Picking up a new creative hobby fills spare time, adds a new skill to your ongoing list, and creates new opportunities to express yourself. Plus, the more skills on your toolbelt, the more you get to show off on college applications and future job interviews. Woodworking is a fun and unique creative outlet. Compared to other art forms, woodworking creates pieces that serve a purpose beyond decoration. Here are three creative woodworking projects to try as a beginner.
Bed Trays and Lap Desks
Some days, it’s hard to find any motivation to leave your bed. Its soft pillows, warm covers, and cozy ambiance make parting ways a tragedy. Bed trays or lap desks provide a portable surface space to enjoy on your bed. They help you dine, write, draw, and work from the comforts of your covers, opening up multiple opportunities to relish without saying goodbye to your bedside.
Their basic design structure features two main parts: the tray and handles. All you need to do is connect handles to the wood slab, and voila! You made a simple bed tray. To embellish your tray, add some designs to the block of wood, create raised edges, and install folding legs on the bottom.
Wooden Frames and Signs
Creating a wooden frame or sign provides a multipurpose décor piece fit for enhancing your room’s look. Adding hooks or a cork sheet to the frame’s backing upgrades its functionality, optimizing its multipurpose design. On top of displaying photos, frames also transform into pinboards and jewelry holders.
There are numerous ways to craft a wood sign, from cutting out MDF boards to nailing together different shiplap planks. Like frames, you can adapt signs to offer another piece of functional property. Coating your sign with chalk paint transforms it into a chalkboard, adding hooks turns it into a bag holder, and sticking on light strips makes it a floating “neon” sign.
Standing Blanket Ladders
Blanket ladders are a simple woodworking project. They consist of different dowel pieces connected through holes. Blanket ladders make a great room feature, creating an aesthetic yet functional banket display and organizer. Plus, they double as magazine holders, scarf rack, and a place to dry clothes, perfect for future dorm use!
Like any other woodworking project, there are countless ways to embellish your artwork further, from adding stains and paint to installing features like hooks and lights. Using powder pigments for woodworking projects is a fun challenge and adds a creative twist to your designs.
Many beginner-friendly projects in woodworking create simple and purposeful creations. Crafting something useful always feels more satisfying when completed, especially when done on your own. For safety purposes, make sure to check in with an adult before picking up a hammer or any other tools, and wear protective gear like gloves and glasses when woodworking.