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My Mom has special powers. Whenever I have something really specific in mind that I want, she inevitably finds that exact thing when we’re shopping. But not only does she find that must-have item, she almost always finds it for a deep, deep discount. There are countless stories of her stopping in front of a rack or a shelf, rummaging around, and pulling out whatever you’re looking for with a big red “clearance” sticker slapped on the front of it. My friends used to recruit her to go shopping with them.
So, a few months ago I put her powers to work for me yet again. I wanted an antique looking wire birdcage to use as a card box. (Yes, I realize this is a little overdone these days, but I love it and I want one.) We went to a store near where my parents live and we split up, me moving faster through the aisles than she was, and I got to the end thinking we struck out. But then here she came, holding this birdcage with a big yellow “clearance” sticker on the front of it:
We immediately did some inspection and realized that the wire flowers could be cut off fairly easily. The door was too small to fit cards in, but luckily my Dad is pretty handy and we decided he could remove the wood pieces making up the current door and replace it with a bigger one. As you can see the clearance sticker said $10, but when Mama Sundae took it up to the register they only charged us $5! It was practically free! We also decided to paint it black and my Dad found a new knob thing for the top of the cage, which we will use to tie some of the damask fabric around. Here it is with the flowers removed (sorry for the blurry pictures):
And here is the finished product (minus the fabric bow tied onto the top):
Hooray for handy parents! What are you using as a card box?
What a transformation! I got a little worried when I saw the first photo with the flowers and didn’t realize they would be coming off! It looks great!
Love it! We’re using birdcages too, Miss Sundae! Thanks for the reminder that I have to get cracking on sprucing mine up!
Very cute! I wish my mom had that power - inevitably, when I tell her *exactly* what I’m looking for, she hunts for 3.4 seconds and declares that the item I desire “simply doesn’t exist.” Poo.
I’m curious to see if anyone else has any good ideas for a card box. Our whole wedding is very modern and I am just not feeling the birdcage at all, but every wedding I’ve been to in the past few years has used one, so I’m not really sure what other options exist!
WOW!!! That looks amazing!! What a lucky find!!
Mrs. Magnolia, you can borrow my Mom whenever you want 
That looks great! The damask fabric will be the perfect touch! Superhero moms are wonderful…and crafty dads, too. My dad would probably tell me, “Good luck with that!” Ha!
I found a Swedish Post mailbox online that I’m tempted to use for my card holder! Swedish being my heritage, and knowing a bunch of my relatives would probably recognize the signature horn on the box.
But I also love the look of vintage birdcages. I think what’s so nice about them is that there’s still so much variety that each one looks so different.
Awesome job! I will be using a wire mannequin well i will try to. My mom has surprised me as well… shes been doing lots of DIY stuff for me.
Julieulie: Hey you say modern but give some back ground. Is there an overall theme like stripes or metal accents all over? Are you at all crafty or would you prefer to buy things already done? A card box can be almost anything……
Some people have gotten 4 frames and put there e pics in them, then attached the 4 frames with L brackets or something along that lines. Then to close the top and the bottom they would use a piece of wood or poster board, with the top being covered in fabric to spruce it up and having a large openning. If you used wood you could just stain it or pint it to match your theme. To the bottom they attached a small lazy susan so that it could spin.
You could also make a box out of wood and stain it or add mirror tiles to make it shine 
Another idea is to get a large jar or container that you just adore. You can make a little tag to it saying cards and attach it with ribbon or alittle glue.
Millions of possibilities….
Thanks for the suggestions, Lins. I have made absolutely everything short of my dress/bridesmaid dresses/centerpieces 100% by myself, so I’m up to a crafty challenge, as long as it doesn’t involve cutting any wood (I live in a tiny inner-city condo and there is nowhere for me to do any woodworking anymore!).
I had originally thought about getting a big vase and etching a motif similar to what I used on my invitations, along with our logo, but I’d really like to try to find something that you can’t open easily or that I could lock. Our hotel is in the middle of the city, and while we have the floor reserved that the ballroom is on, the ceremony is on a different floor. I presume we’d have gifts collected prior to the ceremony so people don’t have to lug them through the ceremony and cocktail hour and then to the reception, and I’m not keen on leaving unattended cards sitting out in the hallway while we are all in the ceremony room!
Wow! You brought that birdcage up a few notches I’m planning on doing a mailbox… which maybe we’ll get to reuse. Of course if I was sticking to my Maine bride heritage I’d go for a lobster trap. But I’m just not feeling it.
Julieulie: Well most hardware stores will cut wood down for you if you would like to go that option.
Oh and I forgot to mention you mrs t you made that bird cage look awesome. It’s a wonder what paint can do.
Miss Sundae….are you willing to part with your birdcage after your wedding? I’m interested in purchasing from you. I absolutely love the revised piece.
Good job with the cage love it.
We are using a vintage two wine bottle holder. We are having an italian themed wedding with lots of grapes and cafe scenes so i thought that this would be a great addition to it
Wow, I am so impressed with the new and improved cage! I can’t believe your dad replaced the DOOR, it looks like it was made that way!! YAY
looks great!
Thanks, Emerald! Papa Sundae is one handy guy to have around. Brandi - I’ve thought about keeping the birdcage, but I will let you know if I change my mind!
Wow! You are so creative… it looks completely different! Hmm, I hadn’t thought about a card box yet… decisions, decisions!
It does look great! Since we’re using antique copper pots for all of our flower arrangements and for some of the food stations, I thought I’d use an antique copper bucket for the cards as well (I’ll put in a “fake” card with our names on the front to signal the real use).
Julieulie–maybe some kind of modern bucket (like a silver or glass bucket or wine cooler) or nice metal tray would be a nice place for guests to put their cards?
WOW! That is AMAZING!
I don’t know about the card box thing…I feel like I’ve never seen one of those at a wedding before. Do you really think we need one?
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Mrs. Sundae, Chicago/Lake Geneva, WI Age and Occupation: 28, Knowledge Manager Fiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Investment Advisor Engagement Date: July 20, 2007 Wedding Date: September 2008 Blogging Since: February 5, 2008 Venue: The Abbey Resort About Me: It’s hard to believe that by the time Mr. Sundae and I get married we will have been together for almost ten years. When we first met in college we split dollar pitchers and now we share the mortgage payments. Despite our love for the city we are looking forward to tying the knot in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.
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