Wonderloom Friendship Bead Kit — 1,800 Beads

Eighteen hundred beads across letters, seed beads, charms and spacers, with elastic cord, clasps, a bead board and a small loom for flat-woven bands. There is enough material here for around forty finished pieces, which is the difference between an afternoon and a term.

Everything is in a compartment case with a locking lid — the single most useful part of a bead kit, and the part most often left out.