5 Fun Ideas for Beginner Woodworkers

Hey all, I am here to introduce you to one of my good DIY pals, Sarah from Ugly Duckling House. I met her at my very first conference 4 years ago! She is a total DIY a bad *ss and she is here to share some easy woodworking projects with you!

Take it away Sarah…

Hi, everyone! I’m Sarah from Ugly Duckling House, and I’m psyched to be blog-swapping today with my pal, Corey! She’s an amazing person to know in real life, and it’s such a pleasure whenever our paths cross. We inevitably start talking DIY and blogging and power tools, and that’s what makes meeting people like her so special (and that workshop of hers? So. Good.). Over on my blog, I cover topics like home repair, renovation, and landscaping. After years of renovating though, I’ve fixed enough in my house to put my power tools to more decorative use when the mood strikes. So today, I thought I’d share five of my favorite recent woodworking projects that are great for beginners.

5 Fun Ideas for Beginner Woodworkers

DIY Power Carved Wall Art

Did you catch that gorgeous wall art that Corey made for the Wood Art Challenge? I participated in the same challenge, and I tried my first wood carving! Who knew that a $10 cutting wheel could make me feel so badass?

In all honesty, I wasn’t sure it was going to work out until I stained it (I even made some backup wall art just in case I needed a plan B!). Even though it may look a little tricky, it’s actually made from a single 1 x 8 x 8 poplar board (the kind you can easily find at Home Depot or Lowe’s). That’s part of the fun of taking on a challenge like this; it encourages you to push yourself out of your comfort zone and can really grow your confidence once it’s conquered. I also created a video tutorial for the same project, which is another thing I’ve been wanting to try. And the best part? My Plan B project went in a totally different direction, so I get to share that soon, too!

DIY Plywood Art / Wine Rack

What’s even better than wood art? Wood art that’s functional. And even better than that? Functional wood art that involves wine. At least, that’s the kind of math that happens around the UDH. I made this wine rack using plywood and square dowels, so it’s pretty straightforward once it’s mapped out. I also hand-cut the dowels using a miter box, so you can pretty much make this whole project with a drill as your only power tool (just ask the guy at the home improvement store to cut the plywood to size for you).

Oh, and that’s my pup, Charlie. She’s my project supervisor. 😉

15-Minute DIY Coffee Table

I haven’t built a lot of my own furniture (yet) and hate measuring (not exactly what you’d expect in DIY, but believe me, I have my ways!), so I love it when I can make something out of scrap wood. I took a piece of leftover plywood and laid out some scrap 2x4s on top, and in about 15-20 minutes, I had everything cut to make my hairpin leg coffee table!

$10 to Organized: Custom Silverware Organizer

It’s amazing how long we’ll keep trying to make a bad solution work until we finally fix it, right? For me, that example was no better demonstrated than when I ditched my store-bought plastic drawer insert and made a custom cutlery organizer for less than $10. See the DIY here.

Slim Floating Shelves

Not everyone is into the chunky floating shelves look. But when I went to remodel my laundry room, I couldn’t find any decent tutorials on how to make them thin and strong. So, I made my own! With just a few 1xs (mostly scrap, which is a surprise to no one) and thin plywood, I created shelves that are much more my style.

That’ll do it! Thank you guys so much for giving me your time and reading, and thanks so much to Corey for letting me visit! I hope you guys make it over to Ugly Duckling House sometime and subscribe. I have a feeling this will be a very exciting year for the UDH (I was just working on a new shed and floating deck over the weekend), and that means a lot more projects are coming to my blog soon!