addiction =) When I started working in an office this past summer, I mentioned subscription boxes to my male coworker who also has anxiety and ADHD in addition to his gambling/shopping problem. He immediately signed up for three boxes and hated all of them. I have to say, after subscribing to the MSA newsletter for six months, guy boxes and food boxes aren't great.
  Anyway, it has become my morning work ritual to get straight to work open up my MSA email and see what sort of neat boxes there are. Food, baby, clothing, exercise, pay-to-keep, and more makeup/sample boxes are of least interest to me. Conveniently, those also tend to be the more expensive boxes. This week I found [and subscribed to] the following boxes: 

• Little Lace Box--a lifestyle, home, product box. Not lingerie, as I had originally thought. It's $39.99, but there are several blogs that provide a coupon code for $10 off your first box. I am super excited for this one! January was The Dining Car [Downton Abbey themed], and I was pretty impressed by the contents of the box for the price. 
• Darby Smart Mystery DIY Kit--this box is $19/month. While some of the boxes look a little lame [the crocheted cotton ball scarf in particular], I was pretty impressed with the variety of kits the site sells as one-offs. I signed up for the monthly kit anyway, because why not? I also purchased some agate stones, but sadly I didn't realize they weren't pre-drilled so now I'll have to do something other than make a necklace. The other item I purchased was a DIY Terrarium Kit, which I'll post soon with other items I've made this week. 
• Blueberry Cove Beads--I think I am most excited about this box. Because I just got into jewelry making, and have been going into a bead-buying frenzy, I thought this would be a nice way to just get a box of curated beads and products every month. This box is $22 with $5 S&H, and ships from Nova Scotia. So far there have only been two boxes, and I was their 100th subscriber [yay!]. The boxes were Woodland Themed and Art Deco. Both of which I wish I had gotten! Hopefully she decides to sell old boxes, if there is product leftover, because I love both. I look forward to the challenges and inspiration this box will feed to my creativity.  
• Wantable--actually, I've had a subscription to Wantable for several months and I LOVE them! My box arrived this week so I'll post a picture of it soon. I just love their customer service, their Instagram pictures, the variety of items, and the ability to take the styling quizzes each month and change what sort of box or items you want to receive. While I don't always love the contents of my box, returns are free and then you can decide if you want to buy another box that month or wait till the next month. I usually do jewelry or intimates, though I did try makeup once and while I was impressed [and actually ended up winning their Photo Fridays contest] I already have a lot of makeup that I don't wear. 

That's all for now. I am supposed to be reading my ADHD book before I meet with my counselor tomorrow. I've had like two months to read five chapters, and not surprisingly I just cracked the cover yesterday. Don't get me wrong, I love to read, I just don't like non-fiction. Let me leave you with a bit that I was surprised to see people with ADHD commonly struggle with [I thought I just sucked at making and keeping friends]. It's been on my mind all day, and something I've struggled the most with my entire life. I've also provided a quote that my mom used to say about me:

• "Disadvantageous characteristics: ... Difficulty in reading social cues, which can lead to difficulty in making and keeping friends." [Hallowell, p 7] 
• "Hillie has friends; Aundie has books." [my mom talking about my sister and me--she didn't have anything to ground me from]

Blogging the depths of the abyss, 
[a]