Community Brag Posts

My homemade mother's day gift for my mother in law. She likes to sit in her living room looking out the big picture window at the birds eating at her birdfeeders. It's also a favorite passtime of my son who spends time there occasionally. What better gift than this! I wanted to do something a little less simple than the single "house" so I made the main one smaller, and then added two more houses to make bird townhouses.

My husband and I were on the search for a dining room table.  We loved the look of Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware but did not want to spend the money for it.  Then we came across the plans for this table.  We had already used Ana's plans for a Restoration Hardware coffee table that we loved, so figured we'd give this table a shot.  These pictures don't do this table enough justice.  My husband and I LOVE the plans and everything about this table!  It has so much detail and character as you would see from expensive stores. To top it off, we got it complete just in time for having our family over on Easter.  Thank you Ana for sharing this gorgeous plans! 

- Amber and Dave

The plans were very easy and the chair came together nicely and quickly.  I used all 2x4's instead of 2x4's + 2x6's and alternated 1x2's for dimension. My husband is a pretty big and tall guy and he really liked how the chair felt sitting in it. Very roomy for even him. I could've gotten this done in about an hour, except where I live it was about 110 degree dry heat so I had to take a lot of water breaks. But overall, I love the chair!!!

I just wanted you to see what a great Mother's Day gift your planter made. It was a great project for a 4 year old grandson!!!

Thanks, Ana

This was my second Anna project! I changed this one up quite a bit (size and style) so it would fit the area were I wanted to use it. I just love how it turned out!

The tiles were left over from my kitchen backsplash. They are inset so that they are practically flush with the wood on the top. 

Total cost: ~ $150.00 for the bar and 3 bar stools. 

We built the one arm sectional but 8 ft cedar was all we could buy. So with the scraps left over we built the coffee table to match. Couldn't be happier with it. 

This entire project was built with 3/4 MDF plywood. The lid is 3/4 MDF with sides routed for rounded edge for professional appearance. Inside the box are two friction hinges ( one on right and one one left) to support the lid.

On the bottom of toybox are four casters with mounting plates that attach to bottom. Two of the wheels have locks while 2 are 360 degree motion.

The paint is Signature Series and primer used is Kills high hiding low odor.

The letters on the front are 4 inch letters purchased from BIGLOTS. Holes were countersunk into the letters, screwed to front of toybox, and filled with wood filler.

I couldn't be happier with how this project turned out.

Just finished this table and am very pleased with how it came out. My original intention was for it to match the gray finish of the one posted with the plans, which it originally did. However, after applying several coats of polyurethane, it changed the color to bring out much more of the brown and now having very little gray. I was also originally planning on adding the hardware on the corners and legs, but decided that because of the way the finish turned out, it would detract more from the appearance than it would add. Just a tip for anyone who is going to try and use the same finishing treatment as the one in the original plan with the vinegar and steel wool. I made the mixture and let it sit in a mason jar, waiting for some visual change to occur to the solution so as to match the picture on the website. After letting it sit for about a week and a half, and not seeing any change and only having what appeared to be clear vinegar still in the jar, I decided to try it out on some scrap wood. It worked just fine. So I guess my point is that you shouldnt be surprised if the solution doesnt appear any different, just open the jar up and try it out.  

No more free range stuffed animals! We needed stuffed animal storage because they are bulky and keeping them in bins meant the one the kids wanted was always on the bottom. But none of us (my husband and I included) could manage to cull them.

I was inspired by the way Walmart contains their giant beach balls -- bungee cord verticals on a fixed frame. I was going to make it free standing til I saw the behind closet door storage plans. Perfect!

I made the frame and shelf from 1x4s because that was the depth of my doorframe -- 3.5 inches. It took (3) 1x4s @6' - One for each side and one cut for the top, bottom, and shelf/support.

I couldn't find bungee cord by the roll (should have checked Amazon first!), so I bought colored 1 inch wide elastic from JoAnns. Each 3 yard pkg cost $4. I needed 3, so that drove the price up. I cut them in half, and the 4.5' lengths have plenty of give on the 6' frame, so you could probably use standard 4' bungee cords from the box store.

I used my router to make the holes for the elastic. I used wooden toy wheels to keep the knotted elastic from being pulled through the holes. You could just drill holes, but my router was new and I wanted to practice with it.

The kids love putting their stuffed toys away now, and they can see all of them so they can pick the ones they want to play with rather than dumping them all out of a bin. I love it.

I've already decided to do the other door with the bottom half of the frame in elastic like this for costume storage, and the top half shelves. Thank you, Ana!

Fun project that the kids were able to help with.

I started with the Fancy Hall tree plan, but decided to add cubbies to the top. This is the first "real" thing I have ever made. I could only work on it every other week, so it took longer than expected. Thanks for the plans!!