Fall Door Wreath from a Wooden Cheese Box

Fall Door Wreath from a Wooden Cheese Box

Once I felt nicely settled in our new home here in Charlotte, NC, I treated myself to a quick, safe trip to a longtime favorite antiques mall called Sleepy Poet. I always, ALWAYS, find a project or treasure when I’m there and this visit was no exception when I came across this wooden cheese box.

Wood cheese box at Sleepy Poet Antiques Mall in Charlotte NC

It had some markings on the lid and quite a few markings on the main box, but none of those deterred me. It just seemed like it was destined for an upcycling project (or two!?).

Upcycling the lid of a wood cheese box

Heck, even the original price tag had “Art Project?” written on it. Which was basically like issuing me a challenge right there in the store.

So, I popped it in my cart, mulled over a few ideas, and settled on repurposing the lid as a fall door wreath.

After all, I’m no stranger to making fall wreaths, but needed a new one for our rental house!

Fall wreath ideas and harvest wreaths from these upcycled craft ideas

This post contains affiliate links for your crafting convenience. As an Amazon Affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. All blue, bold, and underlined text is a clickable link, either to a product or to a related post.

Resurfacing the Lid of a Wooden Cheese Box

First things first, I needed to smooth out the lid of the cheese box before anything else. Between the marker writing and the “splinters-waiting-to-happen” along the round edge, it definitely needed some attention.

So, I broke out my orbital sander to do the job. I started out with an 80-grit disk to do the heavy lifting first.

Sanding a wood cheese box to remove writing and marker

Once the marker and splinters had been sanded off, I finished with a 220-grit disk to make it touch-ably smooth.

Transforming the lid of a wooden cheese box into a fall door wreath

Next, I wanted to deepen the color of the wood while still keeping it fairly pale, if that makes sense. I decided to give “Golden Pecan” a try.

Varathane wood stain in Golden pecan

And it was PERFECT! It warmed up the wood cheese box with just a hint of rich color, which was exactly the look I was hoping to achieve.

Making a fall door wreath with a cheese box lid

Stenciling to Look Like a Wood Burned Sign

Now that the lid of the wood cheese box had a warmer color, I could turn my attention to stenciling the center.

I wanted to recreate the look of a wood burned sign without any pyrography. So, I grabbed a fall stencil and some brown craft paint to give it a go.

And you know what? It worked out pretty well, if I do say so myself.

Wood burned sign with stencils and brown paint

Once the stenciling was done, I could determine the very top of my wreath. I marked it with a pencil and drilled a small hole through the lip of the cheese box lid.

I wanted to do this AFTER the stenciling so that I didn’t have to line up the stencil with the pre-drilled hole!

From there, I pushed a knotted loop of twine through the hole as a wreath hanger.

Adding a wreath hanger to the lid of a wooden cheese box

If I had wanted a very rustic, simple wreath, I could have wiped my hands and called it a day.

But I wanted color, namely fall colors on fall leaves. So, I purchased a few stems from Michaels.

With my hot glue gun in hand, I ringed the lid of the wood cheese box with brightly colored leaves. I hadn’t planned on placing them so closely together, but that was just how it worked out!

Decorating the lid of a wood cheese box with fall leaves

Fall Door Wreath from a Wooden Cheese Box

When I made it all the way around the lid, it was finished and ready to be hung outside!

I just LOVE IT! It’s almost like a fall leaf sunflower, in a way.

Lid of a wood cheese box as a fall door wreath

Ok, how weird is it for me to be hanging a wreath on a black door after YEARS AND YEARS of decorating our old red door?

There was no nail in the door so I bought a black over-the-door wreath hanger that worked like a charm. And I can’t speak for you, but I think the lid of a wood cheese box was MEANT to become a fall door wreath!

Wood cheese box lid as a fall door wreath

Now…if only the weather outside my door would start feeling like Fall…

Speaking of fall wreath ideas, did you see the one I made for my book, “Crafting with Flannel”?

fall leaf wreath from flannel shirts

So much fun, right? And I have a whole collection of upcycling ideas for fall wreaths here, if you’re looking for more inspiration.

And if you enjoyed this upcycling idea for fall decor, then you may also be interested in this cake dome that looks like a pumpkin, too!

cake dome for fall party decor

Craft on!

S

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wooden cheese box as a fall wreath

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Sarah Ramberg is the owner of Sadie Seasongoods, a website that celebrates all things secondhand. From upcycling ideas and thrifted decor to vintage-centric travel itineraries, Sadie Seasongoods is a one-stop shop for anyone who loves thrifting and approachable repurposing ideas. Sarah is also the author of “Crafting with Flannel” and has been featured in numerous media outlets and magazines.

Comments

  1. Nancy L Scheffert says

    No access to wooden cheese boxes but looks cute.

  2. So nice! It looks really great against the black door!

    • Sadie Seasongoods says

      Thank you!! It’s taking some getting used to (that black front door), but it’s exciting, too!

  3. I love your wreath idea. I have a couple cheese boxes. When I saw them for sale I really liked their texture and knew I needed a couple of them. One holds yarn in my craft room but, one might just make it into a wreath form. ? Thanks for the great idea!

  4. Granny Louise says

    wonderful look on your door, I am so on the lookout for a cheese box now. What did you do with the bottom?

  5. Oh, another great project. I have a friend who has been trying to unload (I mean gift me with) several cheese boxes. I have used the bottom of a cheese box with a board to make a floor, and a Christmas wreathe for the “edging” for a lovely dolllhouse “roombox”. You make things into pumpkins, I make things into dollhouse scenes! Love the pumpkin cake storer, too–could use it from early fall through Thanxgiving! My daughter loves Halloween and pumpkins;I think I’d tape a removable Jack-o-lantern face on one for her!

  6. Rebecca Payne says

    I love your wreath. Great job.

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