Community Brag Posts

I loved the AG Doll House plans you designed and when my granddaughters asked me to make one for them.... how could I resist. Unfortunately my 7' basement ceiling and steps created a challenge. As a 72 year old female, there was no way I could man-handle a 6' x 4' x 2' - 3/4" plywood project in addition to the challenges of my work space. I was not going to disappoint my granddaughters so I had to come up with a plan. Instead of making the doll house in one piece, I decided to make it as 3 individual boxes (the floors) and stack them on top of each other. Not only would I be able to handle them mostly by myself, but I would be able to work around the low ceiling and transport them up the steps. With only a few modifications to the original plans, I believe I came up with a workable solution.

Instead of the sides resting on top of the doll house floor, I extended the sides 3/4" longer to run past the floor for more stability. I also used 1x 2s to frame the inside at the top of each unit for more support and to help in keeping the box square. This may not have been necessary, but I just wanted to make sure it would be sturdy. The main change to the original plan was to add 1" x 3" routed trim to the outside top of each box having it extend 3/4" above the sides. This created a pocket that allowed the next floor to nestle in place and protect it from sliding off in case any little ones decided to climb on it. I also made a 2 car (30" x 30" x 24") detached garage for the AG vehicles. I did fill the holes, plugs, and errors with wood putty, sand numerous times, prime and paint. It was a real help to add some of the paint to the primer because plywood really soaks it up. I think this kept us from having to paint a 3rd coat. The floor was painted a med dark brown, but wiped with the grain before it dried to give a wood grain look.

I finished it in time for the birthday party even though it took 3 vehicles to transport it to the destination. It was a joy to see their faces when it was unveiled and to watch them climb on it of course.

Built a number of wine caddies with/without the stake. Stake useful for an outdoor environment, yet not useful for an indoor table top setting. Provided a simple alteration by inserting a t-nut into the bottom of the caddy & a hanger bolt screwed into top of stake. Simply screw in stake as needed.

I made these for a special order. Used the Simple Twin bed plans but modified them because they want to use the beds as separate twins first, then convert to a bunk bed. In order to make the beds look uniform when separated, the head and foot boards are identical. One bed fits directly on top of the other, secured with 1/2” dowels.

This was a simple yet very time consuming building. Lots of pieces and lots of sanding. I am really pleased with how it turned out. I stained the edges of all the 1 x 4's prior to assembly just to make things easier. I also increased the sides of the chair from 24" to 26" and set the seat height to 18" to match the bench.

Anna's (the one on the right) new activity table with rolling carts! Rolling drawers are made of 3/4" MDF with 2" casters underneath. The chalkboard frames (found here) were painted with satin finish pink paint, then two coats of glitter Mod Podge. I love how they turned out!!! We added a piece of 1/8" plexiglass to the top to protect it better. The flat top is made of MDF, sides and frame are made of pine and the legs are poplar. Two coats of primer, three coats of semi-gloss paint and three coats of poly. She is sooooo excited!!! Ana's estimate of $50-$100 on her website is fairly accurate depending on where you live, minus the plexiglass. So adding it all up... 3 - 2" x 2" x 8' stud/strips are $1.29 each at HD (total $3.87) 4 - 1" x 2" x 8' Radiata Pine boards are $4.82 at HD (total $19.28) 1 - 49" x 97" sheet 3/4" MDF was about $40 at HD (they rip cut it for me for free) 8 - 2" casters were about $2.50 each at HD (total $20) That's $83.15 plus tax and doesn't include all of the smaller extras like screws, glue, sandpaper, primer, paint and poly. I had most of those already... but it's items like that would easily push the total over $100. The little extras that I did were pricier poplar legs since I didn't like the look of 2x2 stud/strips and the custom sheet of plexiglass $35 at local plastics company. 2x2 studs/strips are fine, but after using them on my sawhorses and painting them, I wanted something more perfectly square (prettier?) for this table.

For my son's 4th birthday party, we were doing it at our house and needed outdoor seating, so I took on the task of building 3 Toddler picnic tables and 1 smaller one. Building them was not that big of a deal, but painting all 4 took some time! After the party, we sent 1 to my parents, 1 to in-laws & 1 to my bro/sis-in-law, so only ended up with 1 left over. FYI-the picture on the plan is one of mine, thanks Ana!

I had an old table that was in my basement.  I wanted to re-do my craft room.  I have been thinking and thinking about it.  So when I saw Ana’s link to her drawer organizer – and how to install drawer slides – I thought – ok – now it’s time to do it.

I spent about a week drafting plans, making measurements.  At first I was going to recycle the metal sliders I had left over from the kids dressers…but there wasn’t enough – and to do 12 drawers would be more money than I wanted to spend.

So – a trip to home depot – I was able to take this table that was just collecting junk – literally – to an organized and functional crafting cabinet – with huge deep drawers.  There are 12 drawers in total.  They are all 6 inch in height, 26 inches deep, and then there are 8 that are 16 inches wide, and 4 that are 12 inches wide.

Here are some before and after pictures – I have all the details on the build on my blog.  I wouldn’t have been able to do it without Ana.  Her plans and continual inspiration!

I was looking to build a desk for my wife. I searched around on YouTube for ideas and came up with this one: https://youtu.be/IN0j34WDlg4. I made a few modifications and added a few features to come up with this corner desk.

1 sheet 3/4" blond wood plywood.
1/4 sheet of 1/2" plywood for the drawers.
1 box 10mm laminate flooring.
1/4" trim cut from poplar for the edges of the plywood.

It took my wife and I about 2 days to complete the project.

Ana White’s plans are the best I’ve seen. Some are easy and some are challenging builds. She’s so very encouraging in her videos. She makes me feel like I can keep on building. I’m very happy to say I started my business from her inspirations.