Community Brag Posts
Doll Highchairs
I built 11 doll highchairs for my daughters 5th "Adopt A Baby" birthday party! These chairs were fast and easy to build and I had a BLAST painting them! The girls loved, loved, loved them! A little extreme for a 5 year old birthday party? Maybe. But definitely worth it!
Comments
Fri, 07/15/2011 - 05:13
Wow! That's a LOT of work!!!
Wow! That's a LOT of work!!! They turned out absolutely adorable, though.
My first big boy bed!
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So we couldnt find any bed we really wanted for my son, and this one was perfect.
I used the wood one step up from the whitewood at HD, which had too many knots for this, and was .75 more. Still had to pick thru the 2x4 and 2x6s but the quality of the wood was much better.
After seeing what another bragger posted, i raised the posts to 72" instead of 66", which allowed for an additional 2x6 at the top. The mattress stayed at the same height, but know i sleep better thinking he wont roll off.
Lesson learned from this: Sand the primer!!! i never knew to do that before in my life and wow, what a difference.
Painting Steps were:
Sand wood,
prime, ( Used Zissner BIN)
Sand primer with 220
Wipe with Tack cloth
Paint ( Used Behr Ultra White Semi Gloss and Behr Par Four Green Semi Gloss)
Sand lightly with 320 grit
wipe with Tack
Paint again.
The two end pieces and the deck were assembled in the garage, but the cross pieces and steps were built in the bedroom.
Im thinking of creating a mini gate where he climbs up just for sleeping that i could put in once he is in his bed to really prevent rolling... trust me.. he rolls everywhere. May be to the height of the top 2x4, halway the length of the opening, and use dowels or something.
Note the second picture didnt have the 2x6 ladder step installed yet.
Thanks Ana for the plans! My son never wants to leave the bed!
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Behr Par Four Green Semi gloss
Vintage Step Stool
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This is the 2nd step stool I built, the first was for my daughter and I just followed the plans. Built this for my friends son Hayden, decided to add the H for his name. It was a tag team build, I built it and painted it and my wife did the sanding, distressing and wax sealer.
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Comments
Big Red Buffet
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I was on a mission to find just the right buffet to house Grandma's china and infrequently used serving dishes. Countless searches in second hand stores, hours scouring Offer-up and Craigslist, and even some regretable purchases all led to the building of this magnificent buffet. I found a build plan for the planked wood sidboard, printed it and started in. I had always planned on painting it and wanted a rustic look so decided on budget friendly lumber. The frame and top of the unit is made from fir and the drawers and doors from pine. The door insets and the back of the unit is pine beadboard. The top and interior of the buffet is finished in GF Antique Walnut Gel Stain. I used a wipe-on polyurathane on the interior of the buffet and the inside of the drawers. I choose an amazing shade of red for the exterior of the buffet: GF Milk Paint in Holiday Red. It was my first experience with milk paint and it was a pleasure. It went on so smooth and brush-stroke free. After two coats of Holiday Red milk paint I applied a single coat of GF High Performance Top Coat in satin finish. This really enhanced the color of the Holiday Red and served as a base for a glaze application. I mixed the GF Antique Walnut Gel Stain with ten percent mineral spirits and glazed the entire buffet. I got into all the nooks, crannies and knots and left a thin coating on the face of the unit. I loved the buffet before the glaze, but now I was head over heals. The buffet was finally finished off with two coats of High Performance Top coat. Mission accomplished!
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Organizing My Little Boys!
I really needed an entry way system that was easy to corral all of my 3 boys shoes/coats/crap, etc. . . and I LOVED this plan! I messed up on the frame, so just left it off, and decided that I didn't need the back either. I painted little chalkboards on the side of each boys cubby.
I'm fairly certain that this isn't made perfectly, but it's perfect for us! This was my 2nd project and I'm really super psyched about it!
Leaner mirror
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This was made as a present my mom's birthday. I found a good sized mirror at the thrift shop which was perfect for the project. I adhered it to some plywood, added trim around it, bulked up the top and bottom with multiple layers and types of trim and added some crown molding to the top. The finish is "A Day at the Jewellers" by Valspar with a Red Mahogany stain/glaze over top.
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Ridge Media Console
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Project was a bit difficult but extremely rewarding when completed!! I followed Ana White's advice......"take a break and always finish your project!!!"
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Comments
Farmhouse style queen headboard
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Here's a queen headboard we just completed for our guest bedroom.
It only took an afternoon to build this simple yet stunning headboard, and then a little more time to paint, distress, and wax it.
More information is available on our site at FamousArtisan.com
Coop Update
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I had to move our original coop to another property, so decided to do a little upgrade. We used Ana's Chicken Run plan for both of the large sections and just added a roof. We attached the run to a small red coop that we purchased. Ana's plans are great for modifying for any size, as you can see the main tall portion is from her run plan just built taller and we added a door to the front.
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Adirondack side table ~ using recycled pallet wood
This was a very fun and one of the easiest projects I have made from Ana's plans! This makes me want to see if I can make matching chairs as well!
If you have seen my other projects, you know that I try to keep the lumber cost of my projects as close to free as possible. Living on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, pallets are not free, so I did have to pay $2 for each pallet, being VERY choosy about the slats being all the same size and straight. The hardest part of the project was taking the pallets apart! Check the blog link for more details.
I used 1 1/2 pallets for this project, and the following tools:
Jigsaw (to cut the ends off the pallet)
Pry-bar (to loosen the slats from the center of the pallet)
Miter saw
Drill
Table Saw (ripping the 2x4 sections of the pallet, to make the legs and spacers of the table)
Palm sander
Brilliant Red Acrylic by Benjamin Moore (also leftover)
I use the Gripper Grey primer/sealer on most outdoor projects because it is a nice one-coat sealer and great for underneath darker colors.
The Brilliant Red is an off-the-shelf color.
I would recommend removing and priming/painting the tabletop pieces separately(after assembly)so that you can assure great coverage between the slats, being careful to remember where each piece belongs.
Library Coffee Table with Reclaimed Barn Wood Top
Modified the plans to be only 3 drawers which saved on weight and hardware. Used reclaimed 100+ year old barn wood for the top, adding lots of character.
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Comments
Modified Beginner Farm Table and Bench
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Altered the Beginner Farm Table plans to use 2x8s for the top and 4x4s for the legs. I used pocket holes for the table. I followed the bench plans almost exactly, adjusting slightly for the 2x8 tops. I am a beginner and I did it myself! The table and bench are beautiful and sturdy! Thanks Ana!
Comments
Bedroom Dresser Cubbies / Media Stand
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This is inspired by pieces I've seen here, though I sketched it out on paper myself to make sure it would suit the limited space in our room. I built the simple piece to match our bed (made from Ana and her reader's plans, see my photos below).
Originally, I planned to include cabinet doors, but with the limited space we have, this is better for us.
For nightstands, I stained plain wooden crates I had in the basement. Still working on how to hide the cords.
The baskets under my bed are from Bed Bath Beyond. The baskets in the "dresser" are from Target.
Sorry about the poor photo quality.
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Comments
Wed, 07/27/2011 - 14:23
Don't fret -
I see that they all go together, and they look great! I'm especially loving that dresser, it is beautiful.
Sat, 12/10/2011 - 07:41
Plans
Sorry I haven't logged in in so long--the bed follows plans for the king Stratton, combined with the reclaimed wood headboard. The headboard is attached to the wall. We can slide the foot bench part out to hide presents behind, which is really handy (though heavy) to do.
My Ikea Lack Inspired Bookshelf
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This was my third project, but it is my favorite to date!
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2 Coats of poly acrylic
Comments
In reply to omg this is gorgeous!! you by Guest (not verified)
Fri, 09/30/2011 - 21:21
thanks!
thank you!
Wed, 04/04/2012 - 10:39
Love your bookcase
Love this - a little scared to try this project but going to give it a whirl. I also like the color you chose to finish it with.
simple stool
I shortened the legs to 20 inches and left the lower rung off.
It lives in the playroom and is just the right height for our sons desk.
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Media and Storage unit
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I followed the basic plans but adapted it to fit in my cabin. The whole unit is 82" high by 126" wide. I also put in more drawers and made the fronts in a shaker style. I used 2x4's that I ripped down to 2x2's and 3/4 inch birch plywood. I trimmed out the birch with 1" pine boards. I sanded the whole unit, primed with an oil primer and painted 2 coats of latex from General Paint in Grayling. I don't know how many hours I put into it. A lot. Probably around 80. Mostly by myself. My husband helped with getting the 4x8 sheets of plywood through the table saw and occaisonally when I needed a 3rd hand to pursuade some wood to do my bidding. I love how it turned out. Tons of much needed storage in my cabin.
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Comments
Mon, 10/12/2015 - 12:08
Impressive Build!
That looks fantastic, love all of the storage! Thanks for sharing!
Comments
Ana White Admin
Tue, 05/31/2022 - 14:33
Beautiful table!
Thank you for sharing, love the finish!