Community Brag Posts

Bought only two 2x4s to complete this project. Ripped and chopped and milled like crazy to get it down to the dimensions of the plans. The pine is a little flimsy, I wouldn't recommend it unless you're on an extreme budget, but it CAN be done! Just know that any of the cross-bars that have a knot-hole will probably snap sooner than later. (Luckily I milled extras!)

Another cost tip is to skip the backing. I used two supports from the main material instead of any plywood. Watch out for wracking when doing the glue up and it'll be just fine. Fully supported with less weight too!

pallet rustic cooler mad from pallet wood and pine

I used Ana's plan for the modern project table to create my craft table. I modified it just a bit by removing the "floating top" and covering the front to provide more hidden storage (a must for me). I used my brad nailer and gorilla glue to construct. I used all whitewood boards for the base and 3/4" mdf for the top. I love it! You can read more details at http://www.shanty-2-chic.com/2011/01/all-finished-yeah.html !

I had a leftover sheet of 1/2" plywood, so I built this toy box. The pocket holes didn't work very well on the 1/2" plywood, so I added some angle brackets for security, but it's a great toy box, bigger than I had imagined! I had to add a sheet of plywood in the open side because the bottom was too low for my 2 year old--toys kept falling in and he couldn't reach them, but kept trying to climb in after them!

Started with the basic loft plans. Changed out the 2x4 post for some sturdy 4x4's and added a bottom bunk to build this set for my two boys. I also deviated from the plans by using carriage bolts to connect the landing for the steps and the side rails to those post so the bed can easily be disassembled and moved in the future. Finally I placed the steps themselves on a set of hinges so I could easily access the area underneath the landing if needed. This has the added bonus of allowing me to lock the steps in the up position to restrict access to the top bunk during visits with younger family and friends. Now just need to stain it, seal it, and put inside.

The play kitchen is the favorite play area at our house! The girls and their friends play here for hours and that includes our 11 year old and her friends too! If you haven't built this set yet, it is a must! Give yourself plenty of time to finish it if you're going to give it as a gift because for me, the building was the easy part! It's the finish work that takes FOREVER!

Adapted the original Queen plans to a King with a bed height of 27". Thanks for the original plans. Here are the adapted cuts to match the labeled photo:

Squared2 Headboard – King Size Cutlist for bed height of 27”

A - 2” x 2” x 76 ½”               x2

B - 2” x 2” x 61 ½”               x2

C - 2” x 4” x 76 ½”               x1

D - 2” x 2” x 18 ½”               x2

E - 2” x 4” x 18 ½”               x1

F - 1” x 2” x 11 1/16”                      x4

G - 1” x 2” x 19 ½”               x4

H - 1” x 2” x 12 ¼”               x12

I - 1” x 2” x 5 ½”                   x6

J - 1” x 2” x 5 7/8”                x12

K - 1” x 2” x 5 1/8”              x18     K* - (May need to be trimmed to 5”)

Lumber needed

2” x 2” x 8’                             x4

2” x 4” x 8’                             x1

1” x 2” x 8’                             x5

1” x 2” board cuts

My daughter needed a table and chairs for her room and we luckily ran across these fantastic plans. Thanks!

The plans were super simple, and I had it finished in about an hour (worked around the little's nap schedule).  I left it unfinished so that the recipient could paint it or stain it however she wanted.  It was so nice to see it built and the bedding dressed up before kids got to it.   :)  I will definitely build another for my own daughter as soon as she's old enough to have her own American Girl doll.

Modified to fit on an apartment balcony. Bench is 32 3/4 in. by 13 in. Made entirely of 1x3's

I took the plans and got a little creative with them. Really easy to build.

I really wanted to put a barn door in my husband's home office, but have you looked at the prices of the kits?  No way was I going to spend that for a door.  So I decided to fabricate it myself.  For the rail hardware- I used a 72" steel rod, copper pipe fittings, and lag screws.  For the door hardware, I used 12"ish, long pieces of steel, pulleys, and carriage bolts.

The door itself is made from plywood siding, 1 x 4's, 1 x 6's, and 1 x 3's.  The entire door and hardware cost around $80 to make myself.  It's functional and looks amazing!  The entire tutorial is up on my blog!

This was inspired by Ana's wall jewelry cabinet, but with a few changes.  I specifically wanted the long shaker style pegs so that I could hang several necklaces on each peg.  I also wanted an earring bar, and fashioned one out of an 1/8" brass rod (found on amazon), after experimenting with a few different options.  This particular option was small enough to easily hold the earrings, but sturdy enough to hold the weight.  To "cap off" the brass rod, I cut a few pieces off a thick dowel rod, and ran a drill through them. 

I've been using a bunch of FREE pallets on some projects here lately and decided to make the Reclaimed Wood Headboard with the pallet wood that I had. Every piece of wood came from pallets and it turned out pretty great. We're still undecided about if/how we want to stain it....but for now it's all natural'. I made mine a couple inches shorter then the plans called for and an inche or two narrower based on the measurements of our Full Size Bed. I documented this project as best as I could at: http://www.tommyandellie.com/Site/Home/Entries/2011/7/20_Entry_1.html

We pretty much followed the plan with the exception of making the legs 28" tall and then removing the middle bar and then adding two additional supports 4" higher than the lower ones and put them on the opposite sides as the lower one. It formed a ladder like thing which we wanted since this was for kids starting at age 3. I hope that makes sense it doesn't really sound right to me but anyways moving one. It was really fun to make these I made three for my older sister since the walmart specials that she bought were horrible and falling apart after a short amount of time. They were easy two do probably about a day of cutting and assembling and then a day of staining and polying however if you were only doing one then it would be a day project at most. My other tip is that after cutting all the pieces I sanded them which made it nice after putting the top on and not having to worry about if the parts in between the two pieces touching was sanded enough not to give the kids splinters. And the best part was that I got a new tool which I love, the Kreg pocket hole jig. It was fun. I did have some splitting on the test wood pieces (scraps from cutting pieces for the stool) so instead of having the aprons flush I used an old cd case under the apron and attached them that way it was close to center but no worries about splitting and was super easy to do.