DIY Chalkboard Holiday Wreath with Dehydrated Fruit

By Emily Warren

The holidays are all about adding a little sparkle and charm to your home, and what better way to do that than with a craft that’s equal parts rustic and festive? With just a circle, a little chalkboard paint, and a handful of dried fruit, you can create a cheerful wreath that looks good enough to eat!

As Susan Jennings at Kudzu Creative in Bowdon likes to remind us: if you can’t find something you love in the store, grab a pair of snips and head outside—your own yard is full of treasures. We tried pairing artificial greenery with this wreath, but next to the real fruit it looked too staged. Instead, we gathered glossy magnolia leaves and a touch of green from the bushes outside our office, and the result was perfectly natural and timeless.

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Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Prepare Your Base
Spray your circle base evenly with chalkboard paint. Allow it to dry completely. The chalkboard surface lets you personalize your wreath with holiday messages or festive doodles.

2. Arrange Your Fruit
Lay out your dehydrated fruit slices around the edges of the circle to plan your design. Mix oranges, lemons, limes, or add pops of color with apples, cranberries, or grapefruit.

3. Incorporate Greenery
Tuck magnolia leaves or sprigs of fresh greenery between the fruit slices. This softens the look and gives your wreath a fresh, natural finish.

4. Secure Everything in Place
Use a hot glue gun or craft glue to attach fruit slices and greenery along the edges of the circle. Overlap slightly for a lush, full look.

5. Finishing Touches
Once the glue has set, add a ribbon or twine loop for hanging. Write a holiday message in chalk at the center, and your wreath is ready to display!

Supplies You’ll Need

• A flat circle base (wood or cardboard works well)

• Chalkboard spray paint

• Magnolia leaves or fresh greenery

• Dehydrated fruit slices (oranges, limes, lemons, grapefruit, apples, cranberries, etc.)

• Hot glue gun or craft glue

• Optional: ribbon or twine for hanging

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How to Dehydrate Your Own Fruit

Want to dry your own fruit? Here’s how:

With a Food Dehydrator
• Slice fruit into thin rounds (1/8–1/4 inch thick), removing seeds.
• Arrange slices in a single layer on dehydrator trays.
• Set to 135°F and dry for 6–12 hours, until slices are brittle.

With an Oven
• Preheat to 140–200°F (the lowest setting available).
• Slice fruit thinly (1/8–1/4 inch thick), removing seeds.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment and arrange fruit in a single layer.
• Bake 2–4 hours, flipping slices every 30 minutes.
• Once brittle and no longer sticky, transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Tips & Ideas

• Add cinnamon sticks or fresh pine sprigs for extra holiday fragrance.

• Play with different fruit combinations to change the color palette.

• Store extra dehydrated fruit in an airtight jar for your next project—or use them to garnish holiday drinks!

• If hanging outside, clear coating the fruit may keep those pesky bugs away.