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Arts and Crafts Table for My Daughter

Submitted by jpiller on Sat, 02/11/2012 - 07:32

This project was my first from Ana White's plans and my first wood working project on my own. I spent quite a bit of time w/ my dad as a young boy helping him w/ woodworking projects and have been looking forward to doing one on my own.

My daughter is a crazy artist of four years old and she makes more art in a month than we know what to do with. Along with that comes piles of crayons, markers, paper, and so on all over her room, so this table was for her to try and keep organized.

The only real modification from Ana's original plans was that I used plywood for the cover instead of a clear piece of plastic b/c I figured the wood would hold up better under a four year old's abuse.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
40
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Regular wall paint - same used to paint my daughter's room.
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Comments

jpiller

Sat, 08/02/2014 - 09:46

Yes, i actually had to put two pieces glued together in order to get the correct height to fill it in. It's a little heavy, but my daughter really loves the table and it doesn't seem to be too much of a problem.

Mantle

We wanted to have a mantel for hanging the Christmas stockings this year and this fit perfectly! We modified the plans a bit by substituting 1x6's for the sides and a 1x12 on the top in order to gain a little more shelf space and to accommodate the LED fire logs. We added a piece of plywood painted black to mask the color of the wall and to give the "flames" a surface to reflect off of. We are debating giving a more realistic appearance by covering with mortar and brick tiles rubbed with charcoal. Thanks for the plan and for making these holidays special as the kids now believe Santa has a chimney to come down!

Estimated Cost
$80
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Minwax botanical green stain with cottage white paint wash
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Media Cabinet Base of built-in

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 03/02/2016 - 11:21

First furniture project. It was a little intimidating - but once you get the cabinet squared everything else is just about precision cuts and patience to get the finish you want. Inset drawers are tough because they really show any mistakes.

Completed over 3 weekends.

My wife loves it! Our plan is to use this as the base of the built-in, and surround the TV with shelving up to the ceiling. Applying the concepts to this build will allow me to custom build the top unit, probably at some point next year.

 

Cheers!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$1000
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

DIY Pergola

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 06/30/2023 - 11:15

I built this pergola in 3 days and added mason jar solar lights.

Vonda Jones

Built from Plan(s)

Our first project

Submitted by Delilah on Tue, 02/14/2012 - 18:53

I was looking for plans to build a table like this and found Ana's site.

Estimated Cost
100
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Minwax Early American and Satin Poly
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Comments

Delilah

Fri, 02/17/2012 - 19:26

I would make the bench first if I could do it again--good practice. You can't fit a lot of people around it but it is good for a small space.

anandereson (not verified)

Mon, 04/30/2012 - 04:55

How did you fasten the tabletop to the base? Did you screw it from under and attach along every cross beam? Or screw from the top and fill the holes with putty? All the way across or just on the ends...this step in the directions is very vague...

Shanty Open Shelf Console

Submitted by carongirls on Tue, 12/24/2013 - 07:55

I had been eyeing this for awhile but, doors scare me. This is my daughters Christmas gift. It was a fairly easy quick build.
I am pleased with it.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Rustoleum Dark Walnut
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Val Manchuk

Tue, 12/24/2013 - 22:24

Doors scare me too, but seeing what a great job you've done encourages me to give it a try. Looks beautiful. I like how the hardware ties in with your choice of stain. Nice work!

Val @ artsybuildinglady.blogspot.ca

carongirls

Wed, 12/25/2013 - 10:21

The measurements for each door is a bit different because I wasn't careful with the trim. I used shims on all sides of the door to keep it straight and spaced to attach the hinges. Big plus is they open and close :-)

Old Red Clubhouse Bed

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 03/05/2016 - 23:03

My husband and I had a lot of fun building this bed for our 3 yr. Old son. We are very proud of how it turned out. There were a few changes we made on our own as far as bracing was concerned, so our measurements changes just a little. The plans were easy to follow. I'm already searching Ana's site for our next project.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$300
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Valspar Chalky Finish paint in Ruby Earbobs with Valspar Antiquing Wax
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Wood Closet Shelving

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 10/14/2019 - 13:57

This was a great build and easy to do.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Double Bunk with Dovetail Joinery

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 07/05/2023 - 08:34

This double bunk bed has been inspired by Your plans for modern bunk bed - Side Street. To facilitate quick assembling - disassembling of beds for relocation dovetails joints with double inclined tails and wedges have been made. Because the beds has been made for orphanage/"kids in difficult life situations" I changed spacing between headboard and footboard rails to let footboard serve as ladder and in this manner reduce costs and time of construction, save place for installation, avoid tripping hasard. Thank You very much for detailed and simple plans.

Andriy Pronin, Ukraine

Built from Plan(s)

Farmhouse bed king modified

Submitted by susanr on Tue, 02/21/2012 - 06:40

This is a modification of the Farmhouse bed with a panel headboard and footboard rather than individual boards. It currently fits around the mattress/boxspring/metal frame. When we buy a new mattress, we will then add the joists, etc.

The headboard and footboard are both 72" wide. We had the guys at blue do a rip cut at 72" which ensures that both pieces are exactly the same measurement (for square.) Then, they turned the plywood a quarter turn and cut at 15" for the footboard. This left a 33" high headboard. It is 3 inches larger than the original plan, but it doesn't require a second cut and you don't see it anyway. The trim is just a 1x3 with a 1" overhang. (I might make it just a 3/4" if doing it again.)

The side boards are 1x12 cut at 80 1/4", but you may want to add a little if your comforter is really thick or if your mattress is much longer than ours at 79 1/2". We used non-mortised (no cutting into the wood) bed rail hardware from Woodcraft, so we could easily take it apart. These were placed 1 1/8" in from the inside edge of the 4x4 post. They were placed on the very edge of the side rail so it would butt up against the post. The 1 1/8" gives us plenty of room to shove the bedding down inside the side rail.

We glued and nailed 1x2s from the back for the trim on each piece.

Estimated Cost
about $190, but you could save $17 by not spilling an entire can of dye/stain on yourself when you foolishly open your completely full pressurized sprayer
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
General Finishes dye stain in Dark Brown; polycrylic - 3 coats; prefinished all the wood before assembling.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Kate (not verified)

Wed, 02/22/2012 - 05:18

Looks beautiful! We are currently making this bed with the exact samce change to use panels instead of boards and then one board down the middle, except we made our footboard and headboard higher.

susanr

Wed, 02/22/2012 - 07:32

I would love to have the footboard higher, but my husband is 6'4" with large feet, and he asked that I make sure that he could sleep on his stomach with his feet dangling down without touching the footboard! We actually measured it. Make sure you post yours when it is done.

C.Lang

Wed, 02/22/2012 - 20:40

This is a beautiful bed. It is actually pretty much the exact bed i want to build for me and my wife.

sandrabees

Sun, 04/29/2012 - 16:47

I am wanting a king... love the farmhouse plan and I think that hardware is the way ij want to go. Is that where you can slip the side rails in and out of the headboard and foot board?

Full Length Mirror

Submitted by AndyH on Wed, 03/09/2016 - 10:27

Full length mirror made from a cheap $10 unframed mirror from IKEA. Trimmed out with some 1 by 3, 1 by 4 and 1 by 2. Stained black and then painted white. sanded between coats of white to show some of black through and give antique worn look.

Estimated Cost
$35
Estimated Time Investment
Day Project (6-9 Hours)
Finish Used
Stained black and then painted white. sanded between coats of white to show some of black through and give antique worn look.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Farm table and bench

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 10/19/2019 - 09:42

The table was my first ever built and I am beyond thrilled!! The 8 ft table is beautiful and sturdy and fits perfectly in my kitchen in front of my picture window. I bench is equally beautiful and sturdy. I can’t wait to start my next project!!

Estimated Cost
$100
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Square Picnic Table using Deck Boards

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 07/07/2023 - 11:32

I used deck boards instead of 2x6 for the top and seats; this lightened the table overall while negating the need to sand and finish the boards.

I also used a cedar-tone treated board so staining wasn't necessary.

Kelly S.

Built from Plan(s)
Seasonal And Holiday

Farmhouse Doll Bed X 3

Submitted by brigitep72 on Sat, 02/25/2012 - 03:12

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!

Estimated Cost
$20 (best guess - for all three)
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Sherwin-Williams ProClassic Alkyd Interior Enamel in white and primed beforehand with the recommended primer. I had both on hand from another project.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Living Room Console Table

Well after a successful first project building a Wine Console for my sis-in-law it was time to tackle a project for my own home. We have a huge back wall in our living room that used to be covered by a cheap set of "DVD/CD Organizer" shelves. I hated them from the day I bought them, but they were cheap and they did what we needed. So for my next project I wanted to replace them with something classier.

The basic concept is based off the same workbench console that I used to build the wine table but with some major modifications. First off, it's 9 and a half feet long to better fit the size of the wall. I also wanted to add some shelves for more display space. The wife likes non-symmetrical design styles so I offset the shelves with one hanging from the bottom of the tabletop and the other resting on the bottom shelf.

I just finished it and moved it in so we're still trying to figure out what to put on it. Personally I like a more minimalist approach while my wife loves picture frames so I made a deal. You can see a guest appearance of the first of two $10 gallery shelves that I plan on putting the rest of our pictures on. Stained the same color as the table it looks great on the wall right above it.

It's all made from good ol' Home Depot pine and finished with 3 coats of Varathane's Kona Stain-Poly applied with a brush.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$100
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Kona Stain-Poly by Varathane. 3 coats
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Val Manchuk

Sun, 12/29/2013 - 21:22

What a unique and creative design you did with the shelves! Looks good!

Val @ artsybuildinglady.blogspot.ca

Rustic X Coffee Table

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 03/12/2016 - 11:54

Followed the plan, pretty straight forward. 

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$30 Wood
$8 Stain
$12 Poly
$5 Paint
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Benjamin Moore - Kendall Charcoal
Varathane - Dark Walnut + Semi Gloss
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Coffee table

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 10/23/2019 - 18:42

Love this coffee table. I built it for my daughter and she was very happy.

Built from Plan(s)
Finish Used
Dark walnut
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Dollhouse Bookcase

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

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$60
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

TamaraP. (not verified)

Thu, 12/13/2012 - 06:21

My husband is about to start cutting the wood for this bookcase. He made the farmhouse doll bed last year! It turned out great! He is making the doll bed for a friend andthe doll bunkbeds for our daughter.
Yourbookcase is beautiful!:o)

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