Category Archive for: ‘DIY Library’
Fab Fonts Friday
Happy Friday!
It’s no secret that the entire DIY Bride staff is obsessive wild about fonts. We pass along our favorite finds with each other all the time. It’s not uncommon to see emails with “Look at this one! Can you believe the ligatures on that beauty?” or “I’m going to re-do our entire marketing package so I can use <newest obsession-worthy font> everywhere. Don’t hate me.”
In the not-so-distant past, I used to regularly write a Fab Fonts Friday post. It got lost along the way but, good news fontophiles, we’re resurrecting it as of today! Can I get a woot! woot! ?
We’re re-kicking off FabFoFri with two new releases from Tart Workshop: San Rafael and Bookeyed Nelson.
Crystal Kluge, the designer, describes San Rafael:
Inspired by the city of San Rafael, these handlettered fonts strike just the right balance between sophisticated and casual, while being sweet & flirty. When you desire a breezier feel, San Rafael Mission is perfect. San Rafael and San Rafael Mission have a lovely collection of alternative glyphs & ligatures accessible in any OpenType aware application. They are perfect for labels, packaging, logotypes, book titles, gifts & stationery goods. San Rafael pairs beautifully with other Tart Workshop fonts, especially Carrotflower.
I’m completely in font-love with Bookeyed Nelson. Just the right mixture of whimsical and pretty, no?
Joining his big cousins, Bookeyed Jack + Suzanne, is Bookeyed Nelson. Named via Facebook popular vote, Nelson is a likable stand-up guy. He’s always reliable and does what you need him to do, with a number of alternative glyphs & ligatures to customize his appearance in any OpenType aware application. He enjoys spending quality time with his cousins, together they are a class act on posters, book covers, stationery, logotypes, you name it. Nelson is your man.
Both are available from myfonts.com and start at $29.95.
Sneak Peak! Boutique wedding magazines from WellWed
I have a new favorite bridal magazine to share! It’s WellWed Magazines, and they’re put together with style, thought, and an eco-friendly mind. There’s a special issue just for Vermont weddings, Cape Cod, Nantucket, and Martha’s Vineyard nuptials, New York, and the Hamptons. Courtesey of WellWed, we have links below to their magazine teasers, and believe me, this is a temptation worth indulging. Even the ads are gorgeous!
In addition to the pages and pages of wedding ideas, real weddings, tips and tricks, and vendor profiles, WellWed magazines are eco-friendly. The magazines are neatly sized and printed with low voc inks on FSC® certified paper and is 100% offset with Green-E® certified renewable energy credits. How awesome is that?
WellWed us a semi-annual publication available at fine retailers and online at wellwed.com. You can always order back issues for more inspiration and planning tips.
WellWed Digital Magazine Teasers:
Vermont Vows - http://bit.ly/MZ61Vt
WellWed - Cape Cod + Nantucket + Martha’s Vineyard - http://bit.ly/MVYCYL
WellWed - New York - http://bit.ly/MBPHuU
WellWed - Hamptons - http://bit.ly/KGdCGA
Already convinced you need these magazines? Purchase full issues of WellWed Magazine for $7.50 each at wellwed.com.
As always, be sure to connect with WellWed’s social media channels. Find ‘em on Facebook and Twitter.
Sweet Designs by Amy Atlas
Like many of you, I’m a huge fan of Amy Atlas. Her ability to pull together a wide array of tasty desserts, beautiful linens, cool graphic designs, and perfectly-styled details is truly inspirational. From the email we’re getting from you, our readers, we know you’re keen on getting how-to advice and tutorials for creating your own Amy Atlas-inspired tables at your weddings and celebrations.
You’ll be delighted to know that you can now go directly to the source for your most pressing how-to questions because Amy has just released her first book Sweet Designs: Bake it, Craft it, Style it!. And, friends, it is gorgeous!
Sweet Designs is 15 chapters of Amy Atlas awesomeness. Each chapter begins with a fully-styled themed dessert table and within the pages of each chapters, Amy shows you how to create the desserts and crafts shown in the chapter opener. It’s a great approach to a craft book. The project instructions and recipes are clear and concise with many how-to photos. To help readers get the most out of her projects, she’s included a ton of tips for customizing the projects to fit their unique themes and lots of suggestions for displaying your clever creations. What I love about this book is that it’s so beginner-friendly! Amy’s guidance puts these delightful creations within reach of nearly any would-be or hardcore crafter.
It’s a big book – over 350 pages – and well worth the investment. This is something you’ll be referencing for years all sorts of celebrations from birthdays to showers to holidays and anniversaries.
Southern Weddings Magazine
One of my favorite wedding resources, Southern Weddings, just launched their first print edition and it’s gorgeous! Available at newsstands viat http://www.swsmag.net/, I highly recommend picking up a copy no matter what your geographical location is.
Real Simple Weddings Mag at C & B
The great talents at Real Simple magazine has just made their 2009 weddings magazine available exclusively at Crate & Barrel stores and online. A little heads up: it costs $13.95 (not including shipping if you order online).
The 2008 version was beautifully done and had a lot of great advice and ideas. If you’re a fan of Real Simple, the weddings magazine was a definite “must have” for your library. I still have (and love) mine!
Note: Please note that I have no affiliation with C & B or Real Simple. I am not selling or offering this magazine through DIY Bride and cannot send you a copy.
posted by me. for kc.
DIY Cake Month: Martha Stewart’s Wedding Cakes
If you’ve browsed Amazon or cruised through the cookbook aisle of your local book seller, you’ve undoubtedly noticed that there are lots (and lots and lots) of wedding cake books on the market. Not surprisingly, there are gems and there are clunkers hidden in the vast pool of offerings.
In my book search for this series I found that some cake books are outdated and, well, just plain frumpy. Others are meant to be inspirational eye-candy with no recipes or how-to. Some books deal only with decoration. Some are a combination of decor how-to & recipes. While many books have neat ideas or solid instruction, few books are truly outstanding. Martha Stewart’s Wedding Cakes falls into that outstanding category. A combination of inspiration, decoration how-to, and recipes this book exceeded my already high expectations.
What I loved about this book:
- Beautifully photographed cakes by the fabulous Wendy Kromer are truly inspiring.
- The book is very well-laid out from the basics of cake components and tips on selecting your perfect cake to recipes and decorating instructions.
- The range of cakes is diverse from Martha-esque classic and elegant to fun and whimsical (without being cheesy).
- The yummy recipes are scaled appropriately for wedding cakes, taking some of the guesswork out of the baking process.
- As with all of Martha’s DIY, the instructions are clear and concise.
- The cake display ideas are fabulous, creative, and within the skills/reach of most DIYers.
- Did I mention this is a gorgeous book? It is worthy of display on a coffee table.
Other notes:
- I’ve seen most of the cakes in MS Weddings. While it doesn’t take away from the quality of the book, I would’ve loved to see some brand new cake ideas.
- This may not be the best book for 1st timers. It is, however, a great companion if you’re taking decorating classes or have some experience under your belt.
- The list price is $60.00 though one can find it cheaper via Amazon or other discount retailers. I think it’s worth it because it’ll be on my shelf forever. Your mileage (and budget) may vary.
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