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

We loved the look of the farmhouse table, and I actually helped a friend build an even bigger version for his house a couple years ago. But we needed a smaller version for our new house. So with some minor alterations, we got an awesome table and bench that fits our space. The whole thing was about 150 for hardware and lumber and finish. 

modified all 3 plans to sizes I needed

We needed a mini kitchen for our guest cottage and the Grandy console was the perfect fit.  I adjusted the shelf height to fit a mini fridge and microwave.  Love it!

Sofa Arm Table

'The Swede in Norway

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. ☺

     My husband and father-in-law built this crib over many weekends. They decided against using pine since it is soft. Instead they used maple and the materials cost far more than the $50-100 estimate. The finished project is beautiful and is lovingly referred to as the bomb shelter because it is so sturdy and heavy. 

     They made it so the mattress could be raised and lowered as well as easily converted into a toddler bed. They used the crib mattress as a starting point to adjust the plans to ensure there would be no gaps between the sides of the crib and the mattress. 

      They used a router to put a dado at the top and bottom of the sides so the slats fit into the slot instead of just butting against the top of the rail in order to minimize the number of nail holes and create a nicer fit. They used one solid piece of maple plywood at the ends of the crib because there is a lot of temperature variation where we live resulting in a lot of expansion and contraction and they wanted to make sure that didn't cause any gaps.  

First time using live edge, Wood and creating a feature wall. Happy with this outcome.

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.

built this table off these plans! I did a distressed bottom with chalk paint as well! Love the way it turned out! 

Your plans were great. Followed exactly except I opted to use pressure treated wood. 1x3 is not available for pressure treated wood so I used all 1x4s in place of 1x3. Turned out great. Donating 6 of these to a zoo near me for their lemurs.

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!

We wanted this beautiful bed for a guest room, but the room was a little small to have the large four posts so I modified it to make all 4 posts shorter - but otherwise the plans are the same. I used miniwax dark walnut stain and 2 coats spray polyurethane, followed by light 220 sanding and then 1 coat paint on semi-gloss polyurethane. I also lightly distressed the wood prior to staining with chisels, screws, hammering etc.