Is it a tray? A coaster? Or a catch all? I guess it could be anything you want it to be! When I first saw this beautiful design by Sophie Gallo, I thought “How awesome would this be as a wooden tray?” This multifunctional monstera tray is giving me all the feels, and I’ll show you how I made it.

Supplies Needed:

Step One: Create the Monstera Design

  1. Stretched the design out as much as you can to fit the entire 12 x 12 inch space.
  2. Delete the holes in the middle of the the large monstera leaf. To do that, you’re going to either use the Eraser tool, located on the left-hand toolbar, to erase each hole or right-click the design and select “Release Compound Path.” Then click on and delete each hole.
  3. Type the letter of your choice with the Nobita Script font. I used the letter A for my last name but I feel like any personalization really makes this tray unique.

Step Two: Cut The Design

  1. Once your design is ready, send it to your Silhouette machine to cut out the design out of vinyl. If you have never cut a design before, here is a simple vinyl tutorial.

Step Three: Place Vinyl On The Plywood

  1. Use the Silhouette transfer tape to place the vinyl onto the plywood. Then use the Silhouette scraper tool to press the vinyl firmly onto the wood.

Step Four: Cut Design with a Scroll Saw

  1. Use your vinyl as a stencil to cut you design out of plywood. As you can see, you really don’t need to have the cuts perfect. That’s the beauty of tropical leaves—each one is a little different.

Step Five: Engrave the Leaves

  1. Keep your vinyl on the plywood while you’re engraving to protect the rest of the design. I used my rotary tool that I purchased from the hardware store to engrave the A and the little monstera holes.

Step Six: Stain the Wood

  1. Remove the vinyl from the plywood.
  2. Sand down any rough edges with a sander.
  3. Apply your stain. Make sure you follow the directions on the stain’s can to determine the drying time.

You guys, this project was so fun! I like it when things come together just as you imagined them in your head.

What are you going to use your tray for? Tell us in the comments below!