DIY Projects?

Carla1019

I want to first say that you ladies are very talented and if I tried to do most of these DIY invitations, cake toppers, etc it would look like a 5 year old did it. 

After lurking on the DIY board I'm curious to ask you all when do you decide to take on a DIY project or just go out and buy it?

I understand saving money is the #1 reason but I'm very curious to know how do the most talented DIY knotties determine if their time is worth the money saved?

For example, my coworker who just got married regrets DIY invitations because she said by the time she was done they didn't save that much and she was stressed out.

What are your thoughts? 

Staceymp2010

Hello I feel the same way as you. I'm not good at all with that type of stuff. I tried to do some craft one Christmas and it is still in a box half way done and that was like 2 years ago my FI is like every year want me to get the box out again. LOL I would rather just pay someone else to do it, I'll get all the supplies they need.

Soon2BSand

I'm honestly not saving THAT much money DIY'ing when you factor in time. I honestly enjoy doing it and have found that I'm more appreciative of the things I create. They mean a little more to me...

ETA: I've saved HUNDREDS no doubt... but it's taken hours of my time. 

Speaking of which.. I'm about 75% done with the runner!

Staceymp2010

@ soon2BSand very pretty.

djscat

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/cultural-wedding-boards_african-american-weddings_diy-projects-2?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Cultural%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:400Discussion:680ee436-67f0-4e15-8e66-feee60ff5b10Post:e7418083-36d4-4553-bfe1-4356ffc29128">Re: DIY Projects?</a>:
[QUOTE]I'm honestly not saving THAT much money DIY'ing when you factor in time. <strong>I honestly enjoy doing it and have found that I'm more appreciative of the things I create. They mean a little more to me.</strong>.. ETA: I've saved HUNDREDS no doubt... but it's taken hours of my time.  Speaking of which.. I'm about 75% done with the runner!
Posted by Soon2BSand[/QUOTE]

THIS.  Also I can customize it to exactly what reflects us.

mikimoto6

I am very crafty, but just have no desire to do it for the wedding for some reason. I have done all kinds of things for clients, but just am not feeling it for me. I may do programs, but that is about it. Otherwise, I am not trying to commit to a bunch of projects. 

Ksk2012

Yea I want to DIY in my hear of hearts but I just don't think it will come out right. With that being said I am planning to DIY my favors ( sticking a label that I ordered and a ribbon on mini bottle of cider) and my wish tree.  I ordered a personalized stamp the other day and I guess I will start to look for little wish tree cards. Then stamp them and tie a ribbon on them. I will probably use the same ribbon for both.

Honestly, I will probably buy snacks for my niece and her friends and ask them to do it with me (with: read: for)

wallacje

@Soon2BSand - Nice work, I likey alot!!!

I enjoyed doing all the projects I did and would do it again.  I think you have to know what kind of person you are and go by that.  Nothing wrong either way though.

I DIY'd my invitations and although they took awhile to do, the $600 I saved was well worth it to me. 

Bouquet's - my ceremony flowers were $200 and each BM flowers would have been $175 + $25 for bout's times 5, was not going to pay $1000 for my BP flowers for a 20 minute ceremony.  DIY'ing them cost $60. 

I also don't factor in time it takes to do something, for me they gave me something to do versus being lazy and hanging on the couch all day which is what I would have done.  DIY also gave us extra money to put towards other things or pay off vendors quicker.

I went out an bought things when I felt I coudn't make it or H didn't want me to waste my time making it. In the end I only bought a few things though.  When I look at the pictures I remember how many compliments we received on all the decorations, centerpieces, programs, cake topper, card box, favors, flowers, invitations and it really makes me happy.

Carla1019

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/cultural-wedding-boards_african-american-weddings_diy-projects-2?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Cultural Wedding BoardsForum:400Discussion:680ee436-67f0-4e15-8e66-feee60ff5b10Post:e7418083-36d4-4553-bfe1-4356ffc29128">Re: DIY Projects?</a>:
[QUOTE]I'm honestly not saving THAT much money DIY'ing when you factor in time.<strong> I honestly enjoy doing it and have found that I'm more appreciative of the things I create. They mean a little more to me...</strong> ETA: I've saved HUNDREDS no doubt... but it's taken hours of my time.  Speaking of which.. I'm about 75% done with the runner!
Posted by Soon2BSand[/QUOTE]

Thanks for explaining! I truly didn't understand. This makes perfect sense.

When I read how some ladies spent 2 days making a cake topper, and I found really nice ones on Etsy for $12 I said heck, I'm buying that bad boy LOL!

lil01

The only DIY project I did was program fans. I can get lazy, so I didn't want to commit to something & then not follow through with it...especially with the wedding. However, I networked to get vendors, already knew people, and did a lot of researching & negotiating to get good deals on stuff. So in the end, I saved way more $$ than what I expected.

wallacje

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/cultural-wedding-boards_african-american-weddings_diy-projects-2?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Cultural Wedding BoardsForum:400Discussion:680ee436-67f0-4e15-8e66-feee60ff5b10Post:adbae00e-4b8a-4534-8fa5-bf53e1e890ce">Re: DIY Projects?</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: DIY Projects? : Thanks for explaining! I truly didn't understand. This makes perfect sense. <strong>When I read how some ladies spent 2 days making a cake topper, and I found really nice ones on Etsy for $12 I said heck, I'm buying that bad boy LOL!
</strong>Posted by Carla1019[/QUOTE]

Too funny!!!

Soon2BSand

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/cultural-wedding-boards_african-american-weddings_diy-projects-2?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Cultural%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:400Discussion:680ee436-67f0-4e15-8e66-feee60ff5b10Post:c7c0fd90-03f4-47ad-9d22-90db49b92fe7">Re: DIY Projects?</a>:
[QUOTE]@Soon2BSand - Nice work, I likey alot!!! I enjoyed doing all the projects I did and would do it again.  I think you have to know what kind of person you are and go by that.  Nothing wrong either way though. I DIY'd my invitations and although they took awhile to do, the $600 I saved was well worth it to me.  Bouquet's - my ceremony flowers were $200 and each BM flowers would have been $175 + $25 for bout's times 5, was not going to pay $1000 for my BP flowers for a 20 minute ceremony.  DIY'ing them cost $60.  I also don't factor in time it takes to do something, for me they gave me s<strong>omething to do versus being lazy and hanging on the couch all day which is what I would have done</strong>.  DIY also gave us extra money to put towards other things or pay off vendors quicker. I went out an bought things when I felt I coudn't make it or H didn't want me to waste my time making it. In the end I only bought a few things though.  When I look at the pictures I remember how many compliments we received on all the decorations, centerpieces, programs, cake topper, card box, favors, flowers, invitations and it really makes me happy.
Posted by wallacje[/QUOTE]<div>
</div><div>You too?!? lol</div><div>
</div><div>Thanks!

</div>

Gift928

For me i think its more of a fun thing to do. Like i was so excited to do my cake topper, which i ended up loving! However, i did my cardbox and i feel like even though i gave it my all......its just not THERE!!! It doesnt look as good as what i've seen other people do.
I wish i was more artistic, i would do A LOT more DIY projects.

cntwedding

I had the same experience.  I did DIY Save The Dates magnets and boy was it a LOT of work...partly because I'm a bit of a perfectionist and it took forever to get every one of them to look the way I wanted to.  At the end of the day - would I have prefered to have spent the $ and had someone else do it...heck yeah...however, that's not the reality of my situation.  We are doing a lot of projects DIY because we are the only ones paying for this wedding and if I have to be stressed for a little while to save the $, then that's just what I have to do.  Once I mailed them out everyone complimented us on how nice they looked - so I felt good about that at the end of the day.  Fortunately, I am good at seeing something someone else did and figuring out how to duplicate it...the downside is that my lovely fiance really wants to help and his attention to detail is...well...not there...so I end up having to re-do and throw away things he's attempted to do...sigh.  I think I've finally convinced him to stick to the things he CAN do well, and let me do what I do   So, the main way that I decide what I DIY and what I don't is based on if doing it DIY costs less...if it does, then DIY it is!

empegues

I have to pick and choose which things I DIY... I feel lucky because I'm an internet buying QUEEN, and most of the time anything that I would DIY, I can find online for cheaper.  If anything, I'll add some minimal embellishments to something that is already completed to personalize it or make it pop. 

Fabbiegirl

I put a lot of time into projects that mean a lot to me.  My bouquet means a lot, so I decided to do a brooch bouquet.  I collected brooches for months, bought the materials, and worked on it over two days. 

I did my invitations, but they mean little to me.  I bought a kit on clearance at Wal Mart.  I used MS Word to format, and took it to a printer to print.  When I found out the brown ink was higher than the black, I went with the black because (IMO) the invites will soon be forgotten and trashed, so my time and effort wasn't worth it.

For anything worth the money or the time spent into doing it, I ask how much this means to me.  

ThunderKitten2011

The main reason I chose to DIY is bcuz I wanted to be able to put my own personal touches on things. And I can say that DIY is not always the cheapest way, there have been times when it has cost more. But in the end it will be exactly what I want. But make no mistake there are still plenty that I am buying. (Plus I have chosen some things for FI to do to keep him from underfoot, LOL)

PrettyCW5

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/cultural-wedding-boards_african-american-weddings_diy-projects-2?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Cultural Wedding BoardsForum:400Discussion:680ee436-67f0-4e15-8e66-feee60ff5b10Post:1bdcf1da-a022-4772-bf92-c476dff7b296">Re: DIY Projects?</a>:
[QUOTE]I had the same experience.  I did DIY Save The Dates magnets and boy was it a LOT of work...partly because I'm a bit of a perfectionist and it took forever to get every one of them to look the way I wanted to.  At the end of the day - would I have prefered to have spent the $ and had someone else do it...heck yeah...however, that's not the reality of my situation.  We are doing a lot of projects DIY because we are the only ones paying for this wedding and if I have to be stressed for a little while to save the $, then that's just what I have to do.  Once I mailed them out everyone complimented us on how nice they looked - so I felt good about that at the end of the day.  Fortunately, I am good at seeing something someone else did and figuring out how to duplicate it...the downside is that my lovely fiance really wants to help and his attention to detail is...well...not there...so I end up having to re-do and throw away things he's attempted to do...sigh.  I think I've finally convinced him to stick to the things he CAN do well, and let me do what I do  <strong> So, the main way that I decide what I DIY and what I don't is based on if doing it DIY costs less...if it does, then DIY it is!
</strong>Posted by cntwedding@sbcglobal.net[/QUOTE]

This right here! lol. I also enjoy doing crafts but reality is also a factor. I work alot and I'm limited on my time.  So I factor time in there as well...if I can get it done in a night I'll do it but if it will take days and days I'm going to figure out another way to get it done..If that means I have to semi-diy. :) lol

bhenry04

The only thing DIY project I'm doing is making a brooch bouquet, TONS OF WORK!! but well worth it. I wanted to hold onto something that I could always look at and remeber on my special day! Also, I can pass it down it my future daughter when she grows up!