I sometimes refer to myself as a misplaced Victorian. Knick-knacks like porcelain figurines were a big part of the Victorian decorating scheme and I also love my small decorative ornaments. However, while the Victorians would fill every available space with decorative objects, I prefer a more restrained approach. Finding places to display my little treasures that doesn’t make my space look cluttered, is my goal.

If you want to be able to bring more of your small treasures out of storage, try these 2 easy craft ideas for displaying decorative ornaments using dollar store wood pallets and wood nesting boxes.

2 Easy Wood Craft Ideas for Displaying Your Ornaments

I am an Amazon Associate. If you click on a link and make a purchase, I will make a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Project 1: A Mini Park Bench for Displaying Ornaments

Supplies Used and Recommendations:

 

 

Dollar Tree usually has these longer mini pallets in their craft aisle. The four small pieces are from a plain wood building block set for kids that I’ve had in my stash for some time. They are about 3 inches long and 1/2 inch square. I’ll be using these for the legs of my bench, but you could also stack some of the larger square blocks from Dollar Tree for the same purpose.

The long piece of wood at the bottom of the picture is a 1/4 inch square garden stack that came in a pack of 4. I found them at Dollarama this past spring. 

Step 1: Attach Legs to Mini Park Bench

 

I used my hot glue to attach the four 12 inch long square wood blocks to the bottom of the first pallet where the cross pieces are. These will serve as the legs for my bench.

Step 2: Cut Two Dowels 5-1/2 Inches Long

mini mitre saw from Amazon

Next, I used my mini mitre saw to cut two pieces of the 1/4 inch square garden stake down to about 5 1/2 inches each. This electric saw cuts through this type of wood in seconds.

A hand-held vacuum is a handy tool to have on hand for cleaning up sawdust and other dry debris from your work surface. I use my Black and Decker Dustbuster all over the apartment to help keep things tidy.

Step 3: Assembling the Mini Bench

 

 

I marked the second pallet where I wanted to glue the smaller dowels and hot glued them onto the cross pieces.

 

 

Next, I glued the bottom end of the smaller dowels to the edge of the seat pallet.

 

 

The back of the mini park bench looks like this when finished.

 

 

There was a gap between where the 1/4 inch dowels attach and the cross piece of the bench seat, so I filled it in with hot glue for extra stability.

Step 4: Add Embellishments (Optional)

 

 

You can paint the completed bench but I opted to leave it the natural wood and just added a bit of greenery and a butterfly to the upper right hand side of the bench back.

 

 

This little bench is so cute and a good place to display a small pot of succulents and a ceramic bird ornament from my collection.

Project 2: Wood Box Shelves for Displaying Ornaments

Supplies Used and Recommendations:

 

 

I found this set of 5 wood nesting boxes at Dollarama and instantly knew what I wanted to make with them. My idea was to make a staircase design to hang on the wall, gluing them together from the largest to the smallest.

Step One: Glue Boxes Together to Form a Staircase

 

 

I marked each box where I wanted the top edge of the next box to be positioned, about 1 1/4 inch from the top of the preceding box.

 

Then I used wood glue to attach them so they’d stay together for the long term.

Step 2: Clamp and Let Dry

 

 

Next, I used my dollar store clamps to hold each box in place and let the glue dry.

Step 3: Stain or Paint Wood Box Shelving

 

 

I watered down some brown paint to stain my shelves but didn’t like the result, so I took them outside and spray painted them with a darker brown paint. Use a colour that suits your decor.

Step 4: Cut Scrapbook Paper to Fit Inside Each Box

 

 

I didn’t have any scrapbook paper that I liked on hand, so I took this scrap of peel and stick and photo copied it a couple of times, so I had enough to use as backing paper in each cubby of my shelving unit.

 

 

After measuring each box, I used my paper trimmer to get a precise edge. 

Step 5: Attach Backing Paper to Shelving Unit

 

 

I used a double sided tape roller to attach the backing paper to each section of the shelf.

 

 

A light patterned paper supplies a neutral background for the items you choose to display.

Step 6: Add Hangers to Hang Shelving Unit

 

 

I added two sawtooth hangers to the back of the shelving unit, one on the back of the first box and one on the back of the fourth box. This will ensure that the shelving unit won’t fall off of the wall and damage my breakable treasures. I used sawtooth hangers that you nail in. The tips of the nails did poke through the box slightly, but they aren’t noticeable through the backing paper. 

Then all I needed to do was add two nails to the wall and hang the shelves.

Finished Wall Shelving

 

 

I’m wondering if I shouldn’t have painted this shelving unit a lighter colour, but overall, my vision for this project has come together quite nicely. For me, the hardest part was trying to decide which of my small collectibles I wanted to display on these shelves. If you would like to see how I made the seahorse shelf-sitter, click here.

***

If you enjoyed this post, sign up for the Dollar Store Style newsletter. Every month you’ll get a new article, my pick for a Find of the Week, a Quick Tip for decorating, a Product Review and much more.

Related: