Once you start building and crafting items out of wood (or anything else for that matter) you get to realize how fun and rewarding the process is and it becomes addicting. Getting started is actually the most difficult part. It’s best to find a simple project to start with just to get an idea of what it actually means to work with wood. All the other DIY crafts that follow can then gradually become more complex and you try all sorts of different things and ideas over time. Below you can find 20 projects that can be made using wood and that would be a really great starting point for anyone who loves crafting.

As mentioned before, you could start with something very simple. For example, consider making a cheese board out of a piece of hardwood. It’s a great project for beginner DIYers because it requires very few supplies: the board, sandpaper, a paintbrush and some sort of food-safe finish. Don’t worry if the board has a weird or asymmetrical shape. In fact, such imperfections would only make it more interesting.

Wood slices are excellent for crafting all sorts of useful and beautiful things with. For instance, you could make a wood slice wreath to display on your front door. This could be a lovely project idea for fall, Halloween, Thanksgiving or any other time of the year given that the customization possibilities are infinite. Just glue the slices together to make the wreath form and then have fun decorating it.

The next step could be making a wood slab side table. The thought of building any kind of furniture from scratch can be intimidating to a lot of people but if you start small and simple and gradually make your way towards bigger projects the progress is natural and organic. This table is a perfect starting point. All you need to make it is a slice of wood from a long or a tree stump, three hairpin legs and a few basic tools.

Wood is a very versatile material which you can also use to make a bunch of more obscure or specific items and accessories, like a cake stand for example. This one has a lovely rustic look and was made using a thick wood round for the base and a bunch of thin wood slices for all the little platforms. Isn’t it charming? Just think of all the different ways in which you could personalize your own version of this stand.

Of course, not every craft or project has to be made from scratch. You can also start with a bunch of existing items and go from there. For instance, you could decorate some wooden bowls and give them a custom and very pretty look. A little bit of painter’s tape and some spray paint can go a long way.

On a similar note, another cool idea can be to make a framed cork board for one of the walls in your home office or for your entryway, craft room, etc. A wooden frame and a cork board and the main base materials needed for this project, along with a few extra items that you can use to decorate the frame: tissue paper, buttons, thumbtacks and so on.

If you already have some experience working with wood then you might also have a few leftover pieces from previous projects. You can use scrap wood to make something pretty to look at, like this modern mountain art piece for example. It’s so incredibly easy to make and it has a really cool and abstract look that would fit really well in a modern or contemporary decor.

This wood slab serving tray has been decorated with colorful fall leaves and looks great on the Thanksgiving dinner table. Of course, there are lots of other design possibilities and you can come up with your own design inspired by this simple project. If you decide to use the same technique, a wood slab, a paintbrush, a stencil, a pencil and some paint are all the supplies you’ll need.

Speaking of Thanksgiving decorations, check out this lovely gobble wood sign. It’s super easy to make and you can make your own stencil using paper and a printer. The actual sign was made from two wooden boards that were cleaned, sanded and stained in order to get that lovely rustic finish. You can display the sign on a shelf, on the mantel or hang it up on a wall once complete.

A few unfinished wood blocks or scrap pieces of wood from previous projects can be put together to make these lovely rustic pumpkins which you can display as decorations. It’s a nice little project for fall and also once that you can complete in just a few minutes. To make these blocks actually look like pumpkins you need to paint them orange and then create the stems and leaves out of wooden spools, sisal wire and burlap.

Something else that you could quite easily craft in your spare time and without needing a lot of resources is a wooden tray. A piece of plywood would do just fine and you can cut into pieces yourself if you have the necessary tools or have the store do it for you if that’s an option. Either way, once all the pieces are stained and glued together, all that’s left is to add the handles and these can be pretty much anything so be creative.

Even though clocks are not as useful as they used to be before everyone had a phone or a watch to rely on, they’re still nice as decorations around the house. That brings us to yet another simple project that you could make, a wood wall clock with a minimalist and artistic design. This one has no numbers on it which means it’s not very precise or practical but it does look rather cool.

Another idea to consider is making a custom box or a basket out of wood that you can use for storage or as a decoration. This for instance is a pumpkin basket which is perfect to keep all the Halloween treats in. It started out as two separate pieces: an unfinished wood planter and a pumpkin cutout. These were combined, painted and decorated and the transformation was complete.

If you visit an arts and crafts store or shop online you can find all sorts of cool supplies that can be used in future projects, like an unfinished pallet-style wood heart for example. That’s what was used here to make this lovely decoration. Paint, decorative scrapbook paper and wood cutouts shaped like letters and a cute little bird made it all possible.

These coastal-themed wood tags are another good example of how creative one can get using simple supplies. To get these designs to look so nice, a few supplies are needed included dye in several colors, beach-themed stencils, white chalk paint and a foam pouncer plus of course the wood tags which you can either buy or make yourself from scratch.

Even two little pieces of wood can be used to make something pretty so think twice before throwing away leftover materials. The best example here is this trendy DIY stand which you can turn into a cute accessory for one of your planters for instance. There’s even no need or stain or paint the wood. The raw color and texture look really nice by default.

How about updating a plain mirror with a new frame? That sure sounds like a great idea for a weekend project. You can make the frame a lot larger than the mirror and go with an asymmetrical placement as a way to make it stand out more. This wood-framed mirror sure has inspiring design. The colorful border made using decorative tape is a lovely little detail.

Make your desk or crafting room look a bit more inspiring with custom sign like this one. You can customize it however you want based on what really inspires you and your hobbies. This design is really great if you like to paint it. It uses paintbrushes as decorations and it’s quite fun to make as well.

Displaying actual printed photos around the house is still nice and satisfying even though digital photos are always so easily accessible. There’s something that makes rooms fell really welcoming and cozy. That’s especially true for these wooden picture frames because they have a really nice rustic and handmade vibe to them. Best of all, you can make them yourself from scratch using scrap wood pieces.

This started out as a simple and plain wooden box but it quickly turned into a beautiful display shelf. The transformation only required a few super simple items such as a piece of thick blue paper, adhesive if necessary, scissors and the appropriate mounting hardware based on the type of walls that you have in your home. Using paint instead of paper can also be an option.