Saga Hus Creativity Pack Review

Have you heard about the new Saga Hus Creativity Pack subscriptions yet?  No?  Let me share my experience with the very first installment!  (Full disclosure, I'm a long-time customer and friend of Anna Pierson of Saga Hus.  I love her components and have often used them in my jewelry designs.  I wasn't asked to write this post or given any compensation... I signed up for her Creativity Pack subscription and simply wanted to share with everyone what I got and what I made!)

Here's how the Creativity Pack works:  The subscription pack contains between 60 and 75 dollars worth of components. Each pack will be different. Many of the components are limited or things she is testing. Every three months, for 45.00 including shipping, you will receive a package. You may cancel at any time up to the billing date.

Now onto what I found in my package!  Anna sent us a nice variety of cocoons, a pair of fun Japanese glass components, and a lovely matched pair of faux tin charms in a William Morris print...  Part of the appeal of the Creativity Packs for me is the variety.  When left to my own devices, I tend to buy the same colors over and over.  I just naturally gravitate toward certain colors and shapes... but it's nice, and even necessary, to have other choices available outside of my color comfort zone.  This first shipment did NOT disappoint in this respect.  Lots of color variety to play with! So for less than $45 (because shipping is included in the price) I got $70 worth of fun components.  I'd say that's a pretty good deal!

The contents of the first Saga Hus Creativity Pack

Now, if I'm honest, normally I'd just ogle these lovelies then pop them into my stash for later use.  Normally my process is to start with charms or a focal and then look for things to pair with them.  This time was different!  I had just gotten back from a two week vacation and absence from the bead table when my package arrived.  Perfect timing because I was in need of a creative kick start to get me going again!  As soon as I'd unwrapped everything, I started pulling beads and charms and got to work making.  Here's my initial round of picks: 

The awesome thing is that these all came together super quickly!  Just a short time at the bead table and I had six pairs of earrings ready to go!  Here are the finished earrings I whipped up:

L) Cotton cocoons with C-Koop Bead caps and silver plate, R) sari silk cocoons with Inviciti pewter charms

L) sari silk cocoons with Slate Studio ceramic charms, R) Boucle yarn cocoons with Soul Relica colored pewter charms

L) Japanese glass connectors with Inviciti colored pewter, R) Cotton cocoons with ceramics by unknown maker

Y'all all know that earrings are 100% my favorite thing to make and to wear... so it's no surprise that I made a bunch of earrings.  And matched pairs do tend to cry out to be made into ear bobs, lol.  But I did want to branch out a bit and make a necklace too.  Anna's larger sized cocoons make a wonderful and interesting addition to necklaces, so that's where I went next.  I had an enameled pendant by Blue Hare Art Wear in my stash that worked well with my remaining pair of cocoons... I played around and found some Czech glass beads that coordinated well and made beaded links.  Voila!  I think the black wire in the cocoons as well as the black eye pins bring out the black in the pendant and keep this from getting too sweet for my aesthetic. 

I still had the faux tin that I hadn't used in a design.  For some reason, as much as I love the pattern and colors of them, these gave me a bit of a fit deciding what I wanted to pair with them and if I wanted to add beads above or below the charms.  After much deliberation, I decided on some matte carnelian rounds with crystal rondelles and tiny Czech glass flowers dangling below the charms.  I got out my hole punch and pulled this last design together.  

And just like that, I had seven pairs of earrings and one necklace all finished and ready to find new homes!  I really needed the kick in my butt that this Creativity Pack gave me!  It was fun to turn things on their head and design from a different direction than normal too.  Bonus, now I don't have to put any of these new goodies away, which is a huge bonus as my bead table is big ol' disaster zone.  

I hope you enjoyed this little exploration of the new Saga Hus Creativity Pack subscription and my take on it.  I think if you like having a bit of a surprise, this is a great value and super fun to boot.  If you're interesting in more information or want to sign up, check it out HERE.  You can also find Anna's awesome components for sale individually during her sales on her SagHus Components Facebook group HERE.