A Place for Cards

Card boxes: they're probably something you can put on your Skip List if you're short on time, money, or energy.  But people do need a place to put cards that they bring to the wedding, so I put it on my Don't Skip List (which, frankly, is probably way too long).  I figured it was a project that I could do well ahead of time without too much effort or money.  In my search for inspiration, I really loved the card boxes inspired by the Disney/Pixar movie UP, like Mrs. Fox's.  

Mrs. Fox's adorable UP inspired card box./Photo by Exclamation Imagery

However, we'll be using our balloon engagement pictures in a few areas, so I didn't want it to look like we were doing an UP themed wedding.  And I didn't like that it would probably go to waste after the wedding - our current neighborhood uses wall-mounted boxes as opposed to those mounted on the street so we couldn't actually use this.

In the search for more options, I came across pictures of  bird cages and decorated gift boxes, but those didn't feel quite right.  The card box will sit at a table at the entrance to the venue with our guest book and some pictures as one of the first things the guests will see when they walk in, so I wanted it to fit in to our decor well.

And at some point, I thought of lanterns and went searching to see if I could find any inspiration pictures.  Sure enough, I was able to find a picture of another wedding, and it looked like the cards fit in fine and it was pretty!

Lantern card box with a hinged top./Found on Style Me Pretty/Photo by Alders Photography

I went searching at Hobby Lobby one day when they were running a 50% off sale on lanterns, and decided to go with this one.  Actually, I had to peruse the shelves of lanterns from behind a couple who was standing in the way and bickering about whether or not they needed some lanterns and where they would put them in their house (she was for, he was against, if you can imagine).  There was only one left of the one that I wanted, so I snuck past them with an awkward "excuse me!" and grabbed my lantern and carried it around like some strange cave goblin while I finished my other shopping in the store.  And maybe it was a coincidence, but I swear that girl was around every turn I took, perhaps waiting until I put it down.  However, I had made my decision so I hung on to my lantern and proceeded to the checkout.  Hobby Lobby is not for the faint of heart.

Here's a picture I found of the lanterns used in a beautiful rustic centerpiece.  I love that you don't have to do much to it, it's already a nice color and has the pretty scroll work.  

The lovely lanterns used in centerpieces./Found on Rustic Wedding Chic/Photo by Miles Witt Boyer Photography

With a card box, though, you'll want to label it so that people can tell what it is.  I was going between hanging the little wooden letters from pearls along the top and putting these pearl stickers on the glass.  I figured the sticker pearls wouldn't show up well enough, so I went for the wooden letters.

I played around in store trying to decide which would be the best way to label it.

I ended up painting the letters teal and hot gluing them to the side since the pearl strand was hard to work with, and I love the pop of teal next to the grey-ish color of the metal.  

  

Finally, I needed a way to get the cards into the box.  This lantern did not have a hinged top, and I didn't want people opening the door to put in cards.  So the only option was to cut a slit in the top, which Daddy P did for me with his dremel.

Daddy P cutting a slit to put the cards into the box.  

After I touched up the slit with sandpaper so that it didn't have any sharp edges, we had a finished card box!

The final product.  

The open door now faces to the back and the slit is right in front, so I hope that's self-explanatory enough for guests.  Depending on how much we decide to do on that entrance table with candles and flowers, I might add some flowers to the base of this lantern, but I really do like it just as is.  I think it fits in pretty well with our chandeliers and other courtyard decor.  And the best part - it didn't cost too much and I didn't have to put in too much time on it!  

I can also see us reusing this (without the letters) on our backyard patio as decor with some large pillar candles inside.  That is...after the wedding when we'll be able to put in a backyard patio to decorate!

What did you do for a card box?