$7 Cheese Dome

Remember when I found a cloche at Goodwill (see here and here if you don't) and I mentioned, even then, that I could use it with a base to make a cheese plate?

Well, I was in the Salvation Army a few days ago and, low-and-behold, I saw this little guy hanging out on a lower shelf next to some overpriced teak wood salad bowls:

What is it, you might ask? Normally I wouldn't have given this random plank of wood a second thought. But because I'd already dreamed up the ways I could use my cloche, my mind immediately wondered if the two were the right size for each other.

I brought it home, pulled it out of the bag (like a kid on Christmas day, mind you) and paired the two. It was then that I realized the teak wood base had a secret oval tendency (not obvious looking at it, but obvious when placed underneath a perfectly round cloche). The longer side fit the cloche perfectly, but the other side was too narrow, keeping the cloche from resting within the groove. I left it on my counter to process for a day and then, like a lightning bolt, I realized my mom had given me her Dremel. And it had a sanding attachment. Oh happy day! I'd been dying to find a reason to use my new tool, so I pulled it out and started sanding the narrow sides to make the groove a bit wider (literally needed about an 1/8 of an inch!).

See the extra grooves on the left and right side below?

Well, it worked. My cloche now sits perfectly on top of its new teak wood base.

If you remember, I found the cloche for $3 (marked down from $4), and I found this teak wood base for $4, bringing the grand total to $7 for this cheese dome.

Check out Crate & Barrel's $27 version (click picture for link):

RuggyDesign on Etsy is selling the same exact combo (teak wood base and exact same cloche) for $16.00. Hm, yet another reason for My Yellow Umbrella to make an entrance on Etsy?