Community Brag Posts

We have an Airbnb at a nearby lake. We built the large and kids picnic tables so our guests can enjoy the outdoors!!

I really wanted a place to sit down and take my shoes off when I got home. I don't have a large entryway, so the space was tight. I looked online for a bench that would fit the measurements, and found a few that looked good-- except for the price! Luckily I already knew about Ana White, so I came here in search of some plans and lo and behold she already had plans posted for the exact same bench I liked most from the catalogs!

I've used power tools before, but never actually *built* anything from scratch. I thought my boyfriend would help me with this (he's got woodworking experience), but I got tired of waiting for him to get around to it, so I just did it all by myself!

I first attempted to make this without a Kregg Jig, cause I didn't want to spend the money on it if I didn't need it. But it didn't take long to figure out that I needed it. So back to the store I went (found out the hard way that Lowes sells Kreggs but Home Depot does not, at least the ones near me). And holy cow it was SO WORTH IT!

I also got to buy a new sander for the project, cause the hand-me-down from my dad had a missing bit of the clamp that holds the sandpaper to the sander (kind of essential)
So all in all I spent more than the catalog price of the bench, but I will get to use the tools to build all sorts of fun stuff!!!

Thank you Anna! You empowered me to build exactly what I wanted and I LOVE IT!!!!

I put together the flower storage table and the thumb chairs during the week leading up to our daughter's first birthday party. With a lot of older toddlers/kids at the party, the table served as a perfect coloring station in our basement (as you can see from the mahem/aftermath photo below). In any event, as my daughter is about to turn two, she has really grown into using the table and chairs for completing her own arts and crafts projects.

Easy, fun great project that my husband and I did together. This project cost about $202, and I will take that price over the price that you would have to pay in the furniture store any day. We found some great wood at Lowe's that worked perfectly and gave it the "rustic" look that we like. Thanks Ana for the plans and sharing them with us.

I made these boxes with my dad one afternoon. We had a great time! We wanted our herbs to be close to the kitchen and still get plenty of sun, so attaching them to the deck railing was ideal. I made them out of timber decking with pocket holes, and attached them to the railing with metal brackets underneath.

I finished this a while back for my granddaughter. I modified the side rails so it could be disassembled and reassembled in her bedroom.
 

This table was built using the Vanessa's X Picnic Table plans but made plenty of modifications to it. We used 3/4 thick boards and made the table 60 inches long instead of 71 3/4". We have a small dining room and wanted a table big enough for four people so this size worked for us. Since we made adjustments to the length we used less supports under the table top. We made the table top using pocket holes and only two joists were needed. We added extra support between the table top and the stretcher because the table wiggled more than I wanted it to. This nipped the problem in the butt! I knew I wanted to build this table but my concern was finding chairs to suit the table. I ended up getting unfinished chairs from Ikea for $19 a piece and finished them myself. I feel like this project took forever, but that table itself was assembled in a weekend. The finishing process took an additional weekend since we had to do the chairs as well.

My husband built this Rustic X Console table to plan. We love it so much he is now building the coffee table and end tables to match (and I may convince him to build the bookcase too!)

My husband and I built a house doing all the work that we could. When we started the project, I told the men in my life they were going to build the kitchen cabinets. They were pretty adamant they weren't.  I started visiting with experienced cabinet makers. One kept repeating, "It's just a box. It's not that hard to build a box."  With that encouragement, I found Ana's website and set about learning woodworking. First I built a step stool for my grandson, next I built some shelves for the shop, then I built this vanity. After I finally got it finished, I called an experienced woodworker to build my kitchen cabinets. Ha! I will say though, when the appraiser came out, he commented on what a nice vanity it was! Thank you, Ana, for opening up a new world to me!!

This is the first thing I have ever made out of wood in my life! I'm a quilter, I have never even used a screwdriver, but I followed your plans exactly and made this for my grandchild! I am so proud of this sandbox. (I did talk the guy at Lowe's into making the woodcuts for me).
Thank you so much for this plan and thank you for making it so easy to follow. Sherry

Chairs for grandkids. They picked it their colors. 

Made the large porch swing and changed length to fit into porch space. Used rope to hang for more rustic look.
Note - next time will possibly used 2x6 for arm rest to allow for drink holder hole and possibly on framing instead of 2x4s. DIL and new grandson love it.

Tryde coffee table pattern with added magazine rack. We used pallet wood which was sanded but still retained it's rustic appearance. Dark walnut stain was used to finish!

I built four pieces of the sectional (1 corner, 3 reg) It took me a long weekend, I would come and go so actual hours are hard to estimate. For the stain I used steel wool and vinegar, followed up by strong black tea. Teak oil was used for the sealer. The second photo is a picture of one stained chair approx 30 mins after stain applied, the other one has no stain yet. The pillows I sewed myself, outdoor fabric is from Jo-anns (use the coupons!) and inserts are from ikea. The only large investment were the cushions! Pine Wood - FREE. My dad works for a lumber company. Outdoor fabric - Between $6 and $10 a yard Pillows - $3 for small, $6 for large Cushions - $29 each **my picture wont display correctly even though uploaded correctly!!!

There is 1x10 on the shopping list! This was the first cut to make and I realized no where does it say to grab a 1x10 board.  Other than that, the plans were great.  Definitely made some mistakes along the way but overall I am very pleased.  Thanks for the plans!