Making Mulberry Wood Cardholder Plantstands
Part of the 1414 Mulberry Woodwork Collection
After cutting down the 1414 Mulberry tree, I had a pile of branches that didn't fit anywhere else in my lineup. Too small for the tri-wood round stands and lazy susans I'd been making, too big for the live edge wood vases. I don't like wasting good wood, so I made myself a rule on this tree: every piece gets used for something. That rule is what forced me to get creative and come up with this DIY cardholder plantstand.
Imagining the Cardholder Design
The live edge vases I mentioned had already been a hit with customers, especially the ones fitted with a glass vial insert holding a sprig of bamboo or pothos. I kept noticing those same little bamboo plants sitting on desks at work, and it got me thinking, what if I made something that did double duty? Not just a vase, but a piece that actually earned its desk space. That's how I landed on a wood cardholder plantstand: a stand for your business cards with a built-in home for a small plant.
Once I had the idea, I grabbed a dried branch section about 3.5 inches in diameter, measuring just the wood itself, not the bark, since bark can flake off and throw your measurement off, and hauled it into my garage workshop.
Prefer to skip the sawdust? I keep a small batch in stock, and each one is one-of-a-kind since no two mulberry branches grain the same way.
Materials & Tools Needed
Materials:
Mulberry branch section, approximately 3.5" in diameter, bark already removed
Glass vial plant insert, 1" diameter
Small bamboo or pothos cutting (or your plant of choice)
Decorative rocks, for topping off the vial
CA (cyanoacrylate) glue and accelerator, for filling small voids and cracks
Sandpaper: 80-grit, 120-grit, and 220-grit
Teak oil, for the finish
Tools:
A 2×4 scrap, used as a clamped stop block
A quick word on safety: anywhere you're running a drill press, table saw, or sander, wear eye protection, and never wear gloves around the drill press or any tool with a fast-spinning bit, more on why in Step 5.
Step 1: Select and Prep Your Branch Section
The section I pulled already had its bark removed, so there was no cleanup needed before I could get it to the saw. If your branch still has bark on it, strip it before you start slicing. It'll save you a headache later, and it keeps your measurement of the actual wood diameter accurate.
Step 2: Slice Wood Cookies with a Miter Saw
With the branch prepped, I moved to the miter saw. I clamped a 2×4 in place about 1.5 inches from where the blade comes down, which gave me a repeatable stop block. From there, it was just a matter of feeding the branch in, slicing a cookie, sliding it back to the stop, and slicing the next one. 1.5 inches turned out to be the right thickness for these mulberry wood cardholder plantstands, enough heft to feel substantial without being bulky on a desk.
Step 3: Cut Card Grooves with a Table Saw
Next came the groove where the actual cards sit. I set the table saw blade to about a 20-degree angle and eyeballed the height so it wouldn't cut all the way through the cookie. Then I made several passes, taking out a sliver at a time, until the groove was wide enough to comfortably hold a stack of business cards. If you've got a dado blade, this step will go a lot faster than mine did, I'm still saving up for one.
Step 4: Clean Up the Grooves with Chisels and Files
After the table saw work, the grooves needed cleaning up. I went in with a chisel first, there's something satisfying about the crack of the wood letting go in clean chunks. The chisel got me most of the way there but not all the way clean, so I finished the job with a set of wood files that belonged to my grandfather. Between the two, the grooves came out smooth enough for cards to slide in without catching.
Step 5: Drill Vial Holes with a Drill Press
With the card groove done, I moved each piece to the drill press to add the hole for the glass plant vial. Without that hole, they'd just be cardholders, the vial is what makes them plantstands. The glass vials I use are 1 inch in diameter, so I used a 1" Forstner bit and drilled partway through the wood, not all the way.
One honest safety note here: in the first pass of this project, I wore a glove while running the drill press. Don't do that. Never wear gloves around a tool that spins at high speed. If the fabric catches, it pulls your hand in with it, and that can cause serious injury fast. Bare hands, safety glasses, and full attention are the way to go around a drill press.
Step 6: Fill Voids and Sand the Wood
With the shape done, it was just cleanup from here. I used CA glue and an accelerator to fill any small voids or cracks I found in the wood. Mulberry branch wood tends to have a few character marks, and I'd rather stabilize them than hide them. Once the glue cured, I sanded with 80-grit on the belt sander to knock down the rough spots, then moved to the palm sander for 120-grit and finished with 220-grit. I'll never say I love sanding, but I do love how the wood feels once it's done.
Step 7: Finish with Teak Oil
Once the pieces were sanded and wiped clean of dust, I applied Teak oil. Mulberry is already a beautiful wood, but Teak oil brings out the grain and deepens the color a shade or two without hiding what makes each piece unique. I let the first coat dry overnight before handling the pieces again.
Finished!
And that's the whole process. It's an easy build for an afternoon, and once you've got your setup dialed in, you can knock out a handful of these, or more, in a single day. Drop in a glass vial with a bamboo or pothos cutting and a few decorative rocks, and you've got a rustic, one-of-a-kind piece for a desk, entryway table, or gift box.
Here is the full build again
Buy the Finished Cardholder Plantstands
If you made it this far and you're thinking "that's a great weekend project" — it is. But if you'd rather skip the miter saw and the sawdust, I've got you covered too.
Request a Custom Order → Got a tree of your own you'd like turned into something like this? Email me at LumberJim.EP@gmail.com and let's talk about what we can make from it.
Take a look at the rest of what came out of this tree in the [1414 Mulberry Collection], including the [live edge mulberry wood vases] these plantstands were inspired by. You can also browse our other [live edge lumber collections] or read more about [mulberry tree care and species info] if you're wondering what's growing in your own yard.
You spent time in its shade. We'll make sure its memories never fade.
Follow along on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and TikTok to see what's coming out of the shop next, or email lumberjim.ep@gmail.com to commission a custom piece from wood in your own yard.
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