Community Brag Posts

I've been building Ana White American Girl doll furniture for my two daughters for the last three years, culminating with my biggest build of all - a modified version of Ana's dollhouse.

My wife kept telling me it would end up being huge, and she was right.  The great news is that it doubles as storage when the girls aren't playing!  2 Bedrooms, kitchen, living room, bathroom, and upstairs bonus room for dance and gymnastics.  78" tall x 76" wide, mounted to the wall studs for safety.   Lots of joy in our home on Christmas day.  Thanks Ana!

My dog loves to people watch all day while I'm at work and she needed a new bed so I took the plans for the lower platform and modified them so it would stand alone. Took the platform and put it on the bottom so that her bed would sit inside instead of on top where she could more easily fall off.

I tried building without PH screws at first and all I ended up with was a lot of cracked and wasted lumber. Got the PH jig and finished the whole build myself in 2 hours. Sanding, staining, and sealing tomorrow but I'm just so excited about it I had to post now!

First woodworking project!

I'm happy to share with everyone my IKEA hack 6" tray cabinet.

I found a 24" cabinet box in IKEA's As-Is section and took it home for half price ($23)!  I would have preferred plywood, but my table saw is a little small and cutting large sheets of plywood is a little scary.  When I deconstructed the cabinet, it sustained some damage (as its particleboard), so if you try this at home, be careful!  I ended up changing the depth to 22" in order to cut off the damaged piece, but that shouldnt be noticeable with average trays and cutting boards.  

I used Ana's 6" tray cabinet plan and modified the dimensions a little for my planned space.  It still needs the back, face frame and door (which will be a replacement drawer front from the cabinet manufacturer).  I plan on building the face frame at the time the cabinets are installed, since this will go in between the 36" corner easy-reach and the 36" sink base.  Once its done, I'll post updated pics!

Thank you! You've helped me look like a true carpenter who knows what he's doing! My whole family is impressed with my woodwork lately, and now I'm addicted. I've done your seesaw, bar table and stools plus the treehouse in 2 weeks. Thank you for sharing your plans!

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!

Made an outdoor sofa inspired by Ana White's plan. I made a few modifications including using 2x6's, hiding more of the non-pocket hole screws, using HD pocket holes in more areas and building an incline for the backrest. Cushions are Sunbrella from Lowe's.

They were simple to make and the plan was easy to follow. The only modification I made was adding the 1x3 topper in place of the longer legs sticking out of the top.

modifications to plans: legs not tapered; shortened table by two feet.

This was just what I needed! My daughter started homeschooling and we needed a place to neatlly contain her school stuff. I had her working at the kitchen table next to me, but it still felt like it lacked the school atomosphere. I removed the area for the paper holder and instead added a few support scraps to hold her folders and books upright. 

It did take me awhile to get the support hinges placed correctly (I almost gave up and went with a rope or chain) but I finally got them placed correctly after placing a pencil mark on where they could lie correctly open and closed - seriously this took me awhile because just when I thought I had it, the brackets when closed would be to deep for the desk or when I placed it it correctly inside when open it wasn't 90 degrees. 

The only thing I wish was that I had made it slightly shorter, because when it is open it is a little hard for her to reach the top shelf, but its not to bad and that is the height my scrap bead board was and I was to lazy to cut it =) 

I had a magnetic clasp left over from another project and that has worked well to keep it closed nice and tight, I also used some foam board I had lying around for the back so that her things were not tapped/pinned on my wall. I choose the bead board on the front because A: it is what I had lying around and B: it is in my dining room so I wanted it looking a little nicer.

I had everything on hand excpet for the support brackets which cost me 2 something each at Lowes. YAY for projects under $10 bucks! Thank you so much Ana!