Community Brag Posts

I followed the plans exactly, and added the headboard at my daughter's request. My brother recently tore down an old fence, and I pulled this gate out from under a brush pile. I strengthened it with lots of screws and cut each side to bring it down to the same width as the bed. The whole project cost me somewhere around $150-160 because I literally had nothing but a drill. I had to buy everything from screws to nails to wood conditioner, etc. Not bad for a truly "from-scratch" project.

This was my second-built project after finding Ana's wonderful site - the first being the Rustic-X coffee table.  After learning how to use a miter saw, jig saw and kreg pocket hole jig for the first time by watching Ana's video tutorials as well as several others available on the web, I built up the confidence to attempt a media console for my three video-gaming boys. 

I pieced together a design plan for the console using the general design of Ana's Apothecary Console Plan, together with the incredibly helpful plans and instructions detailed on 2Crafty4myskirt.blogspot.com.  Kind of like mixing together pieces of different recipes, I was able to create a design that had the length of Ana's console, plus 2Crafty's wonderfull side-storage doors for all of the boy's video games.

As set forth in detail below, I used Ralph Lauren's Carbon paint for the entire unit, and Minwax Red Chesnut Wood finish to distress the edges.  I used Pecan Minwax Polyshades Stain & Polurethane for the table top.  One of the most helpful pieces of advice from 2Crafty was to leave attachment of the back and top of the unit until they are separately painted and stained.

I finished the false fronts with antique copper (bronze) cabinet label holders (2 1/2") which I purchased online at D. Lawless Hardware online.

As a beginner, I had a steep learning curve in learning how the tools worked (safely), and so it took me about 40 hours all in to finish the project.  While my sons helped along the way, my husband didn't actually set eyes on the project until it was complete.   He was stunned at how beautiful it was - and that I had in fact created what he calls the "center-piece" of our family room from a pile of lumber purchased at Home Depot.  He is full of helpful suggestions of what I should make next!

Thank you Ana for providing me with the tools, skills and confidence to produce a piece of furniture that I am very proud to point to and say "I did that!"

We were given this fireplace insert and need something to house it. After searching the web, we decided that Ana's faux fireplace design was our best option. We modified the measurements to fit our needs and added a wood stained top to serve as our "mantle". We are thrilled with how it turned it!

Ana's $10 ledges. In Colorado, they cost just a couple bucks more at $13. Thank you, Ana, for helping me see just how easy these shelfs really are!

This is a miniature version of the Man Crate, measuring 6” x 6” x 4 ¾” tall, made from 1/2" and 1/4" scrap birch plywood, with added hinges to make a lift-up top. 

This is going to be a gift - - I’m going to send it filled with candy.  

The girls and I are all in! We just started our build for the Playhouse Loft Bed. Wish us luck!

AlphaPilot

Reclaimed wood desk top for a Geek Desk stand.

This was my first build of this Rustic X Coffee Table and I really liked how it turned out! This one was modified to 43" long, same height and width. I love all the Rustic X pieces in this collection! They have been a favorite.

I finished the table using black tea, steel wool and vinegar, followed by Minwax's Dark Walnut stain and topped off with a Satin oil-based Polyurethane.

To see my other projects, make sure to visit my facebook page (only after you have spent enough time on Ana's site!)
www.facebook.com/simplyrustik

Needed a small table for the nursery and this was perfect! 

I zigzag stitched vintage neckties to plain canvas and used these directions to construct the stool frame. I used 1 5/8" screws.

Based this wagon on plans found on Ana White's site. I built this for a 2 year old girl of a co-worker. She is right now using it to pull around her dolls.

Sliding barn door tv console. Created the metal hardware from aluminum i bought from home depot ($80)

A while back I saw some posts on how to convert Ikea furniture into a litter box hider, which I thought was a great idea. Then I stumbled across the "Shanty-2-Chic" blog and the Kentwood Nightstand (and then of course Ana's site). I LOVED the stand and thought it'd be great to modify that plan into a bench version, so I could hide the litter box. I loosely followed the original plans and modified them to suite the dimensions of the litter box. I also wanted a lid that would lift so I could easily clean the litter box. I also cut a hole in one end so the cats could get in and out. I loved the look of the door on the Nightstand version, so I made two to fit the bench shape. I made one door first, then re-measured for the other door so that they would fit perfectly (good thing I did as the second one ended up needing to be a little longer than the other). In the photos I haven't added the bottom of the box yet, but I'll use L-brackets, attach leftover 1x3 as a border, then lay down old ikea shelves I had kicking around. The shelves will actually work out quite well as they have a laminate finish - making it easier to clean. I have a little carpet square to lay in there are well to catch the litter before the cats walk out. I intend to get a cushion for the top, so that my guests can sit on it when we're hanging out in the kitchen. I won't tell them they're sitting on top of the litter box :) Over all the project took me a really long time, but that was partly because I didn't have all the right tools, was often working in my living room (due to rain and working late at night), and I'm super anal about measuring! I'm really really happy with the way it turned out! P.S I bought the $20 Kreg Jig and must say that I LOVE that thing.

I built this closet system for our basement gym as a Christmas present to my boyfriend.  He loved it!

I stained all of the boards before building as suggested in the plan - it definitely saved a lot of time and stress.  After cutting and staining, and I brought all of the pieces downstairs to build.  

The actual building went relatively quickly, but without perfectly straight boards, the shelves themselves were a little tricky.  I also just nailed the shelf boards down with wood glue rather than screwing them in to save time - it's still sturdy and secure.

The length of the closet is about 8 feet long, so the middle shelf is about 1 foot and the two rod shelves are about 3.5 feet long.

This was pretty easy and inexpensive to make.  I'm going to make the coffee table this weekend, but converting it to a chest with a lift top.  Purchased some cantilever hinges for that on Amazon for about $35.  Will post pics of that once it's done.  Sorry the photos came out sideways....They keep uploading that way even though they are right side up on my iPad......

I was told about the site from my neighbor. Little did I know I would find myself wanting to build everything on this site. So I started with the 6 cube bookshelf leaving out the dividers on top to allow the kids to use it as a bookshelf. I also wanted them to have a place to store their dress up clothes when they weren't in them. So, I turned the 6 cube bookshelf on its side and added a couple of inches to allow for small dress up outfits. I am going to put the storage bins in the squares once I find some.