Community Brag Posts

I didn't really use any of the construction techniques from the plan, but I got the idea based on seeing the platform feeder. I used spare wood (with routed trim already on it) that matched my bathroom, and made the cats a nicer looking feeder (one that they couldn't keep knocking to the floor and breaking!). The tile is mounted on cement hardibacker board, which is attached to the 3/4" wood platform. I used a zip saw to cut out the circles in the wood and the cement board (with the appropriate drill bit). I used a tile nipper to form the tile around the bowl opening. I added several coats of varnish to finish.

I used the Subway Tile Bookshelf plans and made it 74" total in height. Each of the bottom 4 shelves measured 14" and the top one was about 18" (I forget exact measurement). Instead of putting the plywood on two of the boxes, I switched it up and placed them on 4 boxes.

Love the plans and concept. Thanks!

This project took me about 8 hours from start to finish over 3 days. I can't buy 4X4's here (unless they are treated or made of cedar ($25) or $60 each at the specialty store) so I made the legs out of 1x4's that I ripped down and then did a bevel edge and glued and nailed with my 23 gauge nailer so that they look like posts. I just followed the directions after that. I used little L brackets to secure the top instead of the figure 8 brackets in the plans. They worked fine. I also didn't put in the cross pieces. I tested the top without them and it was really solid so I didn't see a need for them. I wouldn't recommend cutting everything ahead of time like they say to do in the plans. Nothing ever works our perfect with wood so it's better to cut as you go to get the perfect measurement. For example, the end pieces of the top we supposed to be cut to 21". I needed to cut to 21 1/16th. It doesn't sound like much but when you are then trimming the whole top out with 1x2's it is really noticeable if everything doesn't line up.  I sanded as I went.  I find it much easier to do it as I go then trying to get all the nooks and crannies when it's all put together.  I also stained and put on the poly before it was completley together.  I did the frame seperate from the top and the bottom shelf slats.  Once everything dried I put it together.  It's hard to do sometimes because I just want to get the piece together as fast as possible but it is actually quicker in the long run if you sand and stain along the way.

It will go at my rental house at the lake. I tried it out at my home. I don't need a coffee table but I may have a hard time letting it go. I really love how it turned out.

Husband built the loft bed plans for our oldest daughter. She said this was he was the best dad in the world!

A few notes on our build:
- we wanted to keep the center section open for a wider display by deleting the middle upright

- if using barn door slider kits, you need to take into account the recess and height of these. Recommend either building up the top as we did with layering more boards in a stepped fashion, or going with 1x6 for full clearance.
we dressed up the sides by adding a cross brace. I found a double door kit on Amazon for $125. I now have a spare rail for future project.

- the top was finished from walnut

Overall pretty easy build, and first time spraying paint through HVLP sprayer. Thank you for the plans and ideas!

We couldn't be happier with our outdoor lounge, and the plans for the 2x4 sofa and chair couldn't have been easier. Most of all, I'm so proud to have been able to make this myself! Thank you Ana!

My father in law and I built this kitchen set for my two daughters, ages 3 yrs and 9 months. It was so fun to work with my father in law. I have built a few things before (table, chairs, doll bed, etc.) but nothing of this quality or magnitude. He is a great woodworker and knows how to do all the neat finishing touches that just make the project look really professional. I learned a ton working with him and had a blast!
I was inspired by Ana's kitchen sets and used a combo of then and the Lowes plans and I was very happy with how it turned out. I changed a few things: put two doors under the sink, made "gas" burners instead of "electric", used half the sink cabinet top for the sink and left the other half for counter space, added a clock to the stove, made the oven door open down.
The sink is a food service warming pan 1/4 size and the faucet came from Wal-Mart for $10. I will probably replace it with a nicer one from the ReStore when I get a chance
Break down of costs:
Lumber: $100
Hinges and pulls: $40
Paint and primer: $45
Burners: $20
Sink: $24

Took a 3 day weekend to put this together. We used biscuit joiner so that we wouldn't have any gaps in the top. Left the back open so our consoles could breath in their little spots. Modified the plans so it's only 4 foot long and fits perfectly under our TV.

Loved building this headboard for my daughter's bed.  She loves it!

This is my first completed project from Ana's website!! I used a 1x3 around the picture and then a 1x2 for the trim. I bought a corner clamp to hold the corners together while I nailed.
The picture I made it for is 17" x 14 1/4" so I just took off 1/4" all the way around the picture to measure the length and width of the frame.

I think it turned out pretty good, but there were a few things that didn't turn out as planned. I didn't wipe up the glue that seeped out of the cracks good enough, and so my stain has a few "unstained" areas. Also, my last piece of trim didn't fit very well, so I had to cut another one that fit better.

Since this is my first project, I'm pretty proud of the way it turned out :)

Kids Stool. Not the hardest project, but a fun one.

I am so happy with how the paint job turned out. Did the support boards yellow to look like his utility belt. And the Leg have accented Blue like his gloves/boots.

My wife painted the logo on after tracing the pattern. She did an amazing job.

The top isn't one piece, because I didnt have a thick enough piece that was 13" in diameter. So its actually three boards from an old pallet, glued and pocket hole screwed together.

I found this table on Pinterest and wanted to "knock it off." I figured out my angles and used the table saw to bevel the edges of the wood. In the blog post, I explain how I would have done a couple things differently if I could do it over, but overall, the project turned out really well. Once the angles are figured out (I did that work for you), it really isn't too difficult. And it makes a great statement piece. All for about $25 in lumber. :)

So, this project started out years ago with my oldest daughter. She was in daycare and frequently came home with her latest drawing or art. I wanted to make something from her art that would be a gift for mom and the grandmothers. Mother’s Day was coming up soon and we needed inspiration. Her mother said that she would like a ring post to keep jewellery on her dresser top so we came up with this. 

First we outlined the daughter’s hand and about 3 inches of wrist on a piece of white paper. (We had a similar example from Thanksgiving, the daughter brought home her hand outline on a paper plate decorated as a turkey). Took our outline to the printer and photocopied it. One of the nice things about a photocopy is you can place it face down on a piece of wood, then use a hot iron (cotton setting) and iron the image onto the wood. 

Once the image was transferred, we cut it out on the bandsaw, then sanded all the rough edges. As my daughter was very young, I did the bandsaw work and she did the sanding. Once the hand was ready, we needed a base which we found in the scrap bin. We cut out about a 3 1/2” circle and using the wrist end of the hand, we marked and cut a notch for the hand to be glued to the base. We cut it off-center to allow room for a message to mom. We found a local guy who could engrave a message make us a brass tag for our base.  The tag was large enough to engrave the child’s name below the Mother’s day message helped to identify the sweet little hand that made the gift. 

Again, more sanding and fitting the notch to match the sweet little wrist followed by staining and finishing. 

We left the hand natural and used wipe-on polyurethane (2-3 coats), then glued everything together with a piece of felt for the bottom. It was pretty tough keeping the project a secret until Mother’s Day, but somehow we managed. The grandmothers and mom loved their new ring post which has a place of honor on their dressers. 

Fast forward 30 years. My son is a kindergarten teacher with a class of 20 or so looking for a great project for Mother’s day and this is what we did. It took a bit of work to get everything ready so the kids just had sanding to do. Attached are some pictures of the ring posts dry fitted and ready for the kids to finish. 

Can’t keep secrets from home in daycare, but you can have great surprises. All the moms love their new ring post and all the kids are proud of their work. Since the completion of this project, we think we have a great idea to adapt it for a dad gift as well.