The $6 Halloween Bead Kit Returns

Well, look who’s back.

Way back in July—when most reasonable people were thinking about sunshine, cottages and anything but Halloween—I cracked open a $6 Halloween bead kit.

Because apparently Halloween in July is a thing when you have beads.

At the time, we had a good look through the kit, talked about what was actually inside and started figuring out whether six dollars worth of Halloween beads was a bargain… or six dollars I could have spent on coffee.

But now it's October.

Spooktacular has officially begun.

And before we move on to all the eerie, beady, papery things I have planned for this month, I thought we'd go back and see what actually happened to that little $6 bead kit.

A Little $6 Update…

Before we go any further, I should probably mention that I went looking for this kit again.

Remember that lovely little $6 bead kit?

Yeah. About that.

The exact kit I bought is now $26.

TWENTY. SIX. DOLLARS.

Apparently the scariest thing in this entire Halloween post isn't the ghosts, skulls or spiders. It's the current price of the bead kit.

I did find a similar kit that is much more reasonably priced, so I'll link that one instead for anyone who wants to try the same kind of Halloween bead experiment. It still isn't $6—but thankfully it isn't $26 either.

So when I ask below whether I'd buy my original kit again for $6, the answer is still absolutely yes.

Would I buy it again for $26?

Well now, that's an entirely different Halloween story.

So… What Did $6 Worth of Halloween Beads Become?

Quite a bit, actually.

A good portion of this particular kit definitely leaned toward the fun, colorful side of Halloween. These weren't necessarily the beads I was going to turn into sophisticated jewelry and wear to a fancy dinner.

Unless, of course, the fancy dinner had chicken fingers.

They were perfect for kids' bracelets.

Bright colors, fun Halloween shapes and beads that didn't need to take themselves too seriously. Those bracelets eventually made their way to the shop priced at just $1 each.

I also pulled some of the beads into heishi and friendship-style bracelets, where a Halloween bead here and there could become the focal point without the entire bracelet screaming:

I HAVE A PLASTIC PUMPKIN ON MY WRIST.

That's one of the things I actually like about these inexpensive mixed kits. You don't have to use every bead exactly the way the package suggests.

The Trick With Cheap Bead Kits

Here's the part worth remembering the next time you're standing in a store holding a little bag of assorted beads and wondering whether you need it.

Don't ask:

“Do I love every bead in here?”

Ask:

“How many things can I make using pieces from this kit?”

Those are two very different questions.

There are almost always going to be beads in an inexpensive assortment that aren't really your style. That's okay.

Look for the useful pieces.

Can some become focal beads? Can you mix them with heishi beads you already own? Can the smaller pieces work as spacers? Could a handful become kids' bracelets, bag charms, keychains or another little seasonal project?

A $6 kit doesn't have to produce six dollars worth of one thing.

The fun is seeing how far you can stretch it.

And apparently I took that as a personal challenge.

Would I Buy It Again?

For six dollars?

Yep.

Not because every single bead was spectacular. They weren't.

But because it gave me a pile of inexpensive Halloween pieces to play with, and I was able to turn them into several different projects by combining them with supplies already in my stash.

And really, that's where these kits make the most sense.

Use the kit as the starting point—not the entire project.

Suddenly a package of inexpensive novelty beads has a whole lot more possibilities.

And That's Just the Beginning…

Those little $6 beads aren't going to be the fanciest Halloween bracelets you'll see around here this month.

I've also been making some decidedly more grown-up Halloween bracelets with glass beads and Halloween charms.

There are Halloween danglers brewing.

There will hopefully be some eerie cards—because I absolutely LOVE making Halloween cards despite the fact that I have never actually sent one.

There's a paper treat-holder project starting to form in my head.

And somewhere in all of this, a beaded spider suncatcher has already appeared because someone made the questionable decision to leave me alone with beads and free time on a Sunday.

So consider this little $6 bead kit our official starting point.

October Spooktacular has begun.

Things are probably going to get weird.

Some of the links sprinkled throughout this post are affiliate links. That simply means if you click one and decide you absolutely need that crafty little something in your life, I may earn a small commission — at no extra cost to you.

Think of it as helping to keep this little corner of the internet supplied with paper, ink, beads… and, most importantly, coffee. Because apparently creativity requires caffeine and an alarming number of craft supplies.

So click away guilt-free. You get the crafty goodies, I might get enough commission to fund my next questionable craft-room purchase. Everybody wins ~Thank you!