Community Brag Posts

My wife wanted a new chest to store blankets in. I saw the plans for the Becca and thought it would be perfect for what we were after.

I used some regular plywood I had laying around and some select pine for the trim. I liked the look of the top in the plan but wanted some more texture to it, so I used a solid piece of plywood for the top and layer pine for the trim features. I tested my new chisels to recess the hinges to minimize gapping under the lid.

We painted it solid black to match the rest of the basement furniture. A few coats of poly finished it off for durability.

This took about 2 months for me to get around to finishing. That's probably about...12 hours of actual work, plus finishing.

Had a horribly messy front entrance so really needed this shoe cabinet. It's dimensions suited my space better than an Ikea one, and accommodated more shoes. This being my first project, I am glad I started with this instead of a loft bed, since I made alot of mistakes (& corrections) along the way. Although some of the problems occurred because of pieces that ended up being convex. I chose to fill in the gap between the two boards on the front of each bin. It worked out really well.
Really love the Kreg Jig! So worth the investment.

Could not figure out how to properly use magnet catches. Did apply one to one side of the top drawer but it doesn't work too well--pulls the bin too far in. 

After finding Ana's plans on how to make these outdoor chairs we decided to give it ago one long weekend. The plans are easy to follow and the end result is the most comfortable chairs, we've spent hours relaxing in them. It took 4 hours to make two chairs and the rest of the weekend painting them. The only thing that I would have done differently is to paint the wood prior to assembling the chairs. My partner then decided to use the left over wood to make a matching table (not shown)

The Tryde Console table was the inspiration piece. Used kreg jig to join the top boards and connect the legs and aprons. The bottom stretchers were similar to the Farmhouse table plans. I plan on using this outside for a grilling table. I am not going to apply a finish - I want to see how the wood changes when exposed to the elements - hopefully it gets a nice Restoration Hardware-type finish.

We did it!

My husband and I built this as a memorial bench for a friend of a friend that , lost a child to a car accident last year. Hopefully it will give her a peaceful spot to sit in her garden. Thanks for the plans and support!

My new fav stain. Minwax Expresso Polyshades in satin.
Followed the 2x4 desk design but had so many scrap pieces of 2x4 (from other projects) , ended up changing the direction of the table top.
Finished with Minwax gray and even though it looks blue , I like it...
Going to make some benches to match , weather pèrmitting :)
Didn't take long to build , just a couple of hours - staining was the killer. Needed 3 coats to get that rich dark even look.

I came across the Camp Loft Bed on Pinterest a couple of months ago. My daughter was still sleeping in a crib, but I knew that she would need a big girl bed by summer. Since her room is small (inside walls measure just under 9'x9'), i thought a loft bed would be ideal.
I have NEVER done a DIY. I don't even own tools. But my step-dad is very handy, so I asked him to be my consultant and helper to tell me if I was doing things the wrong way! Fortunately, he was able to lend me a miter saw, some aluminum saw horses, and the odd screw (when I seemed to run out).

From start to finish, this was a 7 day project. I used construction grade spruce for my lumber, which cost me just shy of $100. I also went back the next day and bought a couple more 2x4s to make two shelves under the platform, which was another $30. I then pre-drilled with my new favourite tool the Kreg, and proceeded to sand, prime, and paint all of the pieces before assembly. With assembly being in my daughter's room, and having nice fresh paint on her walls and carpeted floors, I did NOT want to be finishing the bed in there, but there was no way I could move it into her room completely assembled. I did all the finishing BEFORE assembly.

Sand, prime, sand, paint, paint, paint. That process took three days, obviously not the entire day. Painting goes relatively quickly, but with boards, you paint one side, let dry, roate 90 degrees, paint, let dry, etc. I also had to work a couple of days in between as well. I went with Benjamin Moore Aura paint and that required three coats. I used to some leftover pink and yellow for the platform and shelves, but if I consider the cost, the paint set me back another $100.
I also had to order in the proper screws and I bought some of the white Kreg plugs to cover the exposed holes. Hurray for amazon! Even selecting the free shipping, the screws arrived within 4 days.

Assembly day:
My step-dad and I worked from 10:30-1:30. By this time, the bed and platform were completely assembled and in place. My daughter, however, needed to nap, so I put her down in her brother's bed, and we took a couple of hours off for lunch!
We then worked from 5-8:45 pm building the stairs, cleaning the room, measuring and screwing down the slats for the mattress, then making the bed and getting it ready for sleep. It seemed like a much longer day because in between, I had to run out and pick up a twin mattress, some extra screws, help my son play his new Skylander game, and deal with three kids trying to "help" with construction!

All in all, I am very pleased with the bed, with the plans, and with my first DIY. My kids are all in love with the bed and we spent a lot of time shooing them out of the room while we tried to assemble it.

Tips:
If I were to make this bed again (if my sons have their way, their beds are next!) I would not paint the wood, opting instead for a stained more natural look. I love the colours for my daughter, but what a pain all that painting and rotating the boards was. Paint was also a more expensive option for finishing.
That being said, if I do paint, I will NOT paint the ends of the boards that will be joined via pocket holes. In some cases, the boards were just a smidge too long to fit and we had to take the back to the saw and shave off the layer of paint in order for the board to fit.
I also opted to buy firm twin mattress as opposed to the plush ones. The plush mattresses add a lot of height and I was worried about my daughter having a bit too much fun up there and possibly tipping out from a high mattress. Stick to thinner mattresses on loft or bunk beds!

No more free range stuffed animals! We needed stuffed animal storage because they are bulky and keeping them in bins meant the one the kids wanted was always on the bottom. But none of us (my husband and I included) could manage to cull them.

I was inspired by the way Walmart contains their giant beach balls -- bungee cord verticals on a fixed frame. I was going to make it free standing til I saw the behind closet door storage plans. Perfect!

I made the frame and shelf from 1x4s because that was the depth of my doorframe -- 3.5 inches. It took (3) 1x4s @6' - One for each side and one cut for the top, bottom, and shelf/support.

I couldn't find bungee cord by the roll (should have checked Amazon first!), so I bought colored 1 inch wide elastic from JoAnns. Each 3 yard pkg cost $4. I needed 3, so that drove the price up. I cut them in half, and the 4.5' lengths have plenty of give on the 6' frame, so you could probably use standard 4' bungee cords from the box store.

I used my router to make the holes for the elastic. I used wooden toy wheels to keep the knotted elastic from being pulled through the holes. You could just drill holes, but my router was new and I wanted to practice with it.

The kids love putting their stuffed toys away now, and they can see all of them so they can pick the ones they want to play with rather than dumping them all out of a bin. I love it.

I've already decided to do the other door with the bottom half of the frame in elastic like this for costume storage, and the top half shelves. Thank you, Ana!

My husband used your plans to make this for our pet chicken that we hatched in a homemade incubator.  I painted it though!!! 

It was time to replace our 12 year old rectangular coffee table. I used the corona coffee table plans with a few modifications.