From just 1 cedar fence picket, you can build a 4-piece desk accessory set. The set includes pencil cup, paper clip tray, business card holder, and mini desktop crate (great for post-it notes, markers, etc). The goal for this plan was to create something that would make a nice gift, would require only 1 board (cedar fence picket is about $3 for wood), requires no angles or rip cuts, and can be built using just your miter saw and nailgun or brad nailer. A palm sander is also highly recommended. You can make the whole set in just 1 afternoon.
Each piece has individual instructions and cut lists, so you can choose individual pieces to build if you like. Each instruction shows the total length of board needed to build that piece. The full set takes about 43” worth of the board. I looked up a lot of accessory sizes on Staples, Office Depot, Office Max, and Amazon, to make sure the plan sizes are comparable to standard desktop accessories, so none of them would have a large “footprint” on your desktop.
The picture shows the set built from a cedar fence picket. This is the board I used:

http://www.lowes.com/pd_5447-14963-5447_0__?productId=4746391&Ntt=picke…

You could also substitute ½” x 5 ½” craft board if you like. You would need two 24” pieces.

This was my second build using cedar, and for this one I selected the flattest board I could. This board was really very nice and was pretty flat. There are a few places in the plan where measuring before you cut is recommended. This will help everything fit nicely and help to account for any variation in board sizes. Also, sanding all the little pieces before assembly will help make the build and finishing easier. I sanded the picket on both sides with 80-grit then 220-grit, to get them nice and smooth before cutting. Cedar makes really fine sawdust, so I was sure to wear a mask while sanding.

I stained this set after building, but your build will go even easier if you sand and stain or finish your pieces before assembling. Then all it should need is touch-up after assembly. I think I’ll do that on the next set.

Back story: This summer I’m on a mission to make things from as much of my scrap wood as possible. I had several odd-sized pieces of 3/8” craft board, 3/8” wainscoat paneling, 3/8” plywood, ¼” plywood, and ½” craft board in my garage, and I wanted to make some nice gifts from them. I was able to make several sets of these desk accessories using those odd pieces. I made drawings and cut lists to recreate those in a plan using just 3/8” craft boards, ¼” plywood, and a scrap piece of S4S. (I still have those drawings and can post a plan for those too if anyone is interested.) But, I found that nailing into the ½” thick pieces of board was much easier than the 3/8”, and decided to make a few plan changes, so a whole set could be made with only the ½” board, and only 1 piece of it would be needed.

Update: A .pdf copy of the full plan has been attached, and is just below the General Instructions section.