DIY Business Card Holder + Desk Planter

Time needed: 8 hours.

This small planter makes an excellent gift for friends and family who have recently gotten a new job, have an independent side business, or for someone who loves plants! On the right side: a chic little plant to cheer up the space; on the left:, new business cards!

1. Cut box pieces

   Cut all 4 sides and bottom piece of the planter.

2. Use scraps to make the business card holder

   Since I cut the box from step 1 out of 1/2″ x 6 in poplar, I used pieces I trimmed off to help create the little lip of the business card holder piece.

3. Glue, clamp, and nail

   I recently got a battery-powered finish/pin nailer, and it came in super handy for this project! Normally, I wait for the glue to dry with the pieces in clamps, but using the nail gun really sped things up. Highly recommend.

4. Sand

   Before gluing the card holder to the box, I decided to fill any gaps with wood filler (my wood was unfortunately cupped in the middle so my pieces weren’t perfectly lining up even with clamps). I also gave everything a good sanding to prep it for stain and remove any raw edges.

5. Tape off and coat the inside of the box

   I taped off the lip with painter’s tape and also wrapped the outside in a plastic back to keep the spray limited to the interior. Then, I sprayed 3 coats of spar urethane into the inside to keep moisture from becoming an issue when the plant gets watered. Even though I’m using a plastic liner and a small tray on the inside, I didn’t want to take any chances. Another great alternative is to use a product called Garden Seal (which for some reason, I didn’t give much thought until now to use, but could have been a better way — I’m going to blame our Daylight Savings time change.)

6. Glue the business card holder to the box

   I eyeballed this placement. I aimed for making the cardholder at a slight angle with the bottom corner touching the desktop. If you have a hard time keeping things aligned the way you want, clamp together and use a few nails to hold together until the glue dries.
   
   

7. Finish and add a plant

   The final stages are always the most fun, right? I LOVED the grain on this project and really wanted to show it off, but I didn’t want the planter to be stained too dark. So, I turned to a new favorite stain color of mine, Pickled Oak by Minwax. It has an almost-bleached effect to the wood and nixed any yellow in the wood. Generally, I prefer Varathane because it dries a LOT faster, but this was the perfect fit for this project, so I was willing to wait the 8 hours dry time. Since things were still drying as of taking these photos, I left the succulent in the plastic container it came in, which doesn’t quite fit the planter the right way (it snugly created a lip, which I kind of like, but I’ll later actually plant it into the container after the planter cures).