Community Brag Posts

I really loved what brookifer86 did with the Rustic Bench plans here: http://ana-white.com/2011/03/rustic-bench-wedding-guestbook. When my daughter got engaged last fall, I knew that this would be a great wedding gift for the new couple.

It was helpful to read several times through her posts and followups. It took longer to come up with the name design than it did to build the bench, so give yourself plenty of lead time on this part. I was able to create the graphic in PowerPoint and enlarge it on my computer screen so that I could tape paper on the monitor and lightly trace the design for transfer to the bench. My husband suggested the addition of a princess crown over our daughter's name just for fun.

Thanks for the tip to use paint pens instead of markers. I made a sign at the reception with spare paper to alert people to shake the pens and give them a spot to test before writing on the bench.

I am doing a test with a spare painted board and the pens to make sure the application of the poly finish does not smear the signatures before sealing the signed bench.

Many thanks for the idea, Brooke, and thanks to Ana for the great bench plan!

Grill station

I added six inches to all vertical measurements for the headboard and footboard to make this bed a little taller.  

This bed was easy to build – this was my 5^th woodworking project ever.  It is however a BIG project in terms of size…I can carry the footboard by myself, but the headboard is a different story!  I used Jamison’s (from rogueengenieer.com) technique for attaching side rails.  My bed came out a little bit wide even though I sized down the width measurements to fit a king sized mattress used in the traditional orientation ( 76 inches wide by 80 inches long.)  Had I attached the rails on the insides of the 4/4 posts it would have been perfect, but I wanted to be able to break the bed down easily in case we move.  (We have a history of being semi-nomadic!)  I purchased the rail hardware off of amazon.  I also ended up using pocket holes to attach a 1x6 to the end of my top support board to keep the box springs from sliding up. 

 I LOVED the color of the feature bed on the California King Farm House plans, so I tried my best to match that.  I used a home right max sprayer for the primer, paint and polycrylic.  I hand applied the brown glaze with a sponge brush and wiped most of it away with old t-shirt rags.    I absolutely love the bed – it is super heavy and very sturdy!  Thanks Ana!

My daughter has a farmhouse themed room. This bed fits righting into the decor, with the sideboard forming part of a chicken coop that is painted over it.

I actually made 2 sets of these oars as wall decor for our cottage.  This is the second set - I love them!  The kids chose the numbers which are completely random :)

Outdoor sectional and coffee table.

After building my new coffee table, I needed new end tables to match! I love that I can store the little tables underneath, or use them around the room during a party. After the coffee table, these were a lot simpler to build, though took longer due to the fact that there are four of them!

My wife wanted a bench to put in the mudroom as a place to sit when you take off your boots in the winter. I came across this project on your website and decided to try to tackle it.

it turned out pretty good, in my opinion. Only a few small things learned. One, is that if you're changing the space of the gap from 1/4" to 1/8", the boards should be resized to accommodate the change. And/Or at the very least, put the boards on the outsides first and work your way in. Then, at the very least the sliver needed to fill in the gap would be in the middle. ☺

We love the final product, but can't say this is a beginner project! The plans aren't detailed enough for that. For instance, the only instructions on the stairs was "they are easy! just 45 degree angles" but we had to work through some strategy with them. It also didn't say how to attach the cleats just "we also attached the cleats in this step". What size screws? how many? We learned our lesson when the cleats and bedding came crashing down b/c we used 1.5 inch screws. Problem solved with 2.5 inch screws... but we sure are glad it was a soft landing.... And now I can't say I fully trust the design after watching my husband and two kids break it. However, it is sturdy enough for our 3 year old for certain! I'm glad we made it and over-all it was worth it and a great project and learning experience. Just wish the plans were made with more detail for true beginners! 

Grandma and I spent a couple months building this playhouse for our grandkids. The project took longer and cost more than we initially thought it might but we had a lot of fun doing it and it's a big hit with the kids.

We followed the plans on this blog pretty closely only changing a thing or two here and there. We used cedar for the deck and railing and we painted it (and roofed it) to match our house. We put in 1/4 inch tempered glass windows to keep the rain out in the winter. (The glass is easily removed for summer.)

Thank you Ana White for providing such a great little plan!

Made two 48" long cedar benches that could be carried down to the firepit in our yard. They're also nice for sitting on the deck and watching the dogs play. I had to use 3 - 2x6s for the seat instead of 2 - 2x8s since 2x6 was the largest I could get in cedar. Made it a little bit wider.

Thought I posted this last year, but I guess it didn't take ... and now I can't remember all of the details!  But anyway, I do know that this was the first project I made from Ana's book (a smaller version of Project #1), and a year later, I am still really pleased with it.  The shelves and hooks come in so handy, and the top provides another little surface to decorate!  I also made some wooden boxes for the shelves out of scrap pieces, as Ana did in the photo in the book, and stained them the same color as our floors.  Added our initials, too.  The whole thing is nice and sturdy, and fits right in at our house -- like we've always had this on the wall.  Thanks for the ideas, Ana!

I had just retired and wanted to make a playhouse for my 2 year old grand-daughter. I always wanted one as a kid and wanted to build one for my kids but never found the time.
This was made mostly out of scrap wood that couldn’t be used to build a house and I was lucky enough to get permission to take whatever I needed. Learned a lot doing it. Thanks to my boyfriend for letting me borrow his nailer.

We enlisted help from my brother-in-law to build the dollhouse for our daughter last Christmas. He also painted the floors, stairs, and roof. I spent many nights after the kids were in bed "wallpapering" the walls with various scrapbook paper.

I love this house and it's something that will last for many years. Even better, both of our daughters love it and so do their friends.

I started with the potting bench by Between Naps. I made it longer and taller (for my dad). There is a tool holder along one side and I added a sink, for washing the veggies newly harvested from our garden. We ran the water from our house faucet and will blow out water for winter. All that's left is running a pipe from the drain to leach out across the perimeter of the garden. Most of the lumber was given to me (pressure treated even). And I bought the sink from a junk guy for $50. My dad was so impressed and I think it may be my best present project ever. I can't believe I made that! Oh yeah, the end caps have solar lights, nighttime gardening! Ya never know!