Community Brag Posts

I made this little tool caddy in one afternoon from some 1 by various width board scraps.  I pretty much followed Ana's 'Give the Gift of Building' plan for construction, while being able to use up some scrap wood.  I was making this as a 'just because' gift for my BFF, so I made it to fit three of those free little floral vases, filled it with flowers from my yard, and voilà! 

This is a great beginner project, or one for anyone who needs a little something to project during a free afternoon.

I only was able to complete this project for less than $10 because I happened to have most of the supplies I needed lying around the house already. If this isn't the case for you, it will cost slightly more, but not much.

I had 2 extra 12x12" mirror tiles left over from another project that I've been saving for something creative. When I saw the plans for this picture frame I knew I had a winner. I figured out how much wood I needed and purchased the cheapest type I could that wasn't warped. Since I wanted a bit of the "weathered" look, I didn't mind wood with knots in it. I followed the original plan exactly, the only exception being the specific measurements I knew I needed to fit these mirrors. I also had some extra burlap lying around and made my own stencils for my "M" and "L" monogram letters. After cutting them out, I simply hot glued them directly to the mirrors. Finally, I attached the mirrors to the back of the frames and hung them in place!

I originally wanted more of a rustic look with the paint (similar to the original blue one), but I think the burlap brings that in enough. Overall, I'm very happy with how this turned out!

We used the plans to build the center console piece, and then left off the support shelves under the ends, and instead bolted our desk to a support system directly on the walls. Then we installed a steel support beam under the desk to prevent bowing.

My husband built the loft bed and added a side rail on the landing just in case our little one was drowsy during the middle of the night. We added an extra rail to the top (...mommy didn't read the measurements correctly on the website for the mattress but it all worked out). I dont have the picture with her new bed on top with twinkle lights on the bottom but you get the idea. p.s. mommy built the desk on the left :) 

This is a twist on the Modular Family Entryway Mudroom System - Pullout Rolling Bench Cart . There have been many posts on the net for a mudroom locker set such as the one I have. In our case we had a mudroom with a closet, not much room to move when sliding the doors open, and as well we have kids that need a place to sit in order to put boots/shoes etc on. I took advantage of my husband's work assignment out of the country to rip back the closet,to 20 inches deep and open it up and added a bench for seating, baskets above for out of season/rarely used stuff, and used rolling cubbies below, but in my case I wanted storage bins instead. My thinking was so that I could make it look clean pretty quickly by just chucking every thing in to the bin... These are tall enough for our boots. In the bottom of the bins I put a piece of outdoor carpeting, then a plastic grid, and over that another layer of outdoor carpeting so if the footwear is wet it will drain and dry-no biggie to vacume or sweep out. Best deal: I can simply roll them out of the way when I want to sweep underneath! I measured cubby space to basket size above, and made the bins below after doing the bench and middle supports, to ensure a good fit. The bench top is an old piece of pine board I sanded, stained and used 4 coats of marine varnish so it would take lots of wear and tear.

Using Ana's plan for the garage shelves I was able to shorten them up and turn my basement storage area into a well-organized storage area.  This was my first real wood working project ever. The detailed plans from Ana's site made this a very doable and easy project.

Fun Project. Wife loves it! Adds a much better look to our dining room!

This bench is on my back porch. Its nice to have a few extra seats when entertaining!

This bench is the most beautiful bench I have ever seen. My husband made ours long so all the grandkids to sit on it at one time. Made with love. I am having him make another one for our deck.  Thank you for the plans. 

This table is made from beautiful reclaimed wood from local Washington DC buildings.

The matching benches are a great space saver for a small space!

I built the headboard out of reclaimed barn wood that I purchased on Craigslist. The seller worked for the DOT and was responsible for demolition of old barns that were in the path of new roads in North Carolina. He takes the barns down and salvages all of the wood he can and sells it on Craigslist. The wood I purchased used to be the interior walls of an 80+ year old barn that used to stand somewhere outside of Raleigh. I built the bed mostly out of red oak plywood, but the posts for the footboard are cedar (the only non-pressure treated 4x4's I could find in my area). I used Minwax Wood Finish Classic Gray for the stain. The drawer pulls are hand made from a local NC blacksmith named Northern Crescent Iron who I found on Etsy. Here is a link to his Etsy site: https://www.etsy.com/shop/NorthernCrescentIron

This was a fun project and my wife LOVES the size of the six drawers. :)

I built the Lydia Daybed for my nephew's new big boy bed. Was a little worried about doing the fancy decorative corner pieces, but just adapted the design a little so it was not such an intricate cut. Everything turned out great and there are a few more pictures on the blog, www.atouchofarkansas.com. Thanks! JM

My first project of this size.  I think it turned out great!  Did a gray weathered stain and drybrushed bright white over the base.  Sanded the top 60, 120, 220, 320, and just for fun I finished it with 1000 grit.  Stained dark walnut, finished with three coats of poly, sanding 320 in between coats.  Love this table!!!!

Such a great, simple project! Thanks for the plans Ana! I'm doing my best to send people your way via my blog, iliketomakestuff.com

My husband made these for our 5 year old daughter and our 1 year old granddaughter. They turned out adorable! Our first project with a kreg jig, best tool ever! It took a few weekends, but we are also building a house. The longest time was spend waiting for paint to dry!

This is the end Table I built from Anna's plans. If you wanna watch how I built this table. go to https://youtu.be/qaFfvO2nfm0