A few of my book faves (plus some of my not-faves)

The Ultimate DIY bundle, which I posted about yesterday, has 76 ebooks and ecourses, which is a lot to sort out!

Whenever I buy a bundle, I don’t download all the books, because I know there are going to be a number I’m just not interested in.

So instead I opt to download just the ones I’m going to want to read.

Since I’ve had my bundle for a week, I’ve had time to look over the contents, so I thought I’d share which books I’ve been most impressed by so far.

We’ll start with the parts I didn’t like…

The brutally honest part

There’s a holiday section and a writing section that I haven’t dug into yet (so I have no opinion there, good or bad!)

The brutally honest part is that I’ve read through most of the photography ebooks and some of the photography ecourses, and none of them blew my socks off.

(I’m pretty sure that this is not how you market something, but gosh, I just cannot be all, “OH THIS IS AMAZING!” when I think it’s not.)

I don’t know if I’m just unusually particular about this topic or what, but usually I think photography books have a poor text/photo ratio or are a little hard to follow, even though I know what they’re talking about, since I understand shutter speed and aperture and such at this point).   Also, I think the photographs inside of photography books should be really good.

(If you bought the bundle, I’m curious if you think the same thing about the photography books.   Is it just me??)

What I liked

On to the good stuff!

So, the craft section…

I’m not a big crafter, which is hilarious, because my book, Reuse, Refresh, Repurpose got put into this category.   My book isn’t actually super crafty, though…in it, I share 20 ideas for breathing new life into old clothes by doing things like modifying, dying, and so on.

Despite not being a huge crafter, I did like Amy Clark’s Easy DIY Crafts.   I’m hosting a bridal shower this spring and got some good decor ideas.   Plus, I love these flowers that she made from old book pages!

Though I’m not crafty, my girls are, so they are going to love How to Make Miniature Breakfast Foods (they make teeny food all the time for their Calico Critters).

21 Inspiring Thift Store Transformations was a quick, fun read.   If you like before and afters (especially those involving spray paint), you’ll like this book.   She does a lot of tchotchke transformation, but there are also some bigger projects in there, like a bench made from two thrifted chairs.

Interior Design for Real People and the DIY Handbook were also good.

(from Interior Design for Real People-love what she did with these thrifted jewelry boxes!)

Make It! Hardware Store Decor is easily the most beautifully designed book in the grouping, and there are so super cool projects in there that you can make from scratch (like that orange letter light on the cover.)

The Lazy Girl’s Guide to Furniture Painting was all right, but I actually kind of think my own furniture painting method is easier.   And it’s only one post long, so you can even be lazy while you read my tutorial!   😉

From the home and garden section, I’ve only read Clean and Simple, which is the book that inspired me to make soft scrub.   I plan to check out the two books about natural beauty as well, though.

I’m more of a mender than a sewer, but if you actually like to create things rather than fix them, there’s a lot here for you in the way of patterns and tutorials.

From this grouping, I read:

Pinteresting (I’m now inspired to use Pinterest a little more strategically)

The Social Spread (This would be most useful if you’re employed by someone else to handle social media)

Monkey See, Monkey Do (All about photo editing using PicMonkey.   PicMonkey is GREAT for making pinnable images, and this book covers all the basics.   I was more a fan of the photo editing section of the book than the graphic-making section, though.)

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Even though I’m not going to glean a bunch of info from the photography resources, there’s still a LOT of other stuff in the bundle that is useful, helpful, and inspiring.

That, I think, is the best feature of these ultimate bundles: you get so many books and resources that even if a whole section of them is irrelevant to you, you’re still bound to get your money’s worth.

So, if you’re looking for sewing patterns, craft ideas, painting inspiration, and home decor ideas, I think this is a great collection that offers a lot of value!

Plus, you can ask for an easy refund if you buy the bundle and don’t feel like it’s worth the $34.95.

Those of you who bought the bundle yesterday: What do you think so far?   I’d love to know!

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