Community Brag Posts

When my wife and I bought our new house, our little apartment-size table looked dumb in our new dining room. With the help of Ana White's plans, my first ever building project was a great success. The project took some extra time because I was doing it by myself in the afternoons and whenever I found the chance. The plans were for a 9ft table and matching bench, but our dining room wasn't quite that big. I shaved about 14 inches off the length and planed the boards for a flat surface (making the table and bench slightly narrower.) As an absolute amateur, I cannot stress how important the use of the Kreg Jig was for this project! With a little bit of patience, love, and faith in yourself, you can do anything you put your mind to. I am so honored to have built the table at which my children will grow up sitting. Thank you, Ana White!

What a great little feeder! I didn't put mine in the window yet, because the screens are on for the summer. I screwed a metal flange into the bottom of the bird feed then screwed a metal pipe into the flange. Then put it in the ground under the window.  I'll add the suction cups and put it in the window in the fall.  I love watching the birds!

I made this awesome step stool for my daughter to be able to reach things a little bit better. It works perfectly. And the heart adds the perfect touch, don't you think?

fun to make!

I love Ana's plan for lockers!  This project is so rewarding and was very straight forward to build.  I added a fourth locker and a shoe bench to accomodate my children.  I also added a toekick behind the face frame so things won't get lost underneath.   Instead of using 1 x 12's, I ripped plywood into 4 equal strips.  They came out to be slightly less than 12 inches each as you have to account for the saw blade.  Each locker has three hooks, a place for shoes, and a bin for winter gear.  I made the fabric bins and bench cushion following online tutorials.  I set the hooks according to the height of my children, so even my youngest can hang up her things.  This project took me about a week and a half to complete, including the sewing portion.  It is very sturdy and the 1x4's along the back allowed me to attach the unit to several wall studs.  I placed the 1x4's(with hooks) low enough that the heavy backpacks will also have the shelf for support.    The shoe bench measures 48" in length at the longest point.  It is the same depth as the locker unit and fits perfectly behind the locker face frame.  Thank you so much for your wonderful plan!

This was our first project. The directions were easy to follow. We used wood screws to put this project together as I do not have a nail gun. My five year old was in charge of the electric screwdriver. I just used 1 peice of wood for the table top and diagonally screwed into it from the bottom. It took us a few days to complete as when you are working with a little one, everything takes quite a bit longer. This was the perfect project for us to work on together! My husband requested a table to put next to the hottub so he could put his drink on it, but I don't want this to move outside! Maybe I'll have to make another one. :)

I used the "how to build" from the Shepherd Kitchen Island plan to help me create my own dimensions for this bar... 60" long, 24" deep, 35" high.  It has a space on the left for an under counter ice maker and the wine rack is built in inside the right hand cabinet.  

The counter top is plywood covered with a sheet of zinc I bought from rotometals.  Fairly easy to do after watching their videos on how to apply and how to patina.

I felt a little bold deviating from the plans when this was my first project.  But I saw another version of this desk with the breadboard ends, and I really appreciated the added craftsmanship this gave off.  Other than the top, I followed the plans to a T.  For the top, I made this from 2x6's with the 4 lengthwise pieces cut to 61" and the ends to 22" (I think I ended up trimming the ends down to match better, but 22 was a good starting point).  As for the finish, I layered stains starting with Minwax's Classic Grey followed by Minwax's Jacobean.  I made two of these desks to put in our home office.  If I think of it once the office is complete and decorated, I'll add another pic!

We went exactly as planned in the Build a Toybox outline, but bought 12x1 instead of 16x1. This caused a problem when we started putting it together. The two short sides were taller than the long sides. We decided to make lemons from lemonade and turn it into a toolbox/toybox, and in the end really liked the result. We added an additional cut with 1.5" holes on either side and a 1.5" diameter 36" long dowel rod for the handle. We added casters to the bottom and poof! done. Fun project! We made it for our soon to be nephew and filled with gifts for the baby shower.

Farmhouse dining room table built for my mom. Unstained.

Table top is 2" White Pine Boards, legs are cedar, and everything else is whitewood studs. Left the leg assemblies and stretcher board unattached for the two hour transport to Charlotte.  Attached them with screws and some glue upon arrival. Loved the plan and finished in two days!