ask for build materials
This was the perfect post-retirement project for me. It was a lot of work, but very rewarding.
I documented most of it on my blog.
We sure love this greenhouse!
Tue, 08/31/2021 - 12:23
Gorgeous, those skylights are the ticket! Thank you for sharing!
built this to go around our adjustable bed. for the posts i took 2 select pine 5/4 (2x4) and 1 - 1x4 and glued them together and left a gap to slide the side rails (2 - 1x8's) into the post approx 2-3"s and then ran 2 screws from the side to anchor the side rails to the head/footboards
Had the hubby make this! Nice project. Thanks for sharing the plans
Added an L section to the Fancy Desk to increase usable space So far it still stands strong for me. Thanks Ana
For Mother's Day this year, I decided to completely redo what we call our "front room" for my wife. Before the weekend, it was unorganized, colorless, and boring. We decided to start the project with new paint, which my wife picked out. I got some old windows from a thrift store, and we decided the ledges would flank one of those windows and we'd basically transform the entire wall.
The ledges were a blast to build (my wife even helped a bit!) and we're super happy with the way they came out!
Ledges for my kids artwork.
First of all...I need to talk to my photographer sister (kaylajphoto.com) and learn how to take better photos! Our two girl's 3 and 5 share a room and I could not finish these beds fast enough!
They are higher because we have yet to build trundle or storage for underneath. I also made the little chair (just kind of winged it and modified as I went), and shelving that is by the footboard.
With a repurposed side table, new curtains, and a chandelier, I couldn't be happier with the end result! My next task is a cute vertical chalkboard piece above the table. :-)
This project was much easier than I originally anticipated. Even cutting the legs at angles and sanding them down to appear curved was easier than I expected. I also used early american stain by Minwax. I used only one coat though and in hindsight might have done two to make it a bit darker. I used Minwax clear paste wax (two coats) to achieve a low sheen and protective layer. I was able to find a toilet paper holder similar to the one Ana used at one of my local big box stores. I wasn't able to find anything else I liked better.
Using Ana's plan as a guide, I built two of these sofas to fit an outdoor cushion I already had. I used wood from our old deck -- a great way to re-use and save money, too!
I used the charging station plans as my first attempt at building something using pocket holes, and also my first real attempt at building any piece of furniture from scratch. I stuck pretty much to Ana's plans except for not cutting the front footer (I didn't own a jigsaw at the time) and using panes of frosted glass as the center of the doors.
As a piece of furniture it gets used every day, but it has been most invaluable to me as a learning experience. I've built many pieces of furniture in the time since I made the charging station, growing my skills each time. But this project was where I started, so it always feels a little extra special to me.
My husband and I made this for our daughters' calico critters, which they received for Christmas. We wanted a house with few walls, so that all 3 girls could play simultaneously. We used Ana's dream dollhouse plan, but scaled it down to half the size. We also modified it slightly to fit what we needed.
This is just the perfect size for smaller toys like Littlest Pet Shop or other 3 to 4" tall toys.
This was our first build together and so it took us a while to do. For someone with a bit more experience, who also has all their materials and tools ready, this could be finished in 1 day or a weekend.
Sun, 05/10/2015 - 13:06
Ana's roof shingles, which are cut scalloped strips, are a better way of doing the roof. I didn't realize how difficult it would be to fix each craft stick 'shingle' to the roof, and manage to keep each line straight. For a beginner, it's not easy. My advice is try Ana's method or you could also just make the roof from 2 solid pieces.
Wed, 10/07/2015 - 14:07
This was the plan I was going to use for the Critter's line at Target. I didn't want to buy the plastic houses that they sale so decided to try and build one. How did you scale the dimension? Just by half all the way around? I am a confident beginner so I am not sure how to scale down dimensions.
Our little one may be happily playing independently but the second I go to make dinner she demands to be held and refuses to be put down, making cooking impossible. To help keep her occupied but still involved I've been eyeing a learning tower / kitchen helper on Amazon for months now, but at $200 it just wasn't in our budget. My sister-in-law had made a learning tower from a plan by Ana White and suggested I try to make one too. I was unsure at first, I've never made anything more complicated than a birdhouse, but I decided to give it a go!
Please see my blog post for additional photos and lessons learned during this project.
What a great project! Simple and relatively easy. Very stylish chair!
These cost about 10 bucks a piece as she said. This was my first project. Not too bad.... obviously not perfect. But I learned a lot while doing this...
These took me a weekend to do... probably 6-8 hours.
When I took this I was still working on filling the ledges with photos... dont mind the craziness! :)
I constructed this desk all from birch plywood. It features a pull out keyboard tray, modern drawer finger pulls, and full extension drawer slides. The plywood was finished with a hand-rubbed danish oil for a natural wood appearance.
We needed a bookcase to fill a void in our living room and this was it. I altered the dimensions to increase the height to 72.5". I also added crown molding to the top which turned out nice. I used the same Bombay mahogany stain suggested by a previous post.
The hubbs helped me build this during a day off from work. We spent an hour after work the following few nights working on the finish. Tons of compliments on this headboard...a few coworkers have even built their own after seeing ours!
These are fabulous little vehicles that I made for my 18 month grandson when he visits. After making the car and truck, I decided to add a simple bus with round windows.
I used scrap wood, cut out the truck wheels with a hole saw but purchased a package of wheels for the others. My little cars aren't perfect but that adds to the charm.
Wed, 01/26/2022 - 08:34
These are great, thank you for sharing, you're grandson is sure to love and cherish these!
After buying our first home we decided we wanted to build our own kitchen table so we stumbled across Ana's plans and I'm so glad that we did!
I built this bench way back in the winter (which really has barely ended) and finally today got it outside for a photo shoot! Notching out the legs was a new thing for me but turned out wonderfully. I look forward to making some for my mother for her gaggle of grandchildren.
Oh and best of all, mine was free to make since I had nasty ol' 2x4's on hand! PERFECT!
Mon, 06/20/2011 - 16:40
Beautiful work! I love the finish on it, with the contrast between the top and legs
