How to Make a Mason Jar Storage Unit

Here's what you'll need:

• A 5.5" x 23.5" 1" thick piece of walnut, or any wood of your choice
• 12 #6 1/2" brass screws and 6 #6 brass finishing washers
• 2 metal hooks
• Craft paint and paint brush
• Fine grit sand paper
• Leather
• Ruler and pencil
• Washi or painters tape
• 3 small mason jars
• Butcher block oil
• A hammer and nail

Step 1. Cut your wood. Start by marking and cutting three 1" wide strips of leather or faux leather that are each 8" long. These will wrap around your mason jars to attach them to the wood. After you have marked the lines with a pencil on the back side of your leather, use the Fiskars® PowerCut™ Easy Action™ Snips (8") to cut the strips.

Step 2. Sand the piece of wood. You can cut your wood to the size listed in the materials above, but this length is often found readily at hardware stores.

Step 3: Paint the wood. Using a small paint brush and craft paint, paint just the sides of the board. I chose white paint for a high contrast difference to the walnut, but you can use any color paint to go with your home's decor and style.

Working carefully not to get too much paint of the front of the board, paint the sides. Don't worry too much if you get paint on the front though – once the paint is dry, you can simply sand the top down a little to remove any paint that might be there.

Step 4. Stain the wood. I love keeping wood in its natural state as much as possible, especially if you are working with walnut. To bring out the grain and color of the wood, rub on a little butcher block oil. It's a quick, no-mess, no chemicals way to finish wood.

Step 5: Hammer the leather. Using the Fiskars® Precision Hammer and Fiskars® Precision Nail Starter, make a hole in the leather strips, just 1/4 inch from the end.

Step 6: Tape the leather. Measure out on the wood three pieces of washi or Painter's Tape that are 3.5" long. Starting from the top of the board, measure down 3" and then another 5.5" and then another 5.5". Center each piece of tape and place them at these measurements. The tape will be your guide for knowing where to screw in the leather strap. The end of the leather should line up with the end of the tape.

Step 7: Screw in the leather strips. Using the hammer again, hammer the nail into the wood where the screw will go. You could also just pre-drill these holes if you have access to a drill, but hammering in a nail and then removing it can also be a good way to give you a pilot hole.

Place a screw and washer into the holes in the leather you created earlier with the nail and hammer. Then, using the Fiskars® Precision Screwdriver, carefully screw the screws into the holes you have made. A bit of advice – brass screws are pretty, but they are a soft metal. Make sure you are not having to work the screw too hard, or the screw could break. If there is a lot of resistance, remove the screw and hammer the nail in a little further and take it out again to make your pilot hole a little larger.

Tighten the screws down until the leather is snug against the wood.

Step 8: Add the mason jars. Slide in the mason jars and screw in the hooks at the bottom on the wood. I chose white hooks and brass screws to tie together the entire piece.

Add some hanging hardware to the back of the piece, like a simple saw tooth picture hanger, and then fill your organizer with office supplies, bathroom essentials, or even flowers and plants!