Pie Box

I love pie. I love making pies. I love eating pies. At our wedding, instead of wedding cake, we had 20 wedding pies. So, my love is real. From mid-summer until late fall when the orchard at Roy Ridge is in full swing, I’m making a pie a week. It’s great for using up the fruit, not great for the wasteline - so I’m constantly bringing them to people’s houses. When a friend says: “Would you all like to come over for dinner?” My response is always: “We’d love to, I’ll bring pie!” Now getting the pie from Point A to Point B is never easy. I love my husband, but he is not a good country road driver nor is he a good carrier of pies-in-the-lap. So, I needed a pie carrier. I really don’t like all the plastic ones out there (and they often aren’t big enough to fit vintage ceramic pie plates) so I decided to make my own. Complete with carrying handle - because with three kids, it’s a luxury to carry something with both hands, you always need one hand free!

MATERIALS

Wood box with sliding or lift-able lid

Leather belt

Scissors

Drill

Chicago screws (2) - AKA: barrel bold or connector bolt, any hardware store will have them.

Vinyl and vinyl cutters or stick on letters

Box graphic (Downloadable HERE)

STEPS

Create the leather handle from a belt. Place the belt over box to find a good length for the handle. Mark with a pen and cut to size using a good heavy-duty pair of scissors. Try to cut from the middle of the belt to avoid holes and the buckle. Round the corners of the leather so it looks nice and finished.

Create a hole in each end of the handle with a drill on a block of wood or a leather punch if you have one handy.

On the box, measure and mark the center point on the two sides where you want your handles. (Make sure that your handle won’t get in the way of opening and closing the lid.) Drill a hole to fit your Chicago screw at each mark.

Grab your Chicago screws.

Push the barrel part of the fastener through the hole you drilled from the inside.

Push the screw part of the fastener through the hole in the belt and into the hole in the box.

Use a screwdriver to tighten the fastener. Repeat on the other side.

Use graphic provided here to cut vinyl with a vinyl cutter like a Cricut. Otherwise, cut out of vinyl sheets with an X-Acto knife or just use vinyl decal letters.

Apply decal to the lid of the box and you are all set! Now you can carry your pies in safety and style!