Community Brag Posts

With lots of deer, rabbits, coyotes, and the occasional bear, garden enclosures are a must in our area (although I am not sure they will really help if a bear decides they're interested in our food). As our old garden enclosure was falling down due to the high winds and a quite a few winters in upstate New York, my mom found a horseshoe shaped garden with rasied beds that she loved. So, after searching around for a good plan, I found Ana White's collaboration with Home Depot for this enclosure.

While the original plan was far too small for our needs, I was able to expand the length of the enclosure creating enough room to add two small beds on either side of the door and a center bed, which is perfect for herbs. The build was not difficult as I was able to do most of it by myself (with the exception of contructing the frame and attaching the door) and I am sure this would go much quicker with an extra set of hands. As I did not have a large chunk of time to devote to this project, it did take me quite some time stretched over a few weeks. Nonetheless, I am very happy with how it turned out.

After construction, my family got a little garden happy and decided we wanted to plant even more vegetables than we had originally planned. So, we created a much simpler but nonetheless less pest-proof enclosure for two more beds to the left of our original project (shown in the photos).

Although this was an expensive project (exact price is unkown), it is quite sturdy and we expect it to last a long time and provide lots of vegetables. We added some hanging baskets for decoration and decided next year we will add some morning glories around the outside corners for some extra shade during the afternoons. Some minor alterations also included a latch that allows us to open and close the door from both sides, we actually picked up a gate latch kit for this part of the project, and using welded wire fencing instead of chicken wire. While the welded wire added to the cost, it will hold up better to the wind and snow and is still protective enough to keep out our main predators.

Thanks so much for the plans Ana! In the begining, our neighbors joked we were building a guest house :). I have included some photos from throughout the build as well.

Shiplap fireplace and distressed mantle.

Tina

I have been searching for plans for a great end table that would look good in my living rroom when I canme across this plan! So i got cutting and building and this was the result . I am very happy with it and although its not perfect I learned a lot while building it and cant wait to start my next project! I thought with the angles and bevels in this project it would be a great precurssor to makign the benchwright dining table which is on my to-do list . Im glad I made this table first because now i will prevent some mistakes when making the dining table. The table wet together pretty quickly but the finishing took quite a while as I had to wait 2 hours inbetween each coat of lacquer.

Increased the 15.5" sides to 16.25" to fit the 32x16 pad I bought for a shower gift and it worked perfectly. Finish (all minwax) started with ebony stain, wiped of immediately, followed by layers of stain/poly mix in satin (each one thinner than the last) of Bombay Mahogany, Tutor, and then Espreso. Great plan, Ana.

This took me 4 days to sand (by hand), prime and paint so daddy and papa to put together the bed she's always wanted.

Built a fireplace using Mimi's Faux Mantle plans - I think it turned out great!

Built from Purebond plywood because I can't find straight boards in bigger sizes in my area (EVER!) and used fir 1x's for everything else.

Finished with three coats of Behr paint/primer in ultra white. I will not buy Behr again. Personal preference.

I tried this as my first ever project after going through different plans and technique. I did great (I think :-) ) until end and think i screwed up with staining. There is dried glue left on the surafce which i thought i sanded but appeared as soon as i stained.

Feed back / comments on the design and please suggest a way to fix the staining issue.

I built this doll crib for a girl we are helping make Christmas special for this year. It's all materials I had on hand (thanks scrap pile!). I love how it turned out. Loosely based on the fancy doll crib plans.

A lady I work with at Driscoll Children's Hospital is giving birth this week to a boy. Instead of the traditional gifts I thought he should have an airplane and the Plane Old Shelf caught my fancy.

I made a couple of minor additions to the design with the addition of the traditional red and green navigation or running lights on the wing tips and a bright yellow axle. The wheels, cowling, and buttons are from Hobby Lobby. I took a small piece of bass wood, soaked and bent it and then let it dry overnight to form the propeller.

In South Texas the color scheme means something. The wing tips,tail, and cowling of the single engine trainers the want-a-be Navy pilots fly carry this color. They are everywhere.

Made two tables with my sister in less than six hours! During this time we also went to the store, took many breaks and even ate lunch! A fun project that develops tons of confidence :) Made out of pine, used 3" steel casters, stained in espresso, and didn't use wood glue. Ate sushi on them tonight! Also.....a perfect table for sitting on the floor and coloring, using a lap-top, or toss some pillows on it for a sleepy pup. Super neat!

We moved into a new house with exposed dark beams and white railings. Plus, we were gifted a new white couch, so the wife wanted a new coffee table. I loved this project and decided to do it a little different and try the dual finish look to go with our furnishings and house. We love the finished product. Assembly was a snap. As always, the staining and clear coat step took the longest.

DIY Workbench

I built a regular table, then added half inch plywood to the top. Once the plywood was screwed and secured, I began tiling. I glued the tile down, waited 24 to cure then grouted!! I added aluminum trim to finish the top. I used Ceadar to make the legs only and used pressure treated for the rest.

We used Ana's "Simple Lounge Chair" plan, used a few pallet boards with some scrap lumber we had laying around in the garage, and made an awesome patio set for less than $75! The only cost we had was in fabric for the cushions, which was an added embellishment we chose to do We purchased pillows from a local thrift store, and even a couple at a local garage sale for $2 each... added our own special flare to make it match the fabric, and wahlah!

Your saw horse plan worked great for a wooden boat project I'm doing -- the 3" wheels (with one locking) enable me to move the boat around the workshop or even outdoors for heavy duty sanding. 

I added blocks of 2x4 to the legs for more surface for the wheels and I extended the cross pieces to 4-feet long as the old AuSable River (MI) guide boat is about 40" wide.

I made these toy boxes for my two grandsons for Christmas. They have been laser etched with their names and a special note on the inside of the top lid. "Always remember you are braver than you believe, Stronger than you seem, Smarter than you think and Loved more than you will ever know. Love Papa and Lita.

Last year, I found these plans and with the help of my brother we modified them so they could be used with or with out cushions and to add storage underneath the day bed. I found the cushions on clearance from Crate and Barrell and managed to get them all for around $250. I finally finished staining the furniture this past weekend and thought I would share the finished result. The shade is a $8 curtain that we stretched across the top. We have had a lot of good times using this furniture!!

Excellent plans and a great build! We had a blast and LOVE our new table that will go in our new house once built.

We have now stained the benches but have not taken any photos. We also added the brackets shown in the photos.