Community Brag Posts

I made these three farmhouse doll beds for my daughters. Initially, I made two beds following the plan as written but started feeling like they would take up too much space. My girls are close in age (4 and 2 yo twins) so waiting for one to outgrow something and passing it on isn't an option.

I gave the first two regular sized beds away as gifts and made three narrow versions that I saw on another blog http://thatsmyletter.blogspot.com/2011/02/b-is-for-bed-5.html Her bedding is still the gold standard in my eyes. LOVE IT!

On two of my beds, I left off one 1x2 slat, and on the other I used 3-1x3's. The width of the 3 beds are slightly different. Heck, I think I am incapable of making two things exactly the same. lol The girls love them so that's all that matters. For the bed that used 3-1x3s, I didn't write down the width of the top boards. I measured and cut as I assembled.

I put an extra 1x2 mattress support in the middle because I knew they would sit on them and used masonite to hold the mattress. Seems strong enough so far.

Before painting, I used lots of wood filler and caulk to hide some flaws. By the way, I feel like painting the beds is the hardest part. So many little grooves, nooks, and crannies. I recently bought a Graco 3900 HVLP paint sprayer. Painted a half wall and 6 long pieces of trim in 30 minutes today---love it! If I make another bed (or anything for that matter), I'm totally going to spray it.

Oh and I have to confess that after the first two beds, I got too impatient to use just screws so I used the nailer, glue, and used a few screws at key points. It made things go so much quicker, and the beds still feel quite sturdy. If my kids manage to break them, I'll make them new ones. :-)

I used 1" foam and muslin for the mattress & cover and fabric that I obsessively buy and hoard for everything else. The middle quilt is an actual quilt. I cut the squares and all---first time for that too. The other two are made of pre-made patchwork fabric from Joann's.

Thank you to everyone for sharing your creations, and thank you, Ana, for the plans. I am so inspired!

My two dauirlghters wanted a stable to protect their beloved American Girl Doll Horses.

My niece had an area in her master bathroom that she wanted to make into a closet.   Since she is very interested in woodworking I was happy to assist her on her first project.  It was a challenge as one wall was out of plum by 1.5 inches but we managed to successfully address the problem. 

The project turned out very nice and now my niece has a large closet with lots of storage space.  But we also created a monster as she has definitely caught the woodworking bug!  Her birthday is coming up soon and all she wants are tools!

We built this dollhouse bookcase pretty much to plan. We did add "shingles" to the top.
View more on our blog: http://www.bearrabbitbear.com/2012/02/dollhouse-bookcase.html

I first saw this table on the Shanty 2 Chic website and when I saw that it was based on a plan from Ana, I knew we had to build it. I asked my husband David to get started on it right away.

It turned out perfectly!!!

Handmade rustic entryway table. Stained with Varathane Stain and made from 2x4s & 2x6s Canadian white pine

Combination of Entryway Bench and Storage Shelf with Hooks and simple changing table. I did make the table a little taller as my wife and i are pretty tall. I also had to add about an inch to the overall length of the table as well to fit the baskets. Mostly straight forward.

So my son needed a bunk bed and we came upon the sweet pea bed. It was too girly for him so we decided to go with a theme that would be timeless, something he wouldn't mind having when he is 18 (or older, he is 10 now). What is better than Mario! (We are a house full of gamers, my 17 year old is super jealous of this bed lol). The build was fairly easy and the plans were straight forward enough, the time consuming part was the painting (without all the painting we could have probably build this in a long weekend). We changed a few things, like not arching the top windows, adding the 4 inch 2x4 squares to the top to give the castle look and stairs are made to look like stairs from the side so we stepped out the banister instead of angling it.

Thank you Ana for your work and making your plans available for free!
My table is based on your Big Kids Table, modified to use available free scrap wood.

I built this bookshelf over the summer and finally decided on paint over the weekend. I LOVE how it turned out! I followed the plans for general directions, but my dimensions are taller and wider than the plans. I used 8' 1x6's for the sides and the shelves are about 14". I also added bun thingy's (or whatever they're called!) to the base so that the unit would fit completely flat against the wall. Otherwise you'd have to either cut out your existing wall trim or notch the shelf trim around your wall trim. This was my first time using the Kreg pocket hole jig. It took a little getting used to, so I'd suggest practicing with some scrap parts first to make sure you don't end up drilling the pocket hole completely through the board.

Men come in crates - who knew?

My crate is a gift for a friend, to be filled with manly foodstuffs, but in the mean time, the little 'un loved trying it out.

I didn't follow the plans rigidly, but I absolutely loved the idea and was inspired by all the great photos on this site. Mine looks the same from above and below, but the front and back side slats are attached to the lid while the left and right ones are attached to the box. Also, everything uses the same 18mm ply (what I had available!) which means you can easily lift it using the side slats, but lift the lid off with the front and back slats.

Enjoyed this project - will more than likely make others in the future. Maybe even spend a bit of time on the finish next time - the 'rough 'n' ready' look works well enough for this kind of project though, so it plays to my strengths!

Ana sized her plan for 2-6 year olds, but a friend asked me to build this for her 9-year-old granddaughter as an art table that would live outside, on their covered patio. I made the table top 28x48, and set the top at 28 inches off the ground. The bookcase part is 42 inches tall, in keeping with the "rule of thirds."

In light of the larger size, I decided the legs needed some braces, so I added a cross brace at the bottom and some curvy side braces.

I considered adding some cupboard doors to keep the dust out, but decided to leave it open so it wouldn't become a haven for spiders. Doors don't really keep dust out anyway, the way the wind blows around here.

As shown, the birch ply top has natural stain on it. I'm going to finish the top with spar varnish. For the rest, I'm going to primer it, and deliver it with a few pint cans of water-based outdoor paint in basic colors so the girl can paint the rest of it herself. 

Thank you, Ana, for another enjoyable project!

Aiden's Clubhouse.

I can't even believe I was able to build this! Everyone thought I was crazy for undertaking such a huge project. I made it a queen size because my son would always sleep in my bed anyways... so I just gave it to him. The bed took 4 weeks because I could only work on it on Saturday afternoons. The first week, I made a frame with cleats on the wall. The second week I built the house and stairs. The third week I built the slide and did some of the painting. Today, I finished painting and trim.

I did modify the plans and merged the plan for the slide into my plan, which was a last minute addition. As such, I had to "measure-and-cut-as-you-go" build this bed. I would highly recommend to anyone considering such a task, don't do that. Make a plan, cut all your wood, paint before assembly, and stick to the plan. My stairs all lift up, and under the top landing there is also a cut out inside Aiden's clubhouse-you can see it behind him in the picture below. Also under the slide is a cut out for storage. I have not done anything with the inside of the clubhouse yet. Someday...

I designed the bed specifically so that I could take it apart if we ever move... we live in an apartment. The stairs/stairwell are only connected to the rest of the bed with a single screw. The other wall is a bit more difficult to remove, but not impossible.

I learned a few things doing this, that I want to share with you all..
1. The Kreg-Jig is the best thing ever.
2. I LOVE LOVE LOVE power tools.
3. 4x4 sheets of MDF are difficult to carry upstairs by myself.
4. I can do anything.

I hope you all like it. This was my son's 4th birthday present and he really loves it.

It isn't finished yet though. The far wall in the room is about 2 ft away from the bed, and I haven't decided what to do with that side of the bed, so it's still plain. I would love some ideas! What do you think?

 Followed the plans exactly and all worked out perfectly.  I designed my own ladder and rails.  Kids love this bed.  Took about 1 gallon of valspare 2000 paint to paint everything.