DIY Sugar Cube Place Card Holder

I wanted something simple and cute to hold up all the labels for the desserts at MOH-Ho's 'Sugar Spice Nice' theme shower and I came up with the perfect solution:


As usual, I got some eye-rolls when I first mentioned my latest crazy idea. But when it comes time to trying things out, my team is always behind me 110% (coz they know it's the only way to shut me up). We had to set this up outdoors coz sugar flew EVERYWHERE. Eventually Bro-GT had to put on safety goggles (over his glasses!) just to protect his eyes from sugar attacks.
A mini assembly line was formed quickly. Da Hubs set up each cube and Bro-GT did the cutting and blade cleaning:
To make these you'll need:

• Some kind of heavy clamp (we used a pipe wrench)
• Rotary tool with small thin blade
• Sugar cubes
  

There's only one step to the process - cut a slot in the cube to hold the card. Here are a few tips / lessons learned:

• As I mentioned, do this outside and the person cutting should wear eye-protection. Sugar got on all our clothes and hair, I can't imaging the epic battle we would've had with the neighborhood ants if I tried this in the kitchen or even the garage.
• Depending on the type of clamp you use, you may want to add some padding to protect the cube and provide a firmer grip. We wrapped a paper towel around each cube to do this. The metal and sugar direct contact made it slippery and nicked the cubes.
• The blade gets hot and melts the sugar. Sometimes you get small clumps or pieces of cotton candy out of it but they remove easily. Keep a tub of water nearby to take the sugar off the blade (comes off real easily with water) so the buildup doesn't mess with your cut.
• Practice makes perfect. I wasn't sure this would work at first but after some tries (and quite a few broken cubes) we got it down pat.
  

They do a great job holding up any small cards/signs/labels, but I think they look proportionally perfect with the little labels (see 2nd photo above) and would make excellent place card holders. Though I gotta say, double-teaming them to hold the bigger signs look pretty damn fabulous too:
I just love the simplicity, texture, and sweetness of these little holders. Out of all the details I put into this shower, I think this may just be my favorite :)