Community Brag Posts

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!

I built this for my daughters 3rd birthday. Because my wife works weekends i was only able to spare a few hours a day Monday-Friday. And because i did it in summer under the Texas heat it took longer than i would have liked. The flowers and birds came from Hobby Lobby. My daughter flipped out when she opened her room and saw it, as a father I've never felt prouder than to build this with my own 2 hands just for her.

Such a worthwhile build. I had to adjust the angles for the center/ interior dividers since these sit behind the front board. That causes the angles to be different.    I also used Luanne for the backing, installed locking wheels and handles. 

First Anna project, I needed a bench by the pool, so I did waterproof it, which is holding up well, and it's extremely nice even with my limited skills. Definately worth the time and sanding.
Things I learned, need to measure each cut out. I didn't, so my slats are not all the same length. Still works really good, but I should've measure, cut, measure, cut, because I didn't take into account the width of the blade. I wouldn't use so much wood filler. I really glopped it on there. The sanding and staining pre, good call.
I would've used 2 pieces of wood for each leg.
Well, next one. I've already learned so much from making it and had a great time making it. Can't wait to get started on the table to match!

Thisi s a bedside table that I made for my good friend Gayle for next to her log bed in her log cabin at Higgins Lake, MI

I built this bookshelf for my girlfriend, Julia over the course of two weekends.  The kreg jig helped a ton.  Staining, using the rubbed on polyurethane finish, and sanding down--plus all the drying time required--took the most time.  This is a very sturdy and finished-looking bookshelf plan.  Overall, the projectturned out nicely.

I loved the design of this planter and have been making wood quilts. This was a natural combination, incorporating a red, white & blue Americana quilt design into the front panel. The only modification I made was that the boards were 14" long instead of 15 3/4".  This way the 1x4 boards could create square sides. I also made the 2x2 corner posts 20" high.

My husband and I were able to put this together over the course of two weekend days. Then it took me an eternity to paint/finish it. But we love it now and so does our little girl!

Our version. Now covered by an offset umbrella.

Thanks for the plans Ana!

I stuck to the design but changed the dimensions to suit the space and the boxes we intend to store. This made the shelves 7.5 feet high by 8.5 feet wide. The timber was supplied in 17’ lengths so this also meant very little wastage. The frame is composed of 2x4’s, the shelves are 4.5 x 1.5’s  - as I wanted the shelves slightly shallower this meant I could get away with three boards for each shelf instead of 4 as on the plans. 

For the short cross pieces I used woodglue and screws – to attach the long shelf pieces I just used screws. I predrilled holes in the first piece for each of the screws, but I didn’t drill a pilot hole in the next piece, the screws were self-tapping and didn’t need one.

The back wall is concrete block and I screwed each upright to the wall using wall plugs and screws. I’ve 2 young children and as the shelves are quite high I was afraid they might climb on them and tip them over otherwise. The attachment to the wall definitely makes the whole thing feel much sturdier – the structure is completely rigid.

The only real issue I encountered was that some of the boards were slightly twisted or warped – and I had to apply some force to keep everything square when I was gluing up. Overall I’m very happy with the end product, and found it reasonably easy to put together. Now its time to put the shelves to good use and start tidying up the garage!

Very quick to do. I made a few modifications to the plans as you can see. I also stained the pieces before gluing and screwing together. My boys LOVE this one...

This was a first project choice when I needed to figure out what to do for some entry way furniture. Everything was so expensive in the stores and with my creative sense, I was influenced by the simplicity of some of the furniture featured at Hobby Lobby and told myself I could build that myself!! I looked through pinterest to gather ideas to build my own piece and came across a pin (hillary locker) and stumbled upon Ana-white.com where I found not only an inspiration but a whole how-to and blueprint to build with! Without counting the time spent trying to get home depot to cut all the pieces correctly the first time and chucking pieces with the saw blade they were cutting across the store almost hitting myself and my husband, saving up for the table saw so it would not happen again, and stopping to stay at my post as mom, I would say the project being worked on took 6-9 hours. there was a lot of stages like letting wood filler dry before sanding, letting primer and paint steps dry before continuing so it took time for stages. First project and time getting used to the new saw and kreg jig that I purchased but learned rapidly. I do suggest the kreg jig!!! It made the furniture so solid and professional. I suggest making sure the cuts are right on because it made the whole difference!