What "wood" you do?

This Sunday just passed I handed over a couple of sheets of 1/4" ply to my father-in-law for him to slice up into 3"-ish wide strips for the framing of the baseboard.
But exactly what I will do with them when I get them back? I don't know.
There's two courses of action open to me:
1. Turn them into "I" and "L" girders to frame the baseboard. A method poularised by Iain C. Rice.
2. Make some ply/softwood beams the preferred methos of Barry Norman. Here you take two of the ply strips and every foot or so place some peices of 2x1 pine between them to lmake the beam.
Both methods are said to be strong and light.
I don't know which to use. I've never tried either. Let's face it for me even using wood is something of an adventure.
I'm going to end up flipping a coin I think...