Wedding Blog
Two months before Sister Bruschetta’s November 2007 wedding, I decided she needed a fun card box. I still don’t know what inspired that thought; I just woke up one day and told her I’d take over this detail, if she trusted me with it.
Crafty Miss Bruschetta emerged — remember her? — and despite the fact that she (um, I) had no idea how to go about creating it, I settled on a papier-mache tree. Google led me to my inspiration photos and my inherently stubborn nature spurred me onward.
Sounds like a mess, right? Nope! Although Lu (as we named the tree, since the day the project began [September 6] was also the day Luciano Pavarotti passed away) didn’t immediately resemble a tree, he definitely took on arboreal qualities the longer we worked. (Sorry for the lack of step-by-step pictures! I’m a bad bee. This was eons before I even knew about Weddingbee, back when I was concerned only with capturing the picturesque finished project, and not the yucky in-process steps.)
Lu became a family project, with Sister Bruschetta helping craft branches from tin foil (which we affixed to the poster board trunk), Daddy Bruschetta fashioning the board onto which we stapled (ouch!) the tree, and Mama Bruschetta acting as my assistant while I painted one, two, three coats of brown to cover the newsprint forming Lu’s body.
My favorite part of Lu is a toss-up between the hole in his trunk (to receive cards), the glitter-glue-rimmed leaves (each one edged individually in a complementary autumn color) or the green felt “grass” (which appears to be growing up his trunk). Granted, Lu’s branches don’t look perfect, and his trunk’s a bit square, but he seemed to command attention in his corner of the room — with its red floor-length curtains — and proved to be an excellent backdrop for guest photos.
I know I won’t have the time or patience to craft a card box like Lu for my own wedding, but still want whatever I do select to fit with the wedding. So, help inspire me!
Your turn to share: Will you/did you create a unique card box?
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Share this post: The Giving Tree
I love this Miss Bruschetta! 
How fun!! I feel silly saying this, but I’ve never heard of a card box!
I’m definitely inspired to do one now!
Thanks for sharing!
We are setting out a mailbox, white enamel, with the red flag now painted navy blue, onto which I decopaged our married names and address. I bought it for about $15 from the hardware store and spruced it up. Turned out very classy.
Our wedding is on a northern MN lake, so our “guestbook” is actually a bunch of MN lakes postcards for guests to sign and also drop in the mailbox. Postcards will be added to vinyl sleeves in an album post-wedding. Good luck, hard to top “Lu”.
I searched high and low for a card box that wasnt going to cost me an arm and a leg (seriously why are they so much!) I thought I would make my own version but after pricing out the supplies it would have been the same. Then I stumbled upon a cute cream colored bird cage at the Xmass Tree Shops for only 6.00! Total bargin. I was thinking it would fit with our garden party theme shower do you think i can use it for both the shower and the wedding?
I’ve heard horror stories about checks and cash being stolen out of cards that were in open baskets, so I think I’m going to make a card box out of picture frames - it’ll be a nice way to feature our engagement photos at the same time.
Ms. Bruschetta, I LOVE your box! I am having a 10-10-10 wedding and you have completely inspired me to make a fabulous fall card box I also love that your whole family was involved in the creation, what fun!
whatta cool box! i’m not really creating a special cardbox…i’m reusing my sister’s card basket and decorating it with ribbon and flowers.
That is awesome!!! Can you reuse it for your wedding?
Thats a super cute idea… i really like it
I had originally wanted to use a vintage bird cage, but upon finding out how completely out of my price range it was, I decided against it.
It was then that i saw and fell in love with, of all things, a light house.
It is a rustic looking, wobbly, discoloured lighthouse, standing at about 3 feet tall. It is gorgeous! It even has a top that opens so that you can deposit the envelopes inside.
@Emilydll: @ES123: @cynthias225: @browneyes: @MangoTango: Thanks for the compliments!
@Mrs. Woody-to-be: I definitely considered this when starting Lu. But, I figured it would be pretty hard to sneak cards out of the tree — you need to put your arm in up to your shoulder — and so chose not to worry about it!
@Miss Hot Cocoa: Sadly, Lu’s a bit too autumnal for our late summer wedding. But, Sister and BIL Bruschetta LOVE Halloween, so hopefully they’ll be able to integrate him into their annual decorations!
@chickasjf: I totally think so! What a great deal!
A friend’s mom that graduated with me makes these: http://www.theperfectcardbox.com They may not be super unique but they are very practical and resuable for other events. We are going to use ours to storge our wedding keepsakes in that wouldn’t necessarily fit in a scrapebook. It will be our wedding box!
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Mrs. Bruschetta, Philadelphia
Age and Occupation: 25, Communication Professional
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Physical Therapy Graduate Student
Engagement Date: November 30, 2007
Wedding Date: August 2009
Venue: St. Thomas of Villanova Church & the F.U.E.L. House
About Me: I’m a self-proclaimed grammar geek who loves singing (like, really belting it) in the car. My mister and I are planning a vibrant summer soiree celebrating our passions – including food and Philly – and when we make it official, we’ll have been together for eight years! Being super competitive is in my nature, and talking excessively is in my genes. I’ve got a terrible sense of direction, but can always easily find my way into Mr. Bruschetta’s arms.
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