Community Brag Posts

We were in desperate need of a corner media unit. I just know that Ana will post something incredible for this soon, but we just couldn't wait any longer. SO...I 'TRIED' to modify her lovely Cabin Collection Media Console & Hutch. Her plans were great, and I pretty much followed them step-by-step and just modified corners and things to fit my need. I'll emphasize...it is NOT perfect by any means and is probably not 'done-by-the-book', but it hides all of my hubbies gamer items (rockband guitars and keyboard, wires, controllers, games, etc). AND, I built it with growing room for his biggest wish, a new t.v. :)

I made these bunk beds for my daughter and her best friend for her best friends birthday. My 4 year old daughter helped putting them together and painting so she got one too:) We used the paint sparkle add-ins from lowes with sample paint colors in each girls' favorite color. I haven't finished the bedding for my daughter's yet, but as you can see, it is working just fine without bedding:)

I made two of these tables for a friend.  She was very happy with them.  One of my first projects.

I took plans from two makers and changed them to fit my needs.

I took the base from the Fix This Build That DIY Daybed with Storage Drawers plans. And I used the headboard/footboard concept from the Shanty-2-Chic DIY Modern Farmhouse Platform Bed plans and made this extra tall, extra long twin size bed.

I made it for a client (friend). It is for her daughter. White washed instead of paint of stain. 

I had some left over wood from pallets and I really liked the look of the simple outdoor bench. One pallet was made out of some type of red colored wood and I decided the slats for the seat would look good in the red colored wood. The rest of the bench was from a lighter colored pallet. I used nails and glue to attach the seat slats so that my daughter could help. She loves to help, but does not like my drill even if she has hearing protection. See more at http://www.makeitlovely.com

My first DIY project EVER. Not really a brag....but I'm pretty proud of it. Amazing what you can do with a $1 piece of wood and some stain. Some sides are slightly uneven, some nails might be crooked. It has character and I will always remember it as my first! It's liberating to create something beautiful with your own two hands :)

I took the workbench plans, less the casters. I also added the shelf on top. It was fun to take the plans and then sketch out new specs to adjust for the rack

This is a basic key organizer but the big hook it for a dog leash. The sides are routered and the middle is chalkboard paint for writing. A friend just suggested putting a route to hold the chalk. I will add that later. 

I made easy picnic table for my son over the weekend. The plans are very straight forward and easy to follow. This table fits two toddlers on each side but it was smaller than I thought it was going to be. I think my son will grow out of this by the time he is 4.

We estimate that the cost of this project was right around $50, but we had a lot of tools and materials already.  This was a fun project and a great piece for the cost. I would suggest staining as much as you can before assembling those legs!  Staining and applying poly was a pain in the butt!  We used a dark mahogany Minwax stain and 2 coats of Minwax poly. It took us a while to do it because we have a 11 month old that keeps us on our toes. 

I have been dreaming of building a bed since I found Ana's website over a year ago. I bought the wood in January and slowly worked on it over 3 months, mainly because I was uncertain that I could actually do it myself! After spending about 3 hours in a row to finish it, it is finally complete! I am so happy with how it turned out and friends of mine cannot believe that I did this BY MYSELF! View more on my project at http://thevpfamily.blogspot.com/2011/05/lumber.html or http://thevpfamily.blogspot.com/2011/06/did-you-guess-bed.html

This was my first project. I learned a ton through the process. Ana's directions were very easy and straightforward.

I purchased the wood (Doug-Fir) from Lowe's and cut it at home with a circular saw. I filled the gaps in the table/benches with a crystal clear silicon caulk - I have mixed feelings about this, since it dried kind of shiny. The coats of polyurethane helped to dull the finish a bit. For the stain, I used Rustoleum Kona, and Minwax Helmsman Spar Urethane Semi-Gloss for the finish.

Like others have suggested, I built the benches first, then the table. This was a great tip, since you can learn the design on a smaller model before tackling the beast of table (it's heavy). I also added some horizontal supports on the ends of the tables/benches, not in the original plans. I just duplicated the end aprons of the table and countersinked/screwed them in at an angle.

Cutting and building the project didn't take nearly as much time as the sanding, staining and finishing. The back-end part of the project was very detail-oriented and stretched out over several days.

Overall, very pleased with the finished project. It was very empowering to know that I can build something like this. Thanks Ana and all of the others with their tips and suggestions! My wife and I know have a long list of other projects to tackle :)

I have added a  detergent drawer to orignal project

Night Stand

My 5 year old grandson, Trevor, came for an overnight and we worked on building Ana's Big Kids' Picnic Table. Grandpa cut the boards the day before and Trev easily helped me drill all the holes and place the screws, then painted the table his favorite color. He was so excited to have built something so useful that he could take to his home and share with his new step-siblings.

This project took about 3 hours with painting, but was really easy to follow. Trev enjoyed learning how to use the drill safely, wearing his own work gloves and safety glasses and learning the art of painting! It was the PERFECT project for the two of us to keep us busy.

Thanks for another great plan Ana!

We made the woven back bench this weekend for our front porch. We modified the back to not have the bend in it, and we added supports to the slats underneath as we felt it needed that. It was a great plan and we love the end result of the bench! One tip, if you make, you'll actually need TWO 1x4x8's even though the supply list says you'll only need one. We used the kreg jig a lot on this project. Highly recommend this plan! Bonus, it only cost about $25 for the wood for this project!

We picked up a couple 14.9" square plastic garden planters from Home Depot and ended up creating some wood planter boxes from pallet wood for them to sit in. 

I didn't add up the cost of these boxes, because we had most of the wood and only needed a few pieces, but I'd say they were definitely less than $10 a box. 

We altered our dimensions to fit our HD planters so they would slip in for a snug fit and made the legs flush with the top of our sides. We build a simple frame for the top, which allowed the lip of our HD planters to sit firmly on top. 

Something I didn't do, but wish I did: fill in the cracks with wood filler.  There were a couple places that really could have used it, but I was in a rush and decided to skip it.  They turned out great, but could have been even better had I taken an extra 30 minutes.  On an off weekend, we are going to use wood filler in the seams, sand them down, and do a second coat of white paint. 

Can't wait to plant these with some mums for Fall! :)