Community Brag Posts

Kids Tree Fort

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 05/31/2020 - 09:27

Built a fort for the boys with two climbing walls, a spot for their toys, and added some hammock swings

Estimated Cost
~$600
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
No stain, left natural
Recommended Skill Level
Advanced

Headboard and nightstands

Submitted by kabm99 on Sun, 06/01/2014 - 14:33

I made this headboard a year ago and it was my first Ana White project. I finally got around to making the nightstands last weekend and I just adore them. My guest room is finally complete!

Estimated Cost
Unsure since part of it was built last year
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Minwax Dark Walnut with Polyurethane (satin)
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Playhouse Loft Bed with stairs

This was my first major project I built from this site. I would say that I am a beginner builder with only a little experience building small things. This was my first big project and I built it piece by piece over the course of a few months. This was my 4 year old's birthday gift. I bought my first Kreg Jig Jr. (I already want the master system!) and got a lot of confidence by doing this project. It was pretty straight forward, although the painting and sanding took way longer than I thought! I pretty much stuck to the plans and did not change much. The only thing I did was add hand hole cut outs on the stairs and I chose not to cut out a side window because that side was against a wall anyways. I am SO excited about this project and will be posting MANY MORE builds from here.

Estimated Cost
$250
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Sand entire project. Primer coat followed by waterbased paint. I used a spray gun with many light coats.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Will (not verified)

Sun, 10/21/2012 - 22:14

Great job dude! I bet your daughter loves it. I am going to start building one for my nephews this week, hopefully it looks half as good as yours!

Three birdhouses

Submitted by Maribel on Mon, 07/07/2014 - 08:15

Our first plan from Ana White. It was really easy to follow and this was a fun project to do with the children. We used pine wood because it was cheaper than cedar, so we will try to not put them directly under the rain.

We were able to make two birdhouses in removing .25 inch in one birdhouse. We used wood we already had for the third one.

We let the children added some details to the birdhouses. Because of the birds we want to attract here, one hole is 1.25 inch and the other two are 1.5 inch.

Estimated Cost
$1.50 per birdhouse for wood
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
The children applied acrylic paint and we will add varnish before to put them outside.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Crib Mattress Porch Swing

This is s porch swing I made to go in my front sitting room. I re-purposed my sons old crib mattress. It definitely gives the front room the "wow" factor.

Estimated Cost
$40.00
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Jacobean by Minwax
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

REASMOM

Fri, 08/15/2014 - 16:09

I love it! I had never thought of re-using a crib mattress, might have to give this a try :)

Fancy Desk

Submitted by CEC on Mon, 08/17/2020 - 18:11

Needed new desks for remote learning and working from home. Easy to build and we love them. This is 1 out of 2.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
60/ desk

Modified Farmhouse Desk

Submitted by AhmaNaz on Thu, 09/17/2020 - 10:04

Desk for my sis, build on out of state visit. Left raw for her to finish. The X was a character builder as I only had my circular saw and my first time but decent enough lol

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Raw
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Cedar Compost Bins

Submitted by AmyJM on Fri, 12/07/2012 - 18:27

For this project, I used 6 foot cedar fence posts and 8 foot cedar 2x4s. I used a pencil to space the boards and allow extra air flow. More space between boards is acceptable - even to the extent of dropping off one full board and putting an inch between each side rail.

Another option is to make your sides interlocking layers, one or two boards high - http://cedarstackingcompostbin.blogspot.com/

Since I am composting large amounts of leaves and grass clippings, mine is made in one piece. I don't turn my pile often - when I do, I can either lift the whole thing up or move the pile from side to side. I cut the 2x8x8 posts - cut a 3 foot length off of each end. Save the 2 foot center piece to brace the long sides. Affix your 1/2 (3 foot side) and full fence (6 foot side) boards to the 2x4, leaving the desired gap between each board. Affix each board with 2 weather proof screws - I used coated deck screws.

Attach the vertical posts to the inside of the cedar fence boards, including the short 2 foot boards that are just long enough to brace the long sides. I alternated the dog eared sides, so that each corner had one flat and one notched board.

I used 24 cedar fence posts and 16 feet of cedar 2x4. Note, I was able to do this all along. The trash cans acted as supports - no clamps or saw horses needed.

Estimated Cost
$70
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Light sanding, no stain
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Comments

AmyJM

Fri, 12/07/2012 - 18:43

This is a little heavy when finished. I can easily flip it over to turn the compost, but after building it and tiring my arms out with the cutting and drilling, it was a long haul to the back yard to position it. You might be happy with a 3x3 bin, in which case, I suggest making it 1 board shorter and leaving wider spaces - if you think through the math, you can probably get it down to 10-12 cedar fence posts and 1 longer 2x4. Cost would be about $35 that way - cheaper than most compost bins.

Pallet wood potting bench.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 10/04/2020 - 19:34

Thank you Ana for the great plans! We adapted the project for wood we had on hand. It is only 40 inches wide instead of 42”. Our widest pallet board was only 40”.
Thank you for continuing to inspire us! We made two couches a couple of months ago. Great plans!

Estimated Cost
Box of screws!
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
Potting bench.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

54" Bench with Cross Bracing

Submitted by Johno1826 on Fri, 11/06/2020 - 11:50

54" Bench with Cross Bracing, used the plans on this site, plans were great, easy to follow. I used a 2 x 12 for the bench top to give it more heft. I think it looks better than a 1 x 12.
On to the next plan.

Estimated Cost
$50
Finish Used
3 to 1 mixture of Early American & Espresso stain with a touch of Barn Red stain.
Put 3 coats of General Finishes Arm-R-Seal Satin
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Farmhouse Table

Submitted by JillianD on Wed, 01/09/2013 - 16:05

Calling myself an amateur builder is a colossal overstatement. I’ve never actually built anything, by hand, using wood. I’m quite crafty and very good at hacking things inspired by others {thank you all other bloggers and Pinterest for your continued inspiration}, but to actually build something from the ground up just hasn’t been added to the curriculum vitae…until now.

I actually hail from a family of handy builders. My grandpa used to build everything, from decorative shelves and stools to more utilitarian items, like bookcases and kitchen cabinets. My father, too, is quite handy; he’s the build-a-back-deck weekend warrior type.

This was my first Weekend Warrior project. My deadline: Thanksgiving dinner! I had no other table option. I either built this table or my friends and family were eating on the floor.

Estimated Cost
$150
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
weathered oak stain
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Juanita_r

Thu, 01/10/2013 - 12:56

Just wanted to say (apart from "i love the table") that your story has inspired me to finally jump in. i too am like you, never physically built anything with wood, but have done some revamps and have done a ton of other crafts (i too would like to thank pinterest). reading what you said has just given me that finally push!!! Thanku

JillianD

Thu, 01/10/2013 - 17:14

Hi Juanita! Yay, I'm so glad. It really was a fun and empowering project. I can't tell you how many people looked at me like I was crazy, but a little patience and elbow grease can go a long, long way! Good luck and I can't wait to see the finished project.

rhettar

Sat, 01/19/2013 - 04:53

You did a great job! I love the finish you chose. Isn't it amazing when you think you can't do something and then when you finish it, you're like wow I did that! Ana's site has inspired me so much and I love to see that she has inspired so many others and to see the beautiful things they are making with their own two hands. Again awesome job and beautiful table!

Children's Chair

Submitted by Mable Burt on Thu, 01/31/2013 - 16:20

I enjoyed making this chair. Even though I am a beginner at wood work, it really was easy to make and the instructions were very clear. I made it for my daughter. She will be 3 years old in May and she loves it. Our next project is making her a table to go with the chair. Thanx for sharing the plan

Estimated Cost
$6
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
White Rust-oleum painter's touch Ultra cover 2x coverage, semi gloss spray paint. I stained the ages with Minwax wood finish dark walnut and I distressed it with vaseline. After the stain was dry, I put some vaseline on the edges of the chair then spray painted it. Once the paint was dry, I used sand paper until I got my desired look (got this idea from shanty-2-chic)
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Kitchen Island with Trash Bin

Well this was definitely the most challenging so far because we decided to modify the kitchen island plans to incoporate the tilt out trash bin. Very pleased with the results. Extended the back of the island to accomodate a 11" deep trash bin. Slim trash cans fit perfect. Found a gift wrapping bin for half price after Christmas and it is a perfect fit and 13 gallon bags fit great.

The x's were definitely a challenge because it changed the angles and it would have been best to just mark it with the board before finishing the whole box. 

Now we just need to paint the cabinets and change the countertops and paint the kitchen walls. Not happening anytime soon, but at least the island is done.

Estimated Cost
$120 approximately - This included some hardware.
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Used dark walnut stain for top, drawers, and underneath slats.
Did a very minimum distressing to edges of the turquoise pieces.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Farm house 4x4 table & bench

Submitted by charchav on Tue, 02/23/2021 - 10:07

I loved making this, I’m totally in love with the color it turn into. Thanks Ana

Comments

Farmhouse bench

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 04/06/2017 - 19:11

This built was easy with Ana white blue prints I used 2x10 for the top and also made the matching bench.

thanks Ana white 

Estimated Cost
200 for both table and bench
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Minwax wood finish weathered oak 270
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Family Project & Entertainment Center

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 03/08/2021 - 16:30

My son and daughter in law had an unpurposed room in their home and wanted to turn it into a play area for their three kids. She came to me with an idea and it turned into their Christmas present. 8' tall and 140" wide. Now the kids don't want to come out of the room. Papa and Mimi helping them make memories

Comments

2 Cubbies

Did so many "firsts" with this project. My daughter/grandsons moved in just before Christmas. They needed space for their toys in their bedroom. Soooo, without tools, or paintbrushes, or..... anything, I opened my mouth and out came the words - I can make them some cubbies!

These took me 10 days to build, because I had to keep running to the store to get tools, paint, screws, circular saw.....

Then I decided to make a cut out at the bottom, tried to use a hand tool, chucked it, went to the store and purchased a jig saw. Completely happy with how little time it took!

I figured out the bottom shelf was missing from the cut list/shopping list. I made a ton of mistakes, figured out how to fix them, and am pleased with my first project.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Acrylic Paint
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

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