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JIGster Winners

DIY Bride — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 16:27:16 +0000

Today’s the day! We have our winners for the JIGster contest:

#10 is Audra: Matt and I are having a 4 day wedding weekend so there are lots of parts to our invitations – we plan on using the JIGster to get all of the invitations looking topnotch so our guests can find the information they need quickly!

#118 is Kacee: This tool looks amazing!! I am currently tackling my first DIY projects–Save the Dates (from the first DIY book, the one with the wheel!!) and Wedding invitations and I am sure to use this tool. It’s already been great fun, and I hope to create many more DIY projects

#133 is Leanne: We’ll use this to make quick work of our save the dates and programs, and whatever other paper projects pop up!

All winners have been notified by email.

Thank you, everyone, for participating! You made this one of the best contests ever at DIYBride. It was a lot of fun!

A special thank you to the crew at Envelopments for their generosity and support of the DIY Bride community!

Upcoming Down Time

DIY Bride — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 03:41:52 +0000

Hey DIYers,

I’ll be taking the site down again this week to finish up the transition to the new setup. Expect the site to be down in the late evenings (California time). I’ll try to keep offline time to a minimum.

Thanks for your ongoing patience. I’ve got lots of great stuff coming up for your reward.

Vacation Time

DIY Bride — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 22:47:44 +0000

Hey DIYers, Just a heads up: I’ll be mostly offline from 22 December until 04 January for a much-needed break. Best wishes to you and happy holidays! Related posts:Upcoming Down Time Scheduled Down Time: Forum & Downloads Related posts:

Inkjet Printer Recommendations

DIY Bride — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 21:02:45 +0000

Hey Everyone!

My beloved 10 month old son, a curious soul, decided to rip the LCD display from my printer a couple of days ago. I’m in the market for a new printer and, from the emails I get from you guys, many of you are looking for good home printers, too.

I had a Canon Pixma MP500. It was one of the best all-in-one (printer, fax, scanner) I’ve had though it had a tendency to get streaky on hi-res images. I had been using an Epson Artisan 800 but it died after a year and it never really handled heavier cardstock well.

I’ve been asking around for recommendations for a new home inkjet that can handle most crafter-oriented cardstocks. Here’s what’s been recommended to me thus far:

Canon Pixma MP620
Canon Pixma ip3500
Canon Pixma Pro9500
Canon Pixma iP4500
Canon iP90
HP Photosmart 8000 (mixed reviews)
HP psc 750
HP 1200
Epson R340
Epson RX620
epson R1900
Kodak ESP 9 (mixed reviews)

The consensus is that a printer with a top-loading tray, rather than one that loads from the bottom and has to bend and spool through the printer, is best for heavy cardstocks.

What are you using? Do you like or dislike it?

Product Review Update: Epson Artisan 800

C is For Cookie Swap Update

DIY Bride — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 17:48:10 +0000

Hey everyone!

More than 60 participants signed up for the C is for Cookie Swap this year! I was expecting maybe 15 – 20, so please bear with me as I go through the list and match up suitable partners. It’s taking longer than anticipated. Some that requested multiple partners may only get 1 or 2 since the number of multiples requests doesn’t exactly match up. (Sorry, I didn’t think that one through this year.) The lists should be out late this afternoon.

For every participant that signed up, I’m donating a can of food to my local food bank. Thanks, everyone! You’ll be making the holidays a little bit brighter for your swap partners and for families in need. You rock!

L Letterpress Tips from Boxcar Press

DIY Bride — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:50:38 +0000

As I mentioned in the DIY Letterpress Resources post, Boxcar Press makes custom plates for the L Letterpress. Boxcar also has a great post about the their first-hand experience with the L Letterpress that includes some really great tips for getting good prints. Find it on the Boxcar Press blog here.

L Letterpress Quality Issues

DIY Bride — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:07:30 +0000

Hey DIYers,

I’ve heard from 3 different DIY Bride readers over the last few days that the L Letterpress is having some quality issues with the plates. Apparently they’re cracking too easily. Some stores are pulling the plates (Paper Source has been mentioned specifically). If your plate cracks, please contact the store where you bought the plates to get a replacement.

I hope Quickutz/Lifestyle Crafts issues a statement soon.

{Edit to add: Users at the QK forums (mother company of Lifestyle Crafts) are reporting problems, too.}

C is for Cookie: The 2009 Holiday Cookie Swap

DIY Bride — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 11:00:41 +0000

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:

Scheduled Down Time: Forum & Downloads

DIY Bride — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:47:08 +0000

Heads up, DIYers! The forum and downloads areas will be unavailable beginning Friday, 11/6 through Sunday, 11/8. I’ll be switching over to a new (and more user-friendly) setup for handling our community area and the 300+ downloads. Related posts:Scheduled Down Time Downloads Have Returned Volunteers Wanted Related posts:

Real Problems: Vendor (Dis)Honesty

DIY Bride — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 20:04:01 +0000

Real Problems is a spin-off from our Real Etiquette feature where we discuss real-life problems couples are facing as they plan their weddings. This is our first post in the series.

Dear DIY Bride,

My fiance and I recently met with a baker that we saw at a bridal fair. Her booth was busy on the day we went but we got a small sample of her cake and picked up a brochure that had some beautiful designs done by her company. Fast forward to a last weekend. We met with the cake lady in person. She was friendly and said that she could do all of the things we wanted for our cake. She had some good ideas and was enthusiastic about working with us. Then she handed us a scrapbook of her work.

Most of the cakes were pretty basic. Nothing wrong with that but I wasn’t seeing anything like what we were asking for. What bothers me most is there were a few cakes I recognized from some websites and magazines. I think she just copied and printed on photo paper to make it look like they were real shots of her work. (The reason I recognized one of those cakes is that I tore out the exact page from a magazine for my inspiration board.) To my fiances horror, I called her on it. The cake lady claimed that the magazine copied it from her and that she’s using their shot because it’s better than the one she had. It kinda sounds plausible. What do you think?

Trust your Spidey (bridey?) senses here. If you have reservations about the authenticity of a vendor’s claims, it’s probably best to move on. My understanding of your situation is the cake designer is using photographs of cakes that are not hers and is trying to pass them off as her creations. Yeah, that’s a big red flag.

Also, her portfolio isn’t reflecting the kind of work that you’re wanting. Not all cake designers can do every kind of cake. If she’s promising things outside of her normal skill set, you may want to reconsider. Do you want to be her cake test dummy? Finding out on the day of your wedding that she’s no good at intricate lacework (or whatever it is you’re seeking) is not a good idea.

Still confused? Hop on Google, Yelp and WeddingWire and do a search for your cake lady. It’s pretty easy to find reviews and background info on vendors. If you can’t find any info on her — and if she’s claiming to have done a significant amount of cakes or has been in business for more than a year — please be suspicious and act accordingly. You can also ask for a small sample cake of your design. It’ll cost you some cash but at least you’ll know what you’re in for.