Community Brag Posts

My husband and I made this for our boys last spring, while we were still in our old house. It's a modification of Ana' loft bed, with stairs that I drafted myself, a smaller version of Ana's flat bookshelf at the top, and a modification of Ana's dresser bookshelf from the cabin collection underneath. It has tons of storage and a tunnel/hiding spot that goes under the back step all the way through the dresser bookshelf. My boys loved this, and it made a huge difference in their room. Oh Ana, where would I be without you? Thanks for the great plans and inspiration.

Oh, and if you want to see more pictures including before and after shots of the boys room, check out my blog.

http://theelusivebobbin.blogspot.com/2012/03/finding-space-aka-boys-roo…

After my 6-month old daughter outgrew, or just got tired of sitting in her bouncy seat on the table while Mommy and Daddy ate, I decided to build her a high chair. I loved the plans and it looked pretty easy. It took me longer than expected, but I was using scraps and trying to be efficient with my cuts and waste. After making the chair, my wife said it'd be nice if we painted it Minnie Mouse themed, so I cut the ears using the jigsaw and attached them with pocket holes. I could have just made them as part of the chair (the back piece) but the idea didn't come until after the chair was complete. To make the ears, I just used a compass and quite a bit of an eraser. I used grid lines and tried and retried and retried and retried until it looked almost Minnie Mouse-ish. I was going to try a bow, but didn't want to to ruin it. I'd also like to try to inlay a bow, but that would mean not being able to paint it so that was a no go. I haven't added the safety straps yet, but I have them and will be putting them on before she sits in it--so no need to call social services.

I spent a Saturday gathering supplies and building this headboard. It was a great plan. I did not have any reclaimed wood available so I went out and bought some new wood then I stained it. We absolutely love the way the stain turned out!

Made this media center for a DIY TV show at my home and I think I'm proudest of this project!  It turned out so beautifully.  Shelf pin jig was used for movable shelves inside, ORB handles and knobs, a very smooth poly'd top, and plenty of room for our components.  The doors were the hardest part.  Being inset, they just didn't want to fit and would scrape the frame.  Lots of repositioning of the hinges.  The thick acrylic for the doors was a little difficult as well- it cut easily enough in the table saw, but screwing in threatened breakage.  It was also hard to fit them where their fasteners didn't compete with the knobs or shelves.  I also made the TV stand to match the media center (and because I didn't want to buy one!)  Love this project!

Garden Shed out of douglas wood

i added wooden floor .

So in late December 2011, I asked my son if he was ready for his big boy bed. I had found a bed in a PBK catalogue that I loved. There was no way I could afford or justify the $1400 price tag plus tax and shipping so I had ventured onto ana-white.com and found a suitable option instead. His response to my question was, "No." Queue the Price Is Right losing sound. So, I waited.

Sure enough, six months later, he tells me. "Mommy, I want you to build me my big boy bed now." I lit up with excitement. So I logged onto this wonderful website and began to search through the loft beds for the original plan. When the list of loft beds popped up, my heart almost stopped. It was June 2012 and there IT was. Posted in May 2012, the PBK clubhouse bed of my dreams! I was beyond excited. I knew that Ana wouldn't let me down!

I printed out the list and told the hubby to get the truck we were headed to my favorite blue store. Now, I have never built ANYTHING in my life, but I had drooled over enough plans on this site to know that Ana wouldn't lead me astray. So, a few hundred dollars later in lumber, we pull into the drive way with all I needed to get started. My wonderful husband unloaded everything and began organizing the garage. When I saw he was done, I said, "Thanks babe, now can you watch A while I get started on all the cuts." I saw his heart break. He thought he would be making the bed. He had no idea, that my intentions were to do this on my own. (I have OCD and my husband does NOT and we have a crooked fence to prove it)

So in one night I made all the cuts and assembled the ends of the bed! Happy Dances!

The next day, I assembled the front and back of the clubhouse and it was standing tall in my garage that night. I was fortunate to have a great baby sitter Saturday and Sunday.

While this project could have been finished in two to three weekends, I (well, my son) chose July for this build which is not so smart so the sanding and painting had to wait until the cooler evening and night hours. Eventually, I had to set it up in my living room to paint it (I spray painted the primer on outside and sanded that before bringing it in). Once I did that, two coats of blue and white, a two full coats of the finish and the bed was DONE!

My three year-old was so proud of his new digs and he told everyone he showed, "My mommy built that for me, all by herself!" Talk about one of the sweetest things I've ever heard, praise from a three year-old.

P.S. We removed the cardboard from under the feet after the curing period for the finish. It was dry, but to be safe (my OCD) I put the cardboard there for a week. I didn't want the feet to get stuck to the carpet under the weight of the bed.

Totally enjoyed making this for my very first brand new step-grandson Luca.  Learned a few new tricks along the way and had a blast!  

Added a fourth seat to the sectional peice. This way it fills the space on my deck much better. Plans worked great. Both peices

completed in under 3 hours. 

First piece of furniture built with my new kreg jig.

This is my version of the pallet inspired coat rack. I didn't have the room for the 8-foot version in the original plans so I cut it down to 5 feet. Otherwise it follows the plans as listed, just with shorter cuts.

Stain is dark walnut.

We have a very small laundry room that does triple duty as a dog kennel and mud room. This riser is a perfect storage solution! The fact that I can see directly to the back of the Washer, and transfer clothes without bending over, is an added bonus! The building plans are sturdy and easy to follow!

I needed a set of bedside tables and decided to build my own. Using a Pottery Barn Hudson table as the inspiration, I made these 2 tables. They are very similar to Ana's Farmhouse Bedside Tables. I have more details on how these were made from inexpensive plywood on my website. Enjoy!

My Brother and I have always wanted to craft furniture and this piece was our first project. We took our time and really payed attention to details. We're pretty proud of how it turned out. It was a challenge but a whole lot of fun.

Although I didn't exactly follow your steps, I got a few great ideas from your blog post. Thanks for sharing!

I used the plans for the $10 garden boxes, except I made my boxes 4' by 8'. It was very easy (only my third project) and came out perfectly!

Had some bronze legs off an old coffee table.  Used the two shorter end pieces to try to make an antique looking piece to go with a white metal framed bed in a guest room.

Stained and then painted and sanded back to give a weathered and antique look.

Have said a week long project just because of the time waiting between coats.

Farmhouse table bench