By Carol Duvall
If you are familiar with early American pie safes, you will relate instantly to this mini version. While the originals were used to cool and keep freshly made pies, this little safe will work for nothing larger than a pot pie. I put a potpourri pie in this one! Materials: eight-foot length of 1" x 8" board*
five-foot length of 1" x 2" wood strip*
1' x 2' chicken wire
two hinges
5/8-inch nails
screws
four flat L-shaped corner irons
five small wooden apples
wood glue *Measurements given in lumber yards are not the same as actual measurements. The 1" x 8" board actually measured 3/4" x 7-1/4" and the 1" x 2" wood strip was actually 3/4" x 1-1/2". Steps: 1. From the eight-foot board, cut three 16-inch lengths. These will be the back and two sides of the safe. Lay one of the pieces on a tabletop (this will be the back of the safe) and with wood glue, attach the two remaining pieces to the side edges, forming a U-shaped piece (figure A). Nail the pieces together for added strength. Stand the piece upright. 2. Cut an 8-7/8-inch length from the 1" x 2" board and nail it to the front of the safe across the front opening (figure B). The top edge of the board should be even with the top edges of the two sides. 3. Make the top and bottom of the safe by cutting two 8-7/8-inch pieces from the eight-foot board (7-1/4" x 8-7/8"). Glue and nail to the top and bottom of the safe (figure C). 4. To make the door, assemble a frame from two 8-7/8-inch lengths of the 1" x 2" board and two,11-1/2-inch lengths of the 1" x 2" board. Glue together with the longer boards on the inside to form the door frame (figure D ). Screw the L shapes onto the inside corners. 5. Cut chicken wire to cover the opening with a bit overlapping onto the frame. Staple to hold. 6. Paint the boards desired colors. The one I showed was painted white on the outside and lightly sanded when dry. Heavier sanding was done along the edges and corners to age it. 7. Paint the apples and when dry, glue four to the bottom of the safe for feet. Screw one to the front of the door for a handle. 8. Cut a 6-1/2-inch piece from the 1" x 8" board for the shelf (figure E). Paint or cover with fabric (figure F). Ours was covered with an apple print fabric. The piece of fabric was cut the exact size of the top of the board and long enough to cover the front edge and fold back under. 9. Place the shelf in position and glue to secure. 10. Attach the door using two screw hinges (figure G). Potpourri pie Our potpourri pie was made in a pot pie tin. If yours is not made of metal, you can spray paint it with aluminium-colored paint. Materials: 9" x 12" piece light tan-colored felt
needle and thread
pinking shears
needle
clear thread
clothes pins Steps: 1. Cut a 8-1/2-inch circle of felt. Cut six 1-1/2" x 9" strips of felt using pinking shears. Cut each strip in half horizontally. 2. With clear thread, sew a running stitch 3/8 inch from the outer edge of the felt circle. Place a small amount of glue in the bottom of the tin. Position the circle on top of the pie tin. Push it down into tin and pull the thread to gather the felt until it fits the edge of the bowl. 3. Glue the edge of the felt to the top edge of the pie tin and secure with clip clothespins until dry. 4. Remove the clothespins, fill with potpourri and place four felt strips across the top of the pie. Weave through with the remaining felt strips.
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