A place for notes, pens, and small tools
Give notes, pens, cables, and small supplies a place on your desk. Compare real builds, open their Easel designs, and choose between carved pockets, fitted lids, and assembled storage.
Creating an Easel account is free. No credit card required.
Start from a blank workpiece
Start from a blank Easel project, draw the tray outline, add pockets sized to the pens, phone and notes you keep on your desk, set depths, and preview the carve before you cut.
Creating an Easel account is free. No credit card required.
Real projects from the Easel Gallery
Choose dedicated slots for small devices, a lid for pens, a cable holder, or assembled compartments when a flat tray is not enough. These finished builds show different storage jobs and construction methods. Each project card explains what the shared Easel design helps you make.
Desk Note Pad Organizerby Jeff ParishJeff Parish's Birch Plywood organizer holds a phone, pink note pad, pen, and paper clips in one compact block. His illustrated instructions cover pockets, tabs, sanding, and lacquer. The preview opens at 8 × 5 × 0.68 in with a 1/8 in bit; adapt the pockets to your own items and measured stock.
Desk organizer trayby Ronald RosalesRonald Rosales's carved MDF tray gives pens, markers, SD cards, and a USB device their own places beside a catch-all pocket. The preview uses a 290 × 290 × 15 mm workpiece. His instructions use a 1/8 in upcut bit, then sanding and a protective coat.
Work Desk Organizer(shared)by Joey FischerJoey Fischer combines a bamboo base with a personalized upright panel and black pocket liners. In the comments, he identifies the liners as the pad side of vinyl flooring. The preview separates the base, back-panel engraving, clock opening, and liner shapes. Adapt the parts to your stock and clock, position the shapes within the stock, and plan the backplate fitting and assembly separately.
Post-It and Tape Dispenserby Beyond DesignBeyond Design pairs walnut tops with white Corian bases for a note holder and tape dispenser. The preview opens the tops; the illustrated instructions link the bases and reverse-side tape notches. Cut the matching parts, add a dowel for the tape roll, then sand for a friction fit or glue the assembly.
Cable Stayby Beyond DesignThis HDPE puck keeps a charging cable from slipping off the desk. Beyond Design's preview provides the underside cable channel; the instructions link the patterned top and acrylic retaining plate. Assemble those parts with the cable in place and add rubber feet.
Fitted Lid Pen Box - Mediumby Jason McGinnJason McGinn's hard-maple pen box presents a pen in a fitted recess and closes with a matching lid. The preview contains the two halves. His instructions leave the outer cut for a separate shop tool, then fit and shape the parts together before sanding and finishing. Size the recess for your own pen.
Pen Box 1-1/2"by steve siecinskiA hinged clamshell box keeps pens together while the lid stays attached. steve siecinski specifies 3/4 in long, 5/32 in barrel hinges. The preview includes multiple native workpieces; select the matching box halves and hinge-hole layout, then check their dimensions against your stock and hardware.
Parametric Circle Cubbyby WorkinWoodsInterlocking sheet ribs turn flat stock into a circular cubby with open compartments. WorkinWoods' assembled photo and instructions show the slide-together construction without hardware. The preview lays out the ribs on a 29 × 29 × 0.223 in workpiece. Match the slot width to the sheet thickness and test a joint before cutting the set.
Stacking Boxesby Beyond DesignBeyond Design's small HDPE boxes stack vertically and use separate thin lids and floors. The finished photo shows one holding small hardware. The preview opens the nested walls; the instructions link the lid and base files. Cut those parts from their specified stock, then seat each floor in the wall's ledge.
Catch-All Trayby Natalie SturdyNatalie Sturdy's finished walnut tray has a broad shallow basin beside a raised section. It offers a simpler layout than a tray full of dedicated slots. The preview contains the stepped pocket geometry and outline; choose your own contents after checking the basin and raised area against their dimensions.
Easy Catch All trayby Andre SpilsburyAndre Spilsbury adds a separate 3D-printed insert to a maple catch-all tray. The photo shows a remote standing in the insert. The Easel workpieces provide the carved tray, not the printed insert, so make or source that part separately if you want the same upright storage.
EDC Catch All / Watch Displayby DIYTylerDIYTyler's walnut organizer combines a pocket tray with an upright watch rack. The finished photo shows watches on the rack and small items in the tray. The preview has native layouts for the tray, support, and rack; cut the components and assemble the rack rather than treating it as a one-piece pocket carve.
Drawer Organizerby Natalie SturdyA perforated board and movable inserts let you rearrange small-item storage instead of committing to fixed pockets. Natalie Sturdy's finished example holds colorful markers. Both the board and insert geometry load in the preview; resize the board for your desk drawer or other storage space and repeat the inserts you need.
Desktop Business Card Holderby Steven KiblerSteven Kibler pairs a business-card base with an upright nameplate. His instructions describe an oak build with a polyurethane finish, while the preview's material menu lists Hard Maple. Both native workpieces load; replace the placeholder lettering on a copy and fit the panel to the base.
Brett's Desk Organizerby signsbybrettBrett's Hard Maple tray spreads varied pockets across a long rounded shape, with textured pocket bottoms. The preview supplies editable layouts rather than a finished cutting setup: position the shapes on your stock and give the pockets their cutting depths. Brett describes a 1/4 in downcut bit, while one workpiece selects 3/8 in, so choose the tool for your version.
Browse office and school projects →
Creating an Easel account is free. No credit card required.
From the makers’ comments and project notes
Read the project comments without an account. Log in to post a question in the project discussion; replies are not guaranteed.
Beyond Design cuts a 1.3-inch length of one-inch dowel for the tape spool and sands its sides if needed to nest in the slot. The dowel itself does not have to rotate: the tape roll turns around it. Fit the support to its slot without making it loose just to get the tape moving.
Project notes by Beyond Design: read the source.
From Post-It and Tape Dispenser by Beyond Design.
Ask a questionA maker who combined DIYTyler’s base and pocket into one piece found the recessed area difficult to sand. Keeping those parts separate gives you access to the inside surfaces before assembly. That is a practical reason to preserve the layered tray construction when adapting the watch display.
Comment by Sid Maru: read the source.
From EDC Catch All / Watch Display by DIYTyler.
Ask a questionOpen a real project, check its workpieces, then adapt the layout in Easel. Create a free account when you are ready to save a copy and prepare your own cut. No credit card is required.
Creating an Easel account is free. No credit card required.
