Veneered Plywood Tissue Box Cover Woodworking Project

This small-scale project is a great way to build veneering skills while creating something useful for the home.

The five-sided box is designed to fit over a standard Kleenex tissue box and is a great way to use up scrap pieces of plywood that might be hanging around the shop.

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I built mine using 1/2-inch birch plywood, but 3/4-inch plywood or MDF would work just as well, as long as the surface is smooth and suitable for veneering.

Be sure to check out the video this weekend

Building the Box

I started by cutting all the parts: two sides, the front, the back, and the top. The box is assembled using simple butt joints, held together with glue and a few nails—nothing complicated here.

Before attaching the top, I drilled a 1¾-inch hole using a Forstner bit. To make sure the tissues wouldn’t catch on a sharp edge, I softened the opening by rounding over the bottom edge of the hole with a round-over bit in the router.

Once the box was fully assembled, I filled the nail holes and gave everything a good sanding.

Veneering and Finish

The veneer was applied in stages: first the sides, then the front and back, and finally the top. After a bit of sanding, the project was ready for finishing.

I used a Waterlox finish, which really pops the grain and brings the walnut veneer to life.

I hope you enjoyed this project. If you build one of your own, post it on Instagram and tag me—I’d love to repost it to my story.

Thanks for watching, and I’ll see you in the next one.