Community Brag Posts

I've thought for a while about building a bed for our dogs, but wasn't sure where to start. We had an extra crib mattress so I set out to find a toddler bed that would work. I decided the Lydia Toddler Bed plan would work best. It doesn't look anything like it, but it was a great starting point.

First, I got rid of the canopy and the decorative side pannels. I also raised the bed 12 inches. (The hope is to add a rug on the floor underneath as sort of a "bottom bunk") The lumber store didn't have 2x2s so I used 2x3s for the legs. I also only used two 1x6s at the head and foot of the bed. They are seperated by 1" because when I got home, I realized they were actually 1x5 (RUDE).

All in all, it turned out exactly as I had hoped and the dogs love it! GOODBYE stinky dogbeds!

**Photo 1: Just finished building--the slats weren't screwed down yet.
**Photo 2: Deacon is testing out his new digs! See the stinky dogbed underneath?YUK!
**Photo 3: Dog Bed Completed! Mac & Deacon love it!

This was an easy project to complete in an afternoon that does not require any advance woodworking skills

This is a wishing well I made for my sister for her wedding. It will be used during the wedding for people to drop "wish you well" cards into and afterward she can use it as a planter in her yard.
I followed ideas from multiple plans here on Ana-White.com, but I didn't follow any specific plan. Mostly I followed tips and instructions for cutting angles, drilling pocket holes and some finishing tips. This is the first "big" project I've done and I"m quite proud of it.

With everything, it measures 44.5 inches high. The well measures 21 inches across and 15 inches high. The roof measures 22.75 inches by 23.75 inches.

I hope y'all like it. I worked hard on this! :)

Thank you, Ana and everyone who contributes to this site. It's been so much fun and I've got lots of ideas for more stuff. If I was any good at all at Google Sketchup I'd put up the plans but I'm not. If anyone could help me with that, that would great. :)

Have a great day!

I made this coop twice as wide like Ana suggested since I have 4 chickens and wanted to make sure there was some extra wiggle room in case “chicken math” got the best of us. I made a nesting box to mount on the outside. I also used plywood for the sides like Ana did in the video. I installed a Run Chicken automatic door that opens at sunrise and closes at sunset. I added some hasps and clasps to make sure all my doors would close tightly. I put hardware cloth across the top before installing the roof panels. I stapled and buried hardware cloth around the perimeter for predator protection. I also spray painted the hardware cloth flat black so that it would be easier for us to see inside the coop. I stained the rest of the wood with Varathane Semi-Transparent stain, color “Carbon Gray.” I also added some roosts and cedar shingle siding for some extra protection during our New England winters at to match our house. Working 2-4 hours a day, off and on, with a bum shoulder and weak hands, this took me about a week! Thanks for the great plan, Ana!

I built this for my daughter after building a ladder shelf for my kids bathroom. It took more time to install and adjust the drawer slides and paint the project.  

My second building project... this one took quite a while, building in the evenings after the kids went to bed.

The playhouse is based off of Ana's Playhouse Building series, with some modifications to fit the space in my backyard and accommodate climbing wall, monkey bars, and slide.

To put the main deck structure into the ground for sturdiness while protecting from moisture, I dug out 5 holes to fit single hole cinder blocks (4 corners plus an extra 4x4 for the monkey bars; you can see an leftover block on the ground in one of the pictures). I placed some brick in the holes, then the cinder blocks on top. I then partially filled the cinder blocks with sand, put the pre-built deck in the cinder block holes (with help - it's heavy!), and then filled the rest of the cinder block holes with sand. It's worked remarkably well - the deck has been up for about a year now. I also sprayed some clear waterproof sealant on the bottom part of each beam near the ground for extra protection (deck, monkey bars, climbing walls, and swingset A-frame). This has allowed me to still run sprinklers near/around the playset and even grow grass underneath the swings!

Materials used:
* Playhouse: pine, plywood, Suntuf solar grey polycarbonate corrugated roofing panels (I live in Arizona, so little rain to worry about but lots of heat - the sheeting lets light in but blocks most of the UV rays, corrugated shape also provides venting at top when placed sideways)

* Deck/Swingset/Monkey bars: treated lumber, composite decking, pine for railings, monkey bars purchased from Amazon

* Climbing wall: pine, treated lumber, handholds/railing bought off ebay/Amazon

* Swings/slide/bongos/wheel, telescope: purchased from Amazon

Modifications:
* Turned playhouse 90 degrees to be in back of the deck, with swingset coming off the side. This meant the support beam for the swingset had to pass through the playhouse - modified the frame for that wall slightly and created a notch for the beam to pass through.

* Slide comes out one end of playhouse - made the "window" on that end larger than the plans called for in order to give room for the slide.

* Monkey bars come off one side of the deck - used extra 4x4 here to create support for the bars, and used extra bars to make a ladder on this side

* Climbing wall instead of ladder for main entrance

* Put large window in back wall of the playhouse

* Added cross bracing to side of decking on swingset end to make it more solid/cut down on sway when swinging

This is a mashup of several plans, combined into one big, bad ass, office desk. I've had a little experience years ago in high school woodworking classes, but haven't really built much since. This reminded me how much I enjoy working with wood. So rewarding to be typing this message at my new office desk!