DIY Bride™

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, hey!

DIY Bride will be offline over the weekend beginning Friday afternoon while I complete some upgrades. Thanks for your patience and see you on Monday.

Hey DIYers!

DIY Bride receives about 2,000 non-spam emails a month. Since the the site is run by little old me, please understand that it can take a few days (or more) for me to respond to your questions. To put it in perspective: if I spent only 5 minutes per email I’d be answering it for 5.5 hours/day, 7 days a week. Not very productive, right?

To expedite the email process so that I can respond to you in a timely manner, I need your help and understanding.

1. When asking a question about your wedding project(s), please provide me with details. I’m getting a lot of questions like: “My wedding is in June. What should I do for my centerpieces?” and “How do I make a pocketfold invitation?” and “Any ideas on how to add pizazz to my dress?”

These are perfectly legitimate questions but don’t provide me with enough details to give you a proper answer so I push these types of questions waaaaaay down on the priority list.

I can’t answer those types of questions without knowing things like:

• What’s your budget for the project(s)?
• What’s your theme or color scheme?
• What’s your wedding style (casual, elegant, country, rustic, shabby chic, modern, minimalist, etc.)
• What size do you want your invites to be?
• What does your dress look like?

The more detail I have, the better I can answer your question.

2. Business mentoring. I appreciate that many of you are aspiring bloggers or book authors (rock on, creative peeps!) and are looking for someone to guide you. While I am thrilled that you’re coming to me (really? me? awesome!) I don’t have a lot of time for one-on-one mentoring. That’s not to say I won’t help out here and there, just don’t expect me to share my entire business model, trade secrets, or info I’ve spent hundreds of hours and/or thousands of dollars on.  Since this is a big topic in my emails, I’m launching a behind-the-scenes blog were I’ll be sharing some of the inner workings of running DIY Bride and being a writer.

3. Please read my the blurb above my contact form. It outlines my email process and clearly states that I do not accept link exchange requests. I’m perplexed as to why I receive about 100 link exchange requests (or demands) per month.  They’re all deleted, by the way.

4. Be nice. ‘Nuff said.

5. Other business stuff. I rarely respond to press releases but that doesn’t mean that I’m not interested or haven’t read them. Most simply don’t necessitate a response. If you have a business query that warrants a response and haven’t heard from me in 3 days, email me again.

Thanks for your understanding, everyone. I appreciate it!

It’s been about 5 months since I finished the manuscript for my 2nd book, The Crafty Countdown, which is due to be released on 22 December of this year. (It takes about a full year from the time a manuscript is received for the book to hit the shelves.)

As the book has gone through editing and various stages of production, I’ve received little peeks here and there of the design and layout. This is going to be such an adorable book! My publishers, Taunton, have really outdone themselves. I’m super excited about it and wanted to share  a peek of the front cover artwork. Isn’t it cute?

{Edited to add …}

I just found out that it’s already available for pre-order on Amazon!

Right here: The DIY Bride Crafty Countdown: 40 Fabulous Projects to Make in the Months, Weeks & Hours before Your Special Day

In an ongoing effort to bring you the projects, resources, advice, and ideas that you crave, I’d love it if you let me know what’s missing at DIY Bride.

• What types of projects are you wanting more (or less) of?
• Are you digging the product reviews?
• Would you like more inspiration pieces (cool finds/product showcases/inspiration boards)?
• Do you want more planning resources/ideas/help in addition to the crafty stuff?
• How do you feel about vendors coming to chat with you via our forums or through posts/comments?
• Tell us how DIY Bride can better serve you, the diy community!

Your input is greatly appreciated!

Comments are disabled on this post and all incoming email replies will be kept confidential. (It’s ok to post anonymously- as long as you’re nice to us. We’re sensitive souls here.)

Hi DIYers,

Hey DIYers,

DIY Bride is growing my leaps and bounds this year and I need your help!  I’m looking for a couple of swell new interns to assist with the everyday operations of the diybride.com site. There are two internship positions up for grabs: community crusader and editorial coordinator.

Both positions are unpaid BUT there is an opportunity to earn commissions on any advertising you bring to DIYBride.com. You’ll also be getting hands-on experience in the behind-the-scenes operations of a thriving online community and blog, mentoring in the weddings and crafts industries, and a chance to develop your writing, internet, and marketing skills.

I ask that interns make a commitment of 5 hours per week for a duration of 6 months.

About The Community Crusader

This internship puts you directly in contact with the DIY Bride forum members. As the Community Crusader you’re the spot person for moderating posts, helping members with basic wedding and forum queries, and engaging the members in conversation through posting fun and helpful topics.

The ideal candidate will have:

• experience participating in online forums
• knowledge of basic netiquette
• experience with wedding planning
• a dazzling personality: diplomatic, charming, engaging, fun, and super nice
• great writing skills
• hands-on experience with crafting

About The Editorial Coordinator

The ed co intern will be my go-to girl (or guy) for the DIY Bride blog. This position is responsible for posting content on the DIY Bride blog (mine, user submissions, and possibly your own), answering user comments, and doing some research.

The ideal candidate will have:

• excellent writing skills
• basic knowledge of html (experience with Wordpress is a plus)
• a dazzling personality: diplomatic, charming, engaging, fun, and super nice
• a keen eye for detail
• a genuine interest in weddings, wedding planning, crafts, and blogging
• superb googling skills

To Apply

If either position catches your fancy, please email me at khris at diybride dot com with the subject line “diybride internship application”.

In the body of your email, please include:

• which position you’re applying for
• your experience with writing, blogging, html, online communities
• are you married or currently planning a wedding
• any applicable training or skills
• what craft experience or expertise you have
• why you want this position and why I should pick you

Cheers,

Khris

DIYBride.com is featured in the March/April 2009 issue of Brides magazine as part of their 75 Best Wedding Websites. What an honor! I’m flattered to be included with such an amazing group of sites and blog.

Do check out the article at  http://www.brides.com/engagement/engagement/feature/article/185372/ or pick up the magazine at your local magazine stand.

Update: Pic + Stats

7 lbs, 19″ long, and utterly adorable. The best thing I’ve ever created, I tell ya.

Hey Everyone!

Zion Alexander was born on Tuesday, Feb 03 at 4 pm after a pretty short labor. We’re back at home today and all are doing great. I’ll do a little post this weekend with stats and pics after we get some time to settle in.

Thank you so much for keeping us in your thoughts!

-Khris

Hey Everyone,

I wanted to give fair warning about my availability in the near future.

I’m now in my 9th month of pregnancy! While I have some time before the official due date, diyBaby has been showing signs of an early arrival. He could be here in a few days or a few weeks. His debut will, of course, affect my day-t0-day availability here for a few weeks until I can get a grip on the whole mommy thing.

But don’t worry! I’m not totally abandoning you. There are some great posts scheduled to keep you occupied while I’m baby-bonding. My trusty intern, Meshelle, will be attending to emails, forum moderation, and site-issues. Anything she can’t handle will be passed on to me. Please know that response time may be delayed by a few days.

Thanks for your understanding!

Cheers,

Khris