Dottiebox

A few weeks ago my sister Rachel called and asked if I had ever heard of subscription boxes. I told her yeah, sort of. She said she was going to send me a few links. I was in Michael's when she called back and said "Did you get it? Did you look at it?" When I told her I was shopping I was hard pressed to think of a time I heard a more disappointed-sounding "Oh" come out of her. So I scurried home and cracked open the old email.

So what are subscription boxes? Welllll....they come in a variety of...I'll call them themes--some are crafty, some are beauty oriented, they even have one for guys. You pay a certain amount each month, and each month you get a box of stuff. It's always different and always a surprise. Some of them are kind of pricey but well worth it. You can give them as gifts, or even purchase a month at a time if you don't want to commit.

I ended up going with Dottiebox. Every time see I one of my products (I got my first box last week) I hear Pee Wee Herman's voice in my head yelling "Dottie!!!" in Pee Wee's Big Adventure. It's not an inexpensive endeavor to embark upon, but the idea of a box of surprises each month appeals to me. The folks who put this together seek out handmade shops and come up with a collection to meet their theme or genre for the month. This way you get to sample great, handmade products that you may never have come across. The handmade part of this greatly appealed to me, which is why I went with this one. If it turns out to be less than stellar in the coming months I can easily cancel my subscription.

Wanna take a gander? I ran in the door from work on Wednesday knowing it would be delivered that day. I tore into the shipping envelope, and saw the delightful little box:

Isn't the simplicity great? And even though the box is stamped, you could easily cover this box with some pretty paper and reuse if you wanted to.

 Cute little presentation. Even the stuff they wrap everything in can be reused. You get a list of all the shops represented that month, as well as the prices for what each item cost.

This month's theme was bath and body, with a few other tidbits thrown in.

My box contained:

• A handmade blank card--perfect for when you need a generic sort of card but forgot to buy one
• A sweet coupon for 25% off a pair of glasses (which would be great if I needed some right now)
• A clay mask sample 
• A tube of bath salts
• A container of cola-flavored lip butter
• A container of lemon poppyseed sugar scrub
• Reusable wrapping bits that everything was presented in

I'm going to give the bath salts and clay mask to my sisters to try, but I'm pleased with the other stuff. The sugar scrub is really nice, and the lip butter is nice and light--it doesn't feel all gloopy like other glosses do. The card and wrapping bits I'll stash because I know they'll be coming in handy.

So what did I think? I'm torn. I do love the idea of a box of surprise goodies each month, and I love that it's all handmade stuff. I'm not one to buy things like this for myself so it's nice to have fun new stuff to try out. I did think I'd be getting more for $20, but then again, it's not a box from Walmart or the dollar store--these are small businesses trying to get their product out there, so it lessens the "I paid $20 for this?" feeling. Still, I do have a frugal side. As I said, though, if I'm less than enamored with it I can always cancel.

If you want to peruse the many options, give one as a gift, or even try one out for yourself, here is the link my sister sent me. They have all different kinds and all different prices. I'm excited to see what my August box will have in it.