DIY Bride™

The fab gals at Southern Weddings magazine are offering a giveaway of a free copy of their brand new issue to 3 lucky DIY Bride readers. Just look at this cover! I think it’s one of the very best I’ve seen in all my years in the wedding industry. (I hear the inside is just as yummy.) Beauty, thy name is Southern Weddings.

For a chance to win a copy, just leave a comment below and we’ll chose three random winners on Friday, November 18th.

The L Letterpress is now shipping;  I have not yet received mine. A girlfriend of mine found hers in store at one of the big box craft stores – and used a coupon. Rock on!

Here’s a video demonstration of the L Letterpress in action:

Stay tuned for my tutorial on making your own plates! I’ve made plates for custom embossing and polymer clay projects. I’m just waiting for my supplies to come in so I can shoot step-by-step instrux.

It’s holiday time, my friends!

In addition to Brooklyn Bride’s annual holiday card swap (you’re participating, right?) I thought it’d be lots of fun to do a cookie exchange among us DIYers and DIY-admirerers.

Here’s the concept:

• You sign up for the list with the type of cookie you’ll be making.
• You’ll be matched with a random participant who is NOT making the same type of cookie.
• You send each other 1 dozen homemade cookies by the deadline.
• You get a yummy treat in the mail. Easy, right?

Here’s how to get involved:

1. By November 28th email cookie at diybride dot com with:

• Your name
• Your address
• Your email address
• Type of cookie you’ll be making
• # of people you want to swap with (remember – you’ll be making a dozen for each person and paying for shipping!) Let’s set a limit of 4 partners per swapper. That’s manageable, right?

2. On December 01, I will email you the details of your swap partner(s).

3. You have until December 10th to send out your home-baked cookie goodness.

General Rules:

• US residents only for this swap, y’all. Sorry, international cookie fiends! Due to holiday shipping and customs issues, it’s just not a good idea to try to send overseas with expectations of pre-Xmas delivery.
• Please don’t flake! If you think you won’t be able to meet your obligation, please let me and your swap partner know ASAP.
• While we dig Toll House cookies, it’d be a drag if everyone sent them. Please do use original or unique recipes that don’t come from the back of a package or are sliced from a tube from the store.
• Package your cookies well! Crumbly, broken cookies make people cry. For packaging tips go here and here and here and here. I recommend USPS small video boxes for shipping.
• It’s not a mandate but a recipe card along with your cookies would be swell!

Need cookie inspiration? No problem! Check out these spots for recipes to get you started:

• Martha Stewart Cookie of the Day
• Christmas Cookies dot com
• All Recipes
• Baking Delights 50 Best Cookies on the Net
• Cookie Madness
• Epicurious
• Food Network

Hey DIYers,

The download area is back and at a new link: http://www.diybride.com/downloads/. Please update your bookmarks accordingly. The forums will be offline for a few more days. Thanks for your patience!

Hey DIYers,

The Wedding Lens, the service that allows your guests to upload photos from your wedding in one central location, is offering 8% off any paid plan until November 30, 2009.

Coupon code: GR8TURKEY
Expires: November 30, 2009

{Disclosure: Wedding Lens currently advertises on DIYBride.com.}

Martha Stewart Weddings has put together its first online Luxury Wedding Expo. Couples from all over the nation (and globe, really) will be able to attend the event without leaving home! How fabulous is that?

The Details:

WHO:              Renowned wedding industry experts and premier vendors including bridal atelier owner Mark Ingram, event designer Matthew Robbins, etiquette expert Talley Sue Hohlfeld, Martha Stewart Weddings Style Director Katie Hatch, makeup artist Mary Curran and advisors from Lela Rose, Jennifer Salzman, Anne Barge, Tacori, Macy’s Wedding & Gift Registry, Delta Vacations and more.

WHAT:            FREE, instant access to bridal industry experts and five digital floors of gorgeous dresses, jewelry, honeymoon destinations, registries and wedding-worthy prizes with the click of a mouse.

WHEN:            Saturday, November 14 and Sunday, November 15, 2009
11 A.M. to 4 P.M. EST

WHERE:           www.luxuryweddingexpo.com

MORE:             Chat live with bridal experts and vendors and learn how to create a theme, choose a color palette, pick the perfect location, find the right gown, personalize a reception, register right, stick to a budget, and craft handmade touches all from the comfort of home.

Listing Information:
Saturday, November 14 and Sunday, November 15, 2009 – Attend the first FREE national digital Luxury Wedding Expo presented by Martha Stewart Weddings to chat with renowned experts for creative ideas and tips, while browsing booths from vendors like Lela Rose and Anne Barge to find the perfect gown and bridesmaid dresses – all without leaving home. Visit www.luxuryweddingexpo.com.

Editorial Director Darcy Miller has also put together a fabulous package for a bride-to-be (or any girl for that matter) that she is auctioning off online to benefit Martha Stewart’s Center for Living. Check out the link to bid and see below for a full list of all the goodies that could be yours!
http://www.charitybuzz.com/catalog_items/104919?preview=1

Package is worth well over $10,000 and includes:
- Consultation with Darcy Miller and a tour of the Weddings department at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia
- Honeymoon at The Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Mexico or the Caribbean (airfare included!)
- De Beers diamond necklace
- Silk gown from J. Crew
- Vera Wang bridesmaid’s/cocktail dress of your choice
- Papo d’Anjo flower girl dress
- La Perla lingerie
- Chanel Beauty Essentials
- Cleaning and preservation for your gown from J Scheer  & Co
- Personalized engraved invitations from Martha Stewart Stationery for Crane & Co
- Two VIP tickets to a taping of The Martha Stewart Show weddings special
- Darcy Miller’s Our Wedding Scrapbook
- A signed copy of Martha Stewart’s Wedding Cakes
- Martha Stewart’s The Wedding Planner
- A collection of Martha Stewart Weddings DVDs

{Disclaimer: Martha Stewart Omnimedia is an advertiser on DIYBride.com. No compensation was collected for posting this invitation to their event.}

Supporting our troops is a cause that’s close to my heart. Though I don’t have any family members currently in the military, I do have friends and family-of-friends who’re serving or have recently served. There are a number of veterans in my and my husband’s families.

Last week I asked you to come forward if you’re in the military as I wanted to give our military readers a special shout out. Today I’d like to send a humble thank you to:

• Mitchell and Mari. Mitchell is in the Army, waiting possible deployment in February.
• Dannielle and Steven who me during military training four years ago. Both are in the Army Reserve.
• Corey and Carrie. Corey is stateside and is serving in the Marines.
• Michelle and Tyler, an Iraq veteran, are currently serving the United States Air Force. Both are at home and looking forward to spending the holidays together.

• Michelle and Gregory. Gregory is an Army Veteran who served in Iraq.
• Danielle is in the Navy. Her fiance, Marcus, returned home from deployment in Afghanistan in January. Both are serving active military duty here at home.
• Ashleigh’s fiance, Andrew, is currently deployed in Iraq (and recently re-enlisted!) with the Navy.
• Megan’s fiance, Mike, leaves Nov 16th for Army bootcamp. He will be doing EOD (Explosive Ordiance Disposal) after training.
• Shannon’s fiance serving in the Air Force.  He is stationed near by for now, and he will be done with his time in the service two months before their June 2010 wedding.
• Brittany’s fiance, Graham serves in the Marine Corps and is going through Special Operations Training in Camp Lejeune, NC.
• Lauren’s fiance, Seth is deployed to Qatar with the Air Force.
• Angela, a Veterans Hospital employee, and her fiancee proudly served for 12 years in the Army National Guard.
• Newlywed Felicity’s husband is serving in the Navy.
• Lindsay and Chris. Chris is active duty and just came back from a deployment in the US Navy submarine fleet.  He’s now back and about to be stationed in Charleston, SC.
• Maria and Larry are both in the Air National Guard. Larry served in Afghanistan.
• Brenda is currently serving stateside in US Army Reserve. Her fiance is Shane and he’s on his way to Iraq.
• Ashley and Jason.  Jason is currently serving in the Florida Air National Guard.

Your dedication and service to our nation is appreciated and has not gone unnoticed.

To futher honor your service and those that are currently on active duty, I’ve made a donation to Operation Gratitude, an organization that sends care packages to our troops.

Tony, the webmaster from Lifestyle Crafts, updated us today on a few questions our readers had about the machine

Lisa asked what printing plates the machine comes with:

@Lisa – I’m looking at the Letterpress packaging right now, and seeing that the printing plates include 3 shapes: two of which are kind of flower-like, and the other is kind of a thin, border-type flourish.

It also contains 5 phrases: “Happy Birthday” in a cursive font, “Thank You” in a sans-serif font, “I Love You” in a slightly serif font, “for you” in a bolder cursive, and “Hello” in the same font as “Thank You”.

Tonya wanted to know if the machine would be available at her favorite big box stores:

@Tonya – I have heard all three of these names tossed around the office quite a bit in Letterpress-relevant discussions. I would imagine that eventually all 3 will be carrying the tool, as it is planned to be available in large chain stores, although I don’t know what the plans are for it when it first is released.

And, finally, Tony volunteered the scoop on the delivery status:

The tool was delayed somewhat by the overseas manufacturer, but is scheduled to arrive here VERY soon, so be looking for this as a potential Christmas gift. I know I am strongly considering it for my wife.

As Veteran’s Day approaches here in the US, DIY Bride would like to give our friends in the military a special little shout out this coming week.

If you and/or your fiance(e) is/are serving or has served in any branch of the armed services, we want to hear from you!

Please reply by November 12. (Yeah, yeah it’s after Veteran’s Day but we’re honoring you all week!)

Thanks so much!

Back in February, I reviewed the Epson Artisan 800 printer. At the time I gave it a positive review and, admittedly, it was a really good printer – for a few months.

While I once loved this printer, it is now so problematic that I can no longer give it a recommendation. Here’s why:

• After less than a year of use, it is now completely unusable due to an error message that keeps popping up on the display screen. (It says to turn off the unit and restart it. I do; the error pops up again. Lather, rinse, repeat.)
• Constant paper jams. The paper tray feeder is exceedingly sensitive and paper jams are commonplace.
• Printing on cardstock is hit or miss. I’ve found that when I’m printing multiple pages of cardstock that sometimes it’ll accept a few pages of CS and then reject the next page for no discernible reason. It’s the same cardstock – no tears, wrinkles, or other things that may cause problems.
• Smudges, smudges, smudges. I spend a lot of time (and wasted ink) cleaning the print heads to get clear text prints on regular printer paper. I find that full-color photo prints get lines, streaks, and smudges in most print runs no matter what photo paper I use (fwiw, I use Epson’s own photo paper as suggested by the mfgr. and have tried other brands to no avail.)
• See the comments on the original review for others’ experiences with this printer.

For what the retail price is on this unit I expect better quality, especially from Epson whose products I’ve been very pleased with in the past. This one simply disappoints after less than a year in use.