Community Brag Posts

My 5 year old grandson, Trevor, came for an overnight and we worked on building Ana's Big Kids' Picnic Table. Grandpa cut the boards the day before and Trev easily helped me drill all the holes and place the screws, then painted the table his favorite color. He was so excited to have built something so useful that he could take to his home and share with his new step-siblings.

This project took about 3 hours with painting, but was really easy to follow. Trev enjoyed learning how to use the drill safely, wearing his own work gloves and safety glasses and learning the art of painting! It was the PERFECT project for the two of us to keep us busy.

Thanks for another great plan Ana!

We made the woven back bench this weekend for our front porch. We modified the back to not have the bend in it, and we added supports to the slats underneath as we felt it needed that. It was a great plan and we love the end result of the bench! One tip, if you make, you'll actually need TWO 1x4x8's even though the supply list says you'll only need one. We used the kreg jig a lot on this project. Highly recommend this plan! Bonus, it only cost about $25 for the wood for this project!

We picked up a couple 14.9" square plastic garden planters from Home Depot and ended up creating some wood planter boxes from pallet wood for them to sit in. 

I didn't add up the cost of these boxes, because we had most of the wood and only needed a few pieces, but I'd say they were definitely less than $10 a box. 

We altered our dimensions to fit our HD planters so they would slip in for a snug fit and made the legs flush with the top of our sides. We build a simple frame for the top, which allowed the lip of our HD planters to sit firmly on top. 

Something I didn't do, but wish I did: fill in the cracks with wood filler.  There were a couple places that really could have used it, but I was in a rush and decided to skip it.  They turned out great, but could have been even better had I taken an extra 30 minutes.  On an off weekend, we are going to use wood filler in the seams, sand them down, and do a second coat of white paint. 

Can't wait to plant these with some mums for Fall! :)

When I first saw Ana's $10 ledges - I knew I wanted to do them, with a twist. I have this random nook in my house - and I knew they would be perfect. I wanted a feature wall there. And a feature it is.

I posted more pictures and how I framed everything out on my blog.

Thank you Ana for your continued inspiration! I wouldn't have been able to do any of it without you!

I changed up the plan by making 3 pedestals, adding drawer slides and creating flute work on the pedestals.

I built this cabinet as a Christmas present for my mom, but life got in the way and I just got around to finishing it this week. It didn't helo that I was just learning my way around a Kreg Jig when I started this project. I used 1x12 dimensional lumber from lowes, and went with the cheap stuff. Looking back I would have just splurged on purebond 3/4" plywood because the boarda would have been smoother but at the time I didn't have my rip cut saw attachment. Instead of the euro secretary hinges I used short pieces of chain attached with eye screws for the drop down door, and I like the look and ease of the rustic black hinges versus the euro style for the doors. 

This was my first ever attempt at making something real out of wood. I've only made some really basic floating coat hangars and docorative rustic pieces to set around peoples houses and a spice rack. I really wanted more of a challenge and this was a perfect place to start. I had to purchase the Kreg Jig and a couple of large clamps but once I got the hang of drilling and filling pocket holes it was smooth sailing. 

The Mrs then finished it off with some lovely rustic baskets and a serving tray with all the latest Southern Living magazines.

We've been looking for some saddle back stools for quite a while that would fit snug under our kitchen island. I couldn't find any, so I checked Ana-White and found the perfect building plan. I used scraps to build two matching stools and so I altered the plans to fit what I had. Other then the dimensions being different, I also used a 2x12" piece of wood cut down to 9x15" for the stool top.

I've documented the process as best as I could at; http://www.tommyandellie.com/Site/Home/Entries/2011/6/13_More_Seating_f…

We adapted these plans to build our tree house, I hope it's not too much of a stretch for brag posts! Every kid seems to have two wishes: a fort or tree house and a secret passage way. Or is it just my kids? Turns out we live in the desert and trees are hard to come by. Our solution? Build a tree house in the house. Why not!? Our magic tree house is well used and well loved. This is one of those projects that simmered and in my mind trying to think of the perfect way to build the thing. The stuff our parents built and played in was a hodge podge of left over wood and their own creations, crooked construction and messy paint. So, I set the perfect aside and dove in. The only things our tree house really needs to be is safe and fun. Most families try to find indoor activities for the winter, but in the desert it is so blazing hot we need indoor retreats in the summer. This tree house is the solution a gagillion times over! Thank you Ana!

I worked with a local charity group in my area as well as Home Depot, who donated the wood to make a set of bunk beds for a family in need who all shared a room.  It was great to help them out and the kiddos were super stoaked to have bunk beds and something special they could call their own!

Here are two table pedestal bases I made for a friend.  These are made from standard 2x8s (I could have used 2x6s, but I wanted enough extra to cut off the rounded corners), 1x6s and 1x3s.

More pictures are available on our blog here: http://famousartisan.com/hand-made-table-pedestal-bases/

My first build! I tore apart two old pallets to get the surface boards for the table. The skirting is 1 x 6's from the hardware store. I need larger casters but am saving up for the real vintage ones.

This is the second farmhouse table that we have built but we modified it to fit the needs of our "clients" (my parents). This was a gift for my dad made to be an outdoor prep table/kitchen island. This was the project that would NEVER END! We built it originally and decided that it was just too tall. So, we shortened the legs, put it back together, finished it, loaded it and then SMASH! the darn thing flew out of the back of our truck! So we re-pocket holed, did our best to fix the table top and put it back together once again. We built this thing 3 times! But now it is happily home on my parent's patio and enjoying its new life.

Finish: Driftwood stain, lime wax, miniwax finishing paste wax.

Cost: $15 Most everything was scrap we only had to buy a 2x4 and a 4x4 for the legs.

Cushions are from Pier 1; Seat 25" by 25" by 4"; Back cushions 25" by 18". You can't make your own for less than end-of-season sale prices. Trust me, I tried. Foam is expensive. 

About the plans: I did add a second back support because I turned the slat flat for a more comfortable back seat.  

Princess loft bed

This was a fun, easy and inexpensive project. Ana's instructions are very easy to follow. I modified her plan, only slightly, by adding 1X6 to the arms of the chairs, as well, I added a 1X2 cap to the top back of the chair. I also built four (4) accent tables (not stained yet) and a bench. Now I have a great set of outdoor furniture for my deck!