I'm Like a Bird...

Back in the day, before I knew anything about craft blogs or design blogs - or blogs at all really - one of my first forays into being creative was designing my own wedding card box.  As you know, many people bring cards, with or without money in them, to a wedding and you need a secure place to put them.

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I've seen decorated shoeboxes and fancy mailboxes, but I wanted something that would be pretty and dainty and sit on the table. I'm not dainty at all,  but this was the one place I vowed to be girly. (Vowed, haha!) I was all over the wedding forums at that time, and there was a lot of talk about decorating a wire birdcage with tulle and ribbons. That appealed to me so much.

I purchased a decorative cage at Homesense, stocked up on white tulle from Michael's, and went to town. I loved this so much.  Doesn't it look like a little church?

Several months after our wedding my cousin got engaged and I promised to make a cage for her too. You might ask why I didn't give her the one above. Well, I sold it right after the wedding. Not thinking ahead I guess.

I had a hard time finding something I was happy with and, with no time to spare, finally settled on a wire magazine holder with flower details.

Her bridesmaids were wearing green so I added some green accents to the center of each flower. 

The sides and top are done with a basket weave pattern.  

I fashioned a little door on one side using a wire coat hanger so that she would be able to open the cage later.  Considering the frame I had to work with, I think it turned out quite nice.

When another cousin announced he was getting married a few years later, I started looking for a cage right away. This is the beauty that I found.

I love it so much.  It came with its own stand (that I kept and turned into a magazine rack here) and is nearly 2 feet tall.  That took a lot of tulle. So much that I looked to Ebay and Etsy instead of Michael and his outrageous prices.

I worked for weeks on this one.  I wove it and took it apart a half dozen times. I planned on giving it to the bride at her shower and stayed up until after midnight the night before getting it perfect. (Shannon, if you're reading this, don't feel guilty - I did it 'cause I love you!)  Here is the final product.

I'm so proud of this one!  The wine-coloured ribbon is a striking contrast to the white, and the little roses add just enough femininity.  I really hope she loved it as much as I loved making it.

So far I've only made these three.  We need some more people in the family to get married!

If there was a market for it, I could be happy making and selling these forever.  If you know a person looking for something like this, let me know - I'd love to help them out!