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

Khris Cochran (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 5, 2010

Today’s average wedding costs $20,000, so the appeal of doing it yourself has never been greater. And crafty and creative brides-to-be need look no farther than this hip, budget-friendly wedding planner. Khris Cochran, author of The DIY Bride and creator of DIYBride.com presents 40 original, affordable, and time-saving projects in the popular countdown format that brides on a deadline just can’t live without. You’ll find everything from edible, save-the-date cards and hand-stamped cocktail napkins to bead-and-lace bridal slippers, a feather boutonnière for the groom, and a super-cool “Just Married” sign. In her trademark straightforward style, Cochran carefully leads readers through each project and supplies spot-on tips and shortcuts. Four-color, step-by-step illustrations, easy-to-read templates, and pattern guides take the mystery out of creating these wedding keepsakes. Helpful sidebars provide time estimates, so savvy brides-to-be can plan out their projects and count down confidently to their special day.

Editorial Reviews

Review

 

 

 

This planning guide, which includes ideas for up to a year before the wedding, has easy craft projects for invitations, decorations, and accessories. Supplies are easily found in craft stores with a bridal supplies section. Similar to Linda Kopp’s recent Crafty Ideas for the Bride on a Budget, Cochran’s (The DIY Bride) latest has less emphasis on wedding food and includes projects for more small but necessary items that add up fast when purchased ready-made. Prospective brides and their friends will find many good ideas here.--Library Journal  

From the Back Cover

 

Open any bridal magazine or visit any wedding website and a bride-to-be is sure to encounter the well-known wedding countdown list—when to mail the save-the-dates, buy the bridal jewelry, choose the centerpieces, order the favors, send the thank you notes, and everything else in between. Khris Cochran, the author of The DIY Bride and creator of DIYBride.com, knows that her hip and crafty readers need an entirely different type of run-up to their big day. The DIY Bride Crafty Countdown is a 224-page four-color book packed with 40 brand new, fun, affordable, easy-to-follow, time-saving craft projects for a one-of-a-kind wedding. Brides will find chic special touches and sweet, unique keepsakes that elevate a wedding with a personal touch and that are also super affordable. Text will include the popular price comparison box so brides will know how much they are saving with each project by doing it themselves, a new budget section that shows bride what they can expect to spend on each project, and new sidebar on the time needed to complete each project.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Taunton Press (January 5, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1600851193
• ISBN-13: 978-1600851193
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 8.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #529,733 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Khris Cochran is a craft guru, ULC minister, and hopeless bon vivant. While widely acclaimed for her abilities to run with scissors and color outside the lines, Khris is best known as the creator of DIYBride.Com, an online hub for the crazy-cool do-it-yourself weddings set. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area where she teaches crafts and helps couples plan swell weddings.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Eh This book only works for certain themes., February 7, 2011

By 

A. Lee - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The DIY Bride Crafty Countdown: 40 Fabulous Projects to Make in the Months, Weeks & Hours before Your Special Day (Paperback)

I almost bought this book but I am so glad I didn't. My local library had it so I was able to check it out before I bought it.

Pros: It does a great job of giving you a time line for each project.
It shows you your average savings.
Gives detailed instructions and helpful hints.
If you are good at crafting you probably can manipulate some of these crafts to fit your wedding.

Cons: Not enough pictures. If you are someone who often does craft you should be ok but for a beginner or occasional crafter more instructional pictures would have been helpful.
For the most part, only helpful for very specif themes. If you are planning a beach, Asian, or floral theme wedding this book is for you. Very few crafts would be helpful for all types of weddings. However, if you are willing to think outside the instructions, you can use some of these ideas for any theme.
Several of the projects look corny or cheap.

All in all, I got one idea from this book for my wedding. One idea does not equal this price tag.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Suzie Housley, Midwest Book Review, February 3, 2010

By 

Suzie Housley (Oak Ridge, Tn United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The DIY Bride Crafty Countdown: 40 Fabulous Projects to Make in the Months, Weeks & Hours before Your Special Day (Paperback)

I dreamed of a wedding of elaborate elegance,
A church filled with family and friends.
I asked him what kind of a wedding he wished for,
He said one that would make me his wife.
-- Author Unknown

Are you planning your special wedding day? If so, how would you like to make your wedding look like it cost thousands of dollars, when it actually only cost a fraction of that amount?

Planning a wedding may seem like a fairytale occasion but in reality it takes a lot of work, advance preparation, and high organization skills to turn your special day into a memorable event.

Khris Cochran's offer a stress free solution in her book The DIY Bride Crafty Countdown: 40 Fabulous Projects to Make in the Months, Weeks & Hours before Your Special Day. In it you will find unique wedding craft ideas that can easily be made with your own hands. The bright vivid pictures will have you wanting to make each and every one of the 40 craft projects in this one book.

I am a huge fan of DIY; I could spend hours watching all the wonderful shows it offers. I was so impressed with Khris Cochran's knowledge and guidance. The high quality wedding ideas she presents is ingenious. These ideas can reduce your wedding costs from the moment you open the book.

Of the forty projects in this book, my all time favorite were the hand-colored wedding invitation. Normally, the price for 100 invitations would cost approximately $300.00 with this book you are able to make your own at the same high quality of only $60.00. These invitations are to be my future wedding invitations when I find that special someone.

Another helpful feature this book offers is the project timeline. This gives the bride a timeline to see how far in advance she needs to start her projects. The project time line goes from twelve months in advance and then takes the bride all the way up to the day of her wedding.

The DIY Bride Crafty Countdown: 40 Fabulous Projects to Make in the Months, Weeks & Hours before Your Special Day is a wonderful addition to any engaged bride. It will help lower the stress that often goes along with planning a wedding. With all the money that you will save, you will be able to take that honeymoon you have always dreamed about. In today's economy, where every cent counts, this book is an essential wedding planner in itself. It is definitely a book that I plan to store in my hope chest and use the day I become engaged.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for ideas!, November 27, 2010

By 

jo - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The DIY Bride Crafty Countdown: 40 Fabulous Projects to Make in the Months, Weeks & Hours before Your Special Day (Paperback)

This book has tons of ideas that you can tweek to make your own. It's great for a beginner do-it-yourselfer and also great for someone who just wants some ideas.