Enter To Win The JIGster by Envelopments

Posted by Khris in Contests

[UPDATE: The winners have been chosen - Esther C., Michelle K., Brooke B., Jenna D, Becky (w.vavfleet email). All have been notified via email.]

Hey DIYers!

We’ve teamed up with the lovely folks at Envelopments to bring you an opportunity to win one of 5 JIGsters. The JIGster is, hands-down, one of our top product recommendations for anyone who’s doing layered invitations and stationery.

What Is The JIGster? It’s a tool that allows you to quickly and easily create perfectly aligned layers on stationery. It’s such a wonderful time (and sanity) saver and I, honestly, can’t imagine making any layered projects without it since I got mine a little over a year ago.

Here’s the JIGster in action. Behold its awesomeness.

The JIGster has recently been revamped: it’s lighter, has more measurement/border size options, and even came with a lower price. To celebrate the re-release, Envelopments is offering you,  our uber-crafty readers, an opportunity to get your hands on one of these cool tools.

But there’s a catch. We ask that the winners share pictures of their completed projects with us and tell us how they liked using the JIGster. Easy, right?

HOW TO ENTER: Between now and December 14, please leave a comment to this post telling about the project(s) you’re thinking of making with the JIGster.

WINNERS will be chosen by random draw on 15 December. Prizes will be shipped directly from Envelopments.

CONTEST RULES:

Eligibility: Only one internet entry per person and one internet entry per email address is permitted.

Conditions of participation: By entering, Entrant represents that any essay, etc., and other materials submitted as part of Entrant’s contest entry are original and will not constitute defamation or an invasion of privacy or otherwise infringe upon the rights of any third party, and that the Entrant owns or has the rights to convey any and all right and title in such essay.

In addition, by entering, Entrant grants to DIY Bride a nonexclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to edit, publish, promote, and republish at any time in the future and otherwise use Entrant’s submitted essay, along with Entrant’s name, likeness, and any other information provided by Entrant, in any and all media for possible editorial, promotional, or advertising purposes, without further permission, notice, or compensation (except where prohibited by law).

False or deceptive entries or acts will render the Entrant ineligible. DIY Bride, in its sole discretion, reserves the immediate and unrestricted right to disqualify any entrant or prize winner, if either commits or has committed any act or has been involved or becomes involved in any situation or occurrence which the DIY Bride deems likely to subject the DIY Bride, Entrant, or Winner to ridicule, scandal, or contempt or which reflects unfavorably upon the DIY Bride in any way. If such information is discovered by DIY Brider after a winner has received notice of his/her prize and before the prize is awarded, DIY Bride may rescind the prize in its entirety. If a portion of his/her prize has already been awarded, DIY Bride may withdraw the remainder of the prize that has been fulfilled. Decisions of DIY Bride are final and binding in all matters related to this paragraph. DIY Bride is not responsible for any typographical or other error in the printing of the offer, administration of the contest, or in the announcement of the prize.

Internet: DIY Bride is not responsible for lost or late entries nor for electronic-transmission errors resulting in omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operations or transmission, theft or destruction or unauthorized access to or alterations of entry materials, or for technical, network, telephone-equipment, electronic, computer, hardware, or software malfunctions or limitations of any kind, or inaccurate transmissions of or failure to receive entry information by DIY Bride or presenter on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet or at any website or any combination thereof. If for any reason the Internet portion of the program is not capable of running as planned, including infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes that corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity, or proper conduct of this Contest, DIY Bride reserves the right at its sole discretion to disqualify any individual who tampers with the entry process and to cancel, terminate, modify, or suspend the Contest. DIY Bride reserves the right to select winners from eligible entries received as of the termination date. Caution: Any attempt by a contestant to deliberately damage any website or undermine the legitimate operation of the game is a violation of criminal and civil laws and should such an attempt be made, DIY Bride reserves the right to seek damages from any such contestant to the fullest extent of the law. If there is a dispute as to the identity of the Entrant, the prize will be awarded to the authorized account holder of the e-mail address. The “authorized account holder” is defined as the natural person to whom the e-mail address is assigned.

Poll: Negative/Neutral Product Reviews

Posted by Khris in DIYBride News

I’ve been having a great behind-the-scenes discussion with someone in our DIY community about how DIY Bride approaches product reviews. She mentioned that the vast majority of reviews here are positive and wondered why that was. We couldn’t possibly love everything that comes through the office, could we?  It’s a perfectly valid question and one I’d like to address and then get your input.

It is true that most of the product reviews here are indeed positive. Why? Because I like sharing only the products I truly like, am enthusiastic about, and can personally recommend without reservation.  I can see how it looks like “Khris loves everything!” to DIY Bride’s visitors and how that can seem disingenuous. Here’s the deal: there’s no shortage of awesome products coming through my office (both that I buy with my personal funds and/or that are sent to me by companies for review) so I’m electing to spend time my limited blogging time talking about the good stuff.

In short: I find products I love, share those with you, and ignore the rest. It’s that simple. Or is it?

There’s also the issue  that I accept money for “sponsored posts” which highlight a company or a product, often written in review format. (ALL sponsored posts are clearly marked as sponsored in the body of the post.)  Those are always positive and, I believe, fairly written. I only accept sponsored posts from companies I can truthfully and honesty recommend. I regularly turn down sponsored opportunities because the product/company isn’t a good fit.

I feel that posting a less-than-positive review can invite a negative element to the site. After 9 years of doing this, I know how quickly something negative on the internet attracts even more negativity and I don’t have patience for that stuff. And, on a more personal note, I’d rather send a personal note to a vendor saying “Thanks, but it wasn’t a good fit for us” than pointing out a product’s faults publicly.

You’re free to browse the product review policy: http://www.diybride.com/about-2/editorial-policies/product-review-policy/and the editorial policies: http://www.diybride.com/about-2/editorial-policies/ for more info.

So, now it’s your turn. Would you like to read reviews about products or services that we don’t like? Is that helpful to you? Sound off in the comments or in the poll below.

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Oh, heck! Our community was offline.

Posted by Khris in DIYBride News

Hey DIYers,

Thanks to Diana I found out that our community was not open for registration for over a week. That deserves a big ol’ DUUUUUUUH from me and huge apology to those that’ve tried to register since we’ve launched. I turned off registrations while I did some updates and neglected to turn them back on. Sorry, sorry, sorry!

It’s fixed now.

-Khris

Cover Peeks: The New Book and Bookazine

Posted by Khris in DIYBride News

Hey DIYers!

As this year comes to an end, I wanted to share a couple of nifty DIY things coming in 2012.

DIY Bride: An Affair To Remember

The first is my next book, The DIY Bride, An Affair To Remember. Like my other 2 books, it’s a 40 projects of crafty wedding goodness. In Affair the projects are organized by style: Sun & Sand, Fairy-Tale Wedding, Exotic Destinations, Winter Wonderland, A Touch of Country, Bright Lights, Big City, Into The Garden, and The New Modern.  It’s a fun mix of projects, techniques, and styles that can be mixed and matched to your own personal tastes. Look for it on shelves in January.

DIY Bride BookAZine 2012

The other bit of goodness is my 2nd “bookazine”, a 22-project magazine based on the content from my 2nd book, the Crafty Countdown. It’ll be available at fine magazine stands, book stores, grocery stores, and other places that stock cool magazines. It is also available in January.

I’ll be opening up shop here for pre-orders next month and, of course, you know I’m gonna be doing some booktastic giveaways!

Fab Finds Friday: The 11/11/11 Version

Posted by Khris in Fab Finds Friday

Happy Friday!

Today is, of course, 11/11/11. BRIDES is estimating nearly 46,200 weddings will happen this today. That’s 10 times more than a typical Friday in November. Congrats to all of our 11•11•11 couples! It’s also National Metal Day. Rock on.

Beginning next week, DIY Bride will be covering do-it-yourself fashion, beauty (hair and  makeup) and travel/honeymoon as part of our regular features. In our most recent reader survey, 60% of you were DIYing your hair and/or makeup. 90% of you were making all of the travel arrangements for your wedding and/or honeymoon. We’ve got you covered!

TLC is casting for a Four Weddings special. They’re looking for brides who are having a Holiday/Winter themed wedding in the tri-state area. If you’re having a Dec 2011/Jan 2012 wedding and love the show, you may consider auditioning!  Details: http://www.semisweetproductions.com/#!holiday-wedding-special.  Good luck!

Newlymaid.com, the ultra-innovative retailer that lets you trade in used bridesmaids gowns for a fab little black dress, has has re-launched 11 new gowns to upgrade your closet. (Sizes run from 0 – 18.)

Grooms, we’ve got something for you this week! Men’s Wearhouse is currently hosting their Well-Dressed Man Facebook contest where brides have the opportunity to submit a photo of their fiancé looking his best. Facebook users can “like” their favorite entrant and at the close of the contest on November 17, the photo with the most “likes” will win $2,500 to spend at Men’s Wearhouse. https://www.facebook.com/MensWearhouse?sk=app_121110654659706