Three DIY Wood Trays {Using the X-Carve!}

Learn how to make three easy DIY wood trays that can be used anywhere in your house. This project uses an Inventables X-Carve. But, modification ideas are included in case you don’t have one! This post is sponsored by Inventables.

Over the long weekend, I got a little antsy and decided I needed to just make something. Do you ever get that urge?

One of my go-to projects when I’m feeling the need to knock out something quick and easy is to just grab some wood from our scrap wood pile and do some carving on our Inventables X-Carve 3D Carver. If you haven’t had the pleasure of meeting this amazing tool yet, it’s one of my favorite tools in our little shop. It’s so versatile – the sky is the limit when it comes to what you can do!

If you’ve missed any of our old X-Carve projects, let me catch you up first so you can get an idea of what all this little guy can do:

X-Carve Projects

• DIY Wooden Baby Teethers
• DIY Bread Boards / Cutting Boards
• Fall Pumpkin Decor
• Interactive Wooden Christmas Tree
• DIY Carved Wood Sign
• DIY Wood Puzzles

And today, I’m sharing three simple and easy DIY tray ideas. They are so versatile and can be used for anything from serving up a charcuterie board to holding your soap (which is exactly what I’m using one of them for!).

Let’s dive right in, shall we?!

Note: If you have an X-Carve and would like to use my cut file to create your own trays, you can click here to download the SVG file with all three tray designs!

DIY Wood Tray #1: Small Footed Tray

Bit Used: 1/8″ Straight End X-Carve Bit

The first tray I made is the one I was the most excited about. It’s something I’ve been wanting for a long time – a little footed pedestal that can corral the soap next to my kitchen sink! I love using little trays throughout my kitchen to help the counters not feel cluttered. And, I’ve been swooning over the small footed trays I’ve been seeing everywhere lately.

This was very simple to make. Of of the three trays, this one is probably the most easy to replicate without an X-Carve!

Designing the Tray

I used Inventables’ free design software, Easel, to design these three trays. It’s a very simple-to-use program that’s perfect for beginners. But, it also has the capacity to handle some more complicated cuts. If you don’t have an X-Carve, you could simply draw your shape out on a piece of wood and cut it out using a jigsaw (learn how here).

Here’s a little side-by-side of how the design looked in Easel, and how it looked once it was all cut out.

So cool, right?!

Assembling + Sanding

Once the top piece was cut, I cut four small scrap pieces of wood to create the feet. I didn’t want it to be too tall, so I kept them about 1.5″ tall.

One of the most important parts of this project is sanding! If you want a slightly rustic and worn feel to your footed tray (and, honestly, you do!), you’ll want to use some 80-grit sandpaper to soften all of the corners and edges. Here’s a before-and-after of the sanding process so you can see what a difference it made.

I just attached the legs using wood glue (don’t forget to clamp them while the glue dries!), and once everything was dried I applied some oil to the wood to bring out the natural color and protect it a bit.

Done and done!

I honestly want to make about 5 more of these to use throughout our house. They’d be so cute holding a candle or a little vase – I may need one for every room in the house!

Tray 2: Carved Wood Serving Tray

Bit Used: 1/8″ Straight End X-Carve Bit and 60-degree V-Bit

Next up, I wanted something to use as a serving tray for our new backyard patio! We don’t have a dining table out there (YET!). But, we’ve been spending so much time out there since the new patio extension was added! I thought it would be fun to celebrate the occasion with a little serving tray to help bring drinks or snacks out when we’re spending time in the yard.

I wanted to keep the tray simple but have it be as functional as possible. So, I sized it to be as big as my scrap wood would allow (about 15″ in diameter). I also added some integrated handles on the sides.

This project in particular is such a good example of how easy the X-Carve makes it to make really beautiful projects. I designed the tray in Easel, set everything up, and clicked a button. My X-Carve did the rest! Once the tray was finished, all I had to do was sand it and oil it and it was ready to use.

Tray 3: Vintage-Inspired Tray

Bit Used: 90-Degree V-Bit

For my last tray, I wanted to try to kind of replicate an antique tray I had found that I loved…but that cost a staggering $850. Of course, the antique version is hand-carved and approximately 8 thousand years old. But, I figured I could achieve a similar look and feel with just some scrap wood and my X-Carve!

Of the three DIY wood trays, this one would be the hardest to do without an X-Carve. You’d likely have to actually hollow out the wood by hand. But, with the X-Carve, I just had to have a lot of patience (it took almost 5 hours to carve!). It took care of all the hard work for me.

I haven’t even decided what I’m going to use this tray for yet. My plans for it include staring at it longingly and petting it on occasion because it’s just so dang pretty.

I wanted to try to get a little bit of an antique feel for this one. So, I dinged it up a bit with my hammer (I used both sides of the hammer to get a couple different sizes of dents).

I stained it Dark Walnut by Varathane and I’m soooooo pleased with the finished product. Once we finally get around to choosing a coffee table for our living room, I think it would look really cute sitting on that.

Between these little trays and my wooden bread boards, I’m never going to be short on wooden trays or serving dishes again. I feel like I can never have enough, though, so I’m not complaining.

Not gonna lie, I’m already dreaming about what my next DIY wood tray might look like!

Any ideas for what I should make next?!