In this post, I’m sharing how to make a modern DIY propagation station from scrap wood!

I’d love to tell you that I’m an excellent green thumb and an expert with house plants.

But, I’d be lying! The only plants I can seem to keep alive are the ones they claim are impossible to kill–the snake plants, the ZZ plants, and the pothos.

These easy to grow plants are also easy to propagate and since they tend to grow pretty quickly, they make plenty of cuttings to practice with!

Now, while I can’t give you any great advice on propagating your plants–I’ll have to refer you to the experts on that one–I can show you how to make a simple, fun station to set up your cuttings!

Let’s dive into the wood scraps pile and get building! Here’s what you’ll need.

Tools & Materials:

*This post contains affiliate links. See policies page for details.

How to Make a Scrap Wood Propagation Station

This fun little DIY propagation station only took about 15 minutes to assemble, and is a great option for a first time build or beginner project!

Feel free to customize the size if you’d like a few more or a few less propagation tubes in your project. This one fit 5 tubes.

The overall dimensions of this DIY propagation station are 2 ½″ deep x 8 ⅜″ tall x 17″ wide.

Step 1: Cut Scrap Wood to Size

For this project, I used some scrap 1×2 for the top (mine was maple wood), scrap 1×3 for the bottom (mine was walnut wood), and some wood dowels to connect the two.

The dowels I used here were ½″ diameter, but you could use larger ones if you wanted.

I cut my top 1×2 piece to 15″ long with square ends. But for the bottom piece, I beveled the ends.

The 1×3 pieces for the base were cut with 20 degree bevels. The top piece was 15 ½″ long, and the two sides were about 2″ long. If you wanted it taller, you can cut these sides longer.

Then, I cut my dowels to 5″ long.

Step 2: Assemble the Base of Propagation Station

I sanded the 1×3 pieces before assembling. Then, I just used some Krazy Glue Fast Dry Wood Glue to glue the top onto the sides.

You can certainly use regular wood glue and/or brad nails to secure instead. But the fast dry wood glue was quick and easy. Since it dried quick (like, within seconds quick) I didn’t have to worry with clamps on these weird angles.

I could just hold the pieces together for about 10-20 seconds, then move on to gluing the next piece.

I made sure the sides would angle out on both sides before allowing the glue to dry.

Step 3: Drill Holes for Test Tubes

Once the base was together, I worked on the top half. In order for the test tubes to go into the propagation station, I needed to drill out holes in the top 1×2 piece.

First, I measured the diameter of my test tubes–mine were 1″ overall. So I grabbed a 1″ forstner bit and installed it into my drill.

I measured out 5 evenly spaced locations on my 1×2 leaving plenty of room on the ends to attach the dowels later.

TIP: Draw a mark down the centerline of the board, then measure and mark your hole locations along this mark. That way, the holes stay straight down the length of the board.

Once the hole locations were marked, I used my drill with forstner bit to drill them out. Make sure to keep the drill as straight as possible so your test tubes will stand straight.

If you had a drilling guide or a drill press, that would be great to use here as well.

NOTE: Make sure to securely clamp the workpiece before drilling!

Step 4: Assemble Propagation Station

I used Krazy Glue Fast Dry Wood Glue again to assemble the dowels between the top and the base here. This held fine with just the glue.

However, in hindsight, I wish I had drilled out some holes for the dowels to go into just to give it a little more surface area for the glue to adhere to.

NOTE: If you want to paint or stain any of the pieces, do so now before assembling. I stained the dowels in Minwax True Black, making sure to avoid getting stain on the ends.

I applied some glue to the base on each end and held the end of the dowels on it until it dried (about 30 seconds).

NOTE: If you paint or apply an oil based stain to any of the pieces, keep in mind the glue may have a hard time sticking to it. So in those cases, I definitely recommend drilling out some holes in the base and the top to insert the dowels vs just gluing them onto the surface.

To make this a little more secure, use a forstener bit the same diameter as your dowels and drill out holes about ¼″ – ½″ deep in the top side of the base and the bottom side of the top piece where you want your dowels to go.

Add wood glue into the holes and insert the dowels. I used this method on this DIY wooden drink coaster project.

Once the dowels were secured to the base, I added some more Krazy Glue to the tops of each dowel and added the top.

I held the pieces together tight until it dried–about 30 seconds.

Then, I allowed the glue to fully cure for a few minutes according to the instructions.

Step 5: Finish and Add Propagation Tubes

Once the glue was completely cured, I applied some Walrus Oil Furniture butter to bring out the colors of this maple and walnut and give it a little protection.

Then, I slipped the test tubes in, added some water, and dropped in my plant cuttings.

I love the simple, modern vibe of this project and am excited to watch my cuttings sprout roots and swap them out for new cuttings every few weeks.

If you didn’t want to use this as an actual propagation station, it would certainly make a cute vase as well. Just drop in a few flowers or some greenery and use it as a centerpiece.

Looking for more DIY plant projects?

I hope you enjoyed this simple scrap wood propagation station project and if you’re looking for more DIY plant projects, here are a few fun ones!

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Until next time, friends, happy building!

In this post, I’m sharing how to build a simple table top key holder and catch all tray!

Do you have a place in your home where you dump your keys, glasses, junk mail, and other odds and ends?

Maybe it’s on an entryway table, a desk, the kitchen island, a nightstand…or all of the above HA!

I got tired of my keys, glasses, guitar picks, and USB adapters laying around everywhere and decided to make a simple scrap wood organizer to keep them all contained in one spot.

This simple catch all has pegs for hanging keys and glasses, a place on the side for books and mail, and a flat surface on the bottom where I can keep my random odds and ends.

It makes a great addition to your nightstand, entryway table, kitchen counter, or your desk to help you stay organized.

Best of all, it’s a quick and easy project that you can make from your scrap pile! I’ll share how I made it below, so let’s dive in.

Tools & Materials:

*This post contains affiliate links. See website polices.

What to know before building

This is a super quick project you can easily complete in just an hour or two. (And most of that time is spent waiting for glue to dry!)

The size is completely customizable to fit your needs, and you can likely find all the lumber you need in your scrap pile.

For this project, you only need about 32″ of 1×8, but you could also use ¾″ plywood pieces, 1×6, 1×10, or whatever width board that you have on hand.

I used walnut for the tray portion of this build and red oak for the dowels. However, any wood type would work fine.

Using different woods for the dowels and tray was a fun way to add some contrast.

Overall Dimensions

The overall dimensions of this project are approximately 7 ¼″ deep, 10″ tall, and 16″ long.

How to Build a Catch All Tray and Key Holder

Grab your wood scraps and let’s dive in!

This is a great beginner level project to help you get some experience with using a miter saw and a drill.

Cut List:

For this build, you’ll need to cut the following pieces.

Step 1: Assemble Main Catch All Tray Body

First, I cut the two 1×8 pieces that will make the bottom and short side of the catch all tray.

So I cut a piece of 1×8 to 16″ long and another to 4 ½″ long each with one end beveled 45 degrees.

I beveled the ends so that I could glue them up as a mitered joint. However, that’s not necessary.

If you’d rather not do that, you can certainly just cut these ends square and use wood screws to join them instead.

I laid these pieces on the workbench so that the long sides butted up next to each other and put some painters tape across the joint.

Then, I flipped it over, applied wood glue on the beveled ends and folded them together.

I wiped away the excess glue squeeze out and set aside while it dried. If you want to clamp this, you can, just make sure it stays square while it’s drying.

Step 2: Assemble Key Holder Rod

While the glue dried on the tray, I began working on the key holder section.

I cut the wood dowels according to the cut list above and set the 1 ¼″ dowel next to a board. I used that to draw a straight line across the dowel.

Then, I measured and marked along this line where to add the pegs. I marked 2″ from the right end for the first peg, then spaced the rest out every 2 ¼″.

You can adjust your spacing how you’d like to add more or less pegs. Feel free to customize as you wish.

Once they were marked, I used a ½″ forstner bit to drill holes at these marks. I drilled approximately ½″ deep.

NOTE: Be sure to clamp the dowel securely before drilling!

Then, I applied wood glue to the end of the pegs and installed them into the holes.

Be sure to wipe away excess glue! I made sure they all looked straight, then set this aside to dry.

Step 3: Cut and Prepare Key Holder Panel

I cut a final piece of 1×8 to about 9 ¼″ long. To dress it up a little, I trimmed the top corners at 45 degrees, but you could leave these square if you’d prefer to.

You could also use a jig saw to cut an arch across the top as well…again, feel free to make this your own however you’d like 🙂

I marked 1″ down from the top at the center and used a 1 ¼″ forstner bit to drill a hole about ½″ deep at that location.

Once the glue was dry on the rod from step 2, I used some wood glue to install it into this hole. A rubber mallet is helpful to tap it in nice and snug.

Make sure the pegs are straight and facing the right direction before allowing to dry.

Step 4: Install Key Holder to Catch All Tray

The last part is simply attaching the tray bottom from step 1 to the key holder assembly from step 3.

To do this, I used a scrap piece of 1×4 that I had lying around the shop to space the 1×8 piece on the hey holder 3 ½″ from the side edge of the tray bottom.

You are welcome to space this differently, but 3 ½″ seemed to hold 2-3 average sized books well.

I drilled predrilled and countersunk holes through the bottom of the tray into the 1×8 of the key holder assembly.

Then, I drove 1 ¼″ screws through these holes to secure.

Step 5: Finish Key Tray Organizer

The last step is to apply a finish. You can welcome to paint and/or stain as desired.

Since I was using walnut and red oak, I simply applied a natural oil based finish using Walrus Oil Furniture butter. This just rubs in and gives the wood a nice, rich color and feel.

And now it’s ready to hold keys, glasses, wallets, mail, books, phones, whatever you need your “catch-all” for!

Looking for More Scrap Wood Organization Ideas?

If you enjoyed this project and are interested in more scrap wood organization project ideas, here are a few favorites!

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Be sure to share this to your favorite social platform or pin it so you can save it for later!

Until next time, friends, happy building!

EASY SCRAP WOOD KEY HOLDER CATCH ALL TRAY

Learn how to build a simple table top key holder and catch all tray! Best of all, it’s a quick and easy project that you can make from your scrap pile!

Print

Materials

• Wood Scraps
• Wood Glue
• Painter’s Tape
• 1 ¼″ screws

Tools

• Miter Saw
• Drill/Driver
• Countersink Bit
• Forstner Bits

Instructions

1. Assemble main catch all tray body.
2. Assemble key holder rod.
3. Cut and prepare key holder panel using miter saw.
4. Install key holder to catch all tray.
5. Finish key tray organizer by applying a finish.

Learn how to build a simple table top key holder and catch all tray!

In this post, I’m sharing how to make a simple DIY wooden box for your table centerpiece!

If you’ve followed along for very long and this looks a little familiar, you may remember that I built a very similar DIY centerpiece box several years ago.

I built several of those and gave them away as Christmas gifts that year to several friends and family members.

Years later, they still talk about them and a few recipients still send me pictures as they change out their decorations for different seasons.

It’s safe to say these made excellent gifts!

So this year, I built a couple more of these DIY wooden box gifts, this time, with a few changes and some optional added “risers” on the bottom.

Building a simple wood box like this is an INCREDIBLY easy project that you can build from a single 1×6 board (or scraps!) and they make perfect handmade gifts for the holidays, housewarmings, or even weddings.

So if you’re ready to get building, let’s dive in.

Tools & Materials

*This post contains affiliate links. See policies.

How to Build a Simple Wooden Box Centerpiece

This is a really simple project to build, but there are several ways you can make it.

I used wood glue and brad nails here, but feel free to skip the nails and use wood glue only if you’d rather. In that case, you can simply clamp the pieces tight until the glue dries.

Or, swap the nails for screws instead. You could go with some black screws for a little extra “industrial” detail.

You can also add some corner braces for extra detail and stability as well.

The risers I added are totally optional, so feel free to skip those if you aren’t feeling them 🙂

Prefer to print your plans? Grab the printable version of this project here.

Step 1: Cut Wooden Box Pieces to Size

You can make this entire box (minus the risers) from a single 1x6x8 board.

The 5 ½″ pieces will be the short sides, the 27″ piece will be the bottom and the 28 ½″ pieces will be the long sides.

I cut these pieces from my board (I used white oak here, in case you were wondering) and sanded them well before assembling.

Step 2: Assemble Short Sides to Bottom

I mentioned earlier that I used wood glue and brad nails to assemble my DIY wooden box.

So I ran a bead of wood glue between the short end of the bottom piece and one of the side pieces and used a couple brad nails to tack it in place.

You could use Fast Dry Wood Glue if you prefer–it’s a little cleaner. But if your boards are a little warped and don’t fit together really tight, the Fast Dry Wood Glue likely won’t work very well.

Note that the wood grain on the side piece is running opposite the bottom piece.

Since these 5 ½″ long pieces are 5 ½″ square (1x6s are 5 ½″ wide in case you didn’t know 🙂 ), you can technically run the grain either direction.

But I didn’t want the end grain on the top edge, so I ran it the other way.

Once the first side was secured to the bottom, I repeated to add the other short side piece.

Step 3: Add Long Sides to Wood Box

Once the short sides were assembled, I used wood glue and brad nails to secure the long sides to complete the box.

Make sure to nail at both the top and bottom to help keep the short side pieces secure.

Step 4: Assemble Risers (Optional)

The risers here are optional. However, they’re a fun little addition that makes this simple box feel a little more “modern.”

If you want to make one, it’s simple. They’re assembled from ¾″ square dowels.

You can buy precut dowels, or, if you have a table saw, you can cut your own from scrap 1x material.

After lightly sanding each one, I used Fast Dry Wood Glue to assemble two 3″ pieces onto each end of each 7 ⅛″ pieces.

You can use regular wood glue instead, but I was impatient.

You can also use brad nails in addition to glue, but it’s tricky sometimes to nail these small pieces, so I didn’t try it.

I clamped these together for about 5 minutes, then gave them a coat of black wood stain.

Step 5: Finish

Speaking of stain, at this point, you can finish (stain, paint, etc) as desired.

I left the box a natural white oak color and stained the risers black for some contrast.

You’re welcome to finish these however you’d like and once it’s dry, you can simply place the box on the risers where you want it.

I didn’t attach the risers so that they are easy to remove later if I decide I don’t want them.

However, if you do want them permanent, you can secure them with brad nails through the bottom of the box.

Now it’s ready to fill with garland and Christmas decorations, simple vases, Mason jars and flowers, etc.

These would be so much fun to change around with the different seasons!

Prefer to print your plans? Grab the printable version of these plans here:

WANT SOME MORE DIY GIFT IDEAS?

With the upcoming holidays, I’ve teamed up with my friend, Kati, from Houseful of Handmade to share some easy and fun gift ideas you can make this season!

If you can’t wait to see what’s next, be sure to subscribe to the FREE newsletter below for priority access to all the latest projects and plans!

And if you enjoyed this DIY wooden box project and want to save it for later, don’t forget to pin it and share it to your favorite social channel!

Until next time, happy building!

In this post, I’m sharing how to make a simple DIY wooden cutting board with two different color woods!

This makes the perfect serving or charcuterie board, too!

Making a basic wooden cutting or serving board is one of the most common beginner projects.

But even “advanced” woodworkers still enjoy making them. They’re just one of those projects that never get old and never go out of style.

Making a DIY wooden cutting board requires few tools and not a lot of lumber.

It’s easy to customize the size and color and wood type when making one.

And you can keep it as simple or as “complex” as you’d like by adding (or not adding) decorative edging, cutting unique shapes, or cutting handles/holes.

In this post, I’m sharing how I made two similar, but slightly different boards.

Tools & Materials:

*This post contains affiliate links. See website policies.

What to Know Before Making a Cutting Board

While making a DIY wooden cutting board or charcuterie serving board is a basic project, there are some things to consider before diving in.

Cutting Board Material Options

Typically for cutting or serving boards, hardwoods are recommended.

This is because most hardwoods have a tighter grain pattern and are harder to dent or damage than softwoods, like pine.

This makes them harder to scratch and less likely to absorb and harbor bacteria.

However, not all hardwoods are a great option. Some woods are toxic and not considered food safe.

Some commonly used hardwoods for cutting and serving boards are maple, cherry, walnut, and teak.

However, if you’re making a “cutting board” for decoration and don’t actually plan to use it in direct contact with food, feel free to branch out and use other materials as well.

Cutting Board Finish Options

If you plan to use your cutting board in a way that it will come in direct contact with food–like for cutting–it’s important to use a food safe finish.

There are tons of options for cutting board oils, butters, and waxes that are food safe. I like Walrus Oil, personally.

However, if you’re just planning to use your board for decoration or serving where food won’t be cut, feel free to branch out with your finish options if you’d like.

For example, in this post, the black and wood board is actually white oak that I stained black with wood stain. The stain itself isn’t food safe.

However, I applied a clear poly to it, and once that’s cured, it’s okay to serve from (like the surface of a dining table).

NOTE: Check that the specific clear coat you plan to use is food safe once cured–not all clear coats are made the same.

But, even though the surface is fine to place food on, it’s still not okay to cut on.

Cutting could chip this finish off and cause pieces of it to get into the food.

So, when choosing a finish, it’s important to think about how you will be using the board and choose an appropriate finish.

Size and Style

As far as size and style, you can make your cutting board however you’d like.

Make it small, make it huge, add a handle, round the edges. Get as creative as possible.

For one of my boards, I simple rounded one corner and added a hole. For the other, I used a jig saw to cut a handle shape.

How to Make a DIY Wooden Cutting Board

Since there are so many options when making a serving board, the below tutorial is general.

I’ll share the basics, but feel free to branch out as needed.

Step 1: Select and Cut Wood to Size

If you’re working with limited tools, it’s best to choose woods with the same thickness so you don’t have to worry about using a planer.

In my case, I stuck with boards that were all ¾″ thick.

Cutting boards are a great way to use up some wood scraps and you can mix and match woods to use up whatever you’ve got.

I had some wide walnut boards and a small piece of maple to work with for my first board.

So, I cut down 2 pieces of walnut about 12″ long. Then I used a table saw to rip a 1 ½″ wide strip from my piece of maple and cut two pieces from that to 12″ long as well.

I wanted to alternate the wood colors, so I ripped one of my walnut pieces in half so I could “sandwich” the maple between the walnut.

Feel free to cut your boards however large or small you’d like.

For my second board, I used all white oak, and cut a 1×4, two 1x2s and three 1x6s to piece together like shown below.

Step 2: Glue Up Cutting Board

Once I had all my pieces cut down, next step was gluing them up.

Glue ups are both simple…and stressful…at the same time.

I like to use pipe clamps, but large bar clamps or even ratchet straps can work just as well.

You’re welcome to add dowels, dominoes or biscuits to these joints, but it’s really not necessary.

I laid out my pieces on my clamps, applied wood glue to the edges and clamped them together so that they were nice and flat (as flat as possible) across the top.

If you’re working with several pieces, you may find it easier to glue up a few boards at a time instead of all at once.

Once the boards are clamped tight, wipe away excess glue OR let it cure up a little and carefully scrap it off with a chisel or screwdriver.

I did this for both of my boards and allowed the glue to cure for a few hours (check your specific glue for curing times).

Step 3: Sand and Trim

Once the glue was dry, I could sand and trim the edges. You can trim your board down to the size you’d like at this point.

I used a table saw to trim down both sides of my boards so the edges were flush.

You could also use a circular saw and straight edge if you’d rather.

Then, I sanded all the glue residue from both sides of each board using 100 grit sandpaper on my orbital sander.

Then, I followed up with 150 grit, and 220 grit to get it nice and smooth.

Step 4: Add Optional Details

At this point, you can use a router to add a decorative edge or a juice groove. Or use a jig or band saw to round the corners, cut a handle, etc.

I kept things super simple here and just used a jig saw to round one corner of my walnut/maple board.

Then, I sketched and cut a handle shape out on my oak board.

I had to go back and re-sand these cut edges as they were a little rough because I used a “fast cut” jig saw blade.

Just a tip–for cutting details and curves, I recommend a fine finish (higher tooth count and thinner) jig saw blade for less tear out and cleaner edges.

I didn’t have one in the shop at the time I cut these, so I settled for a fast cut blade and lots of sanding haha.

I used a drill with a forstener bit to drill out a hole in both boards in case I want to hang it at some point.

Again, there’s no right or wrong here so cut/drill/add whatever details you wish.

Step 5: Finish Cutting/Serving Board

The final step is applying a finish to the board. See notes above.

I really don’t plan on using either of these boards for actually cutting on, so I applied finishes that are acceptable for serving/display.

I applied Walrus Oil Furniture Butter to the walnut/maple board.

And I used some painters tape over the 1x2s on my oak board, and applied Minwax True Black wood stain.

Once it was dry, I applied Minwax Polycrylic to seal it.