Community Brag Posts

Made in South Africa. Have a cutting list which takes into account our timber lengths.    I made it on my own on my dining room table. I did the tops and then transported it in a flat pack in my car to the farm (4 hour drive) and completed the assembly and placement there. I painted it with wood preservative before I started to ensure that it was all coated. As we were placing it on a covered veranda I stapled 100 micron black plastic to the base. It is perfect for outside as the lid ensures that all animals and other creatures are kept out of the sand. I used washed sand for the box as the kids using it are toddlers and it is a good idea to include bulk coarse salt to keep creepy crawlies out.

It is perfect for mommies to sit with their toddlers as the seats are a comfortable height!

I added black accent brackets to this project to give it a more unique feel. Love it!

Made these from plans found inside Ana's book. My wife loved them and so did my "little helper".

Using the daybed plan I modified the beds to hang supported by two walls. I mounted the bed to the wall into the studs using 5/16 GRK Rugged Structural Screws, and also used structural screws to attach all the framing supports. I originally tried to hang the unsupported side with rope from a lag thread screw eye in the wall stud and a lag eye bolt in the bed frame, but the rope had too much stretch and would not adequately hold the corner (as the rope stretched the weight on the corner pulled on the 2x4 wall support at an odd angle that would probably eventually break the frame). So, I found stainless steel uncoated wire rope, with the appropriate fasteners, and that seemed to hold well with less give on the corner. I was still a little uncomfortable with the amount of force pulling on the 2x4 center supports at the 2x4 wall brace so I also added 2x4 joist hangers on the center supports. The corner still moves slightly when I hang on it (I'm about 110lbs), but I have no doubt the bed will support the weight of my kids without issue. My 200lb husband got on it without any problems. The beds are straight forward  and cost-effective to make, you just have to be sure you mount them safely. Also, a tip for those of you planning on mounting the beds to a wall, mount the frame first and then screw on the decking boards...so much lighter and easier to work with that way!!

This is my first project. My husband was out one morning so i decided to try to figure out how to work his tools and create this dress up cabinet. I love the way it turned out and it was so easy! I am praying God will bless me with a little girl, so I made this for her--for I WALK BY FAITH not by SIGHT! Thanks Ana, your plans are amazing!

I was not able to get to this desk last year and thought my 15 year old teenage daughter had forgotten about it and was getting too old. Around Thanksgiving she made a comment with a sigh that it would never happen and she understood. I immediately went to work in the garage to have this ready on Christmas morning. She had no idea and was very surprised to find it near the Christmas tree!

Desk included a power strip with USB ports, an under the hutch light, magnet board & dry erase board w/ magnet markers to stick on the magnet board.

Thank you so much for putting these plans on-line.

I love this plan, it was easy to follow. 

I live in Israel, so had to translate to centimeters. 

I made the X from 2 full pieces, cutting a half width dado. Found it easier to assemble. 

Few minutes after placing it in the house front, a friend suggested buying it....

Thanks

My wife's Christmas present. I modified the Cabin Wide Dresser plan to include two extra bottom drawers. I also built the drawers without metal slides which made the drawers a little bigger. Technically, I need to finish this with some nylo-tape to make the drawers slide more smoothly. A similar style/size dresser made of solid wood was easily over $500, this cost less than $200 in materials and my boys were able to help out.

Very easy to build!! Looks great!

When I saw this, I knew it would be perfect for our mantle. I need to add photos to it, but I love it! I plan on changing things out for each season... I can see autumn photos of the kids hanging beside pressed leaves in the fall, christmas cards hanging here during the holidays, etc. So many possibilities. Very simple to make. Love it!

Well after completing the console table I decided to change the sizes a little and create an entry table and stain it to match my great great grandmothers mirror that we have. That mirror has to weigh 50lbs. It turned out great and I did sanding and staining before putting it together which saved a lot of time trying to get into all of the corners. Then just had to ploy and stain the edges of the top once finished.  

This is approximately half the width of the console table so calculations were fairly easy to figure out. 

I modified Anna's plans to make these heavy duty saw horses.

Let me first preface this by saying that the only similarity between my little creation here and the Craftsman Frame is the actual structure of the frame. I altered just about everything else about it, but since the idea was born with this plan I figured I would post it here! :)

A friend of mine just moved into her first apartment after graduating college and is quickly realizing she is in need of décor. For Valentine's Day, her boyfriend (a photographer) gave her a photo he had taken of the mountains in Colorado, a trip they had taken together earlier that year. The picture is absolutely stunning; the only problem is that it is a panoramic photo, measuring a whopping 18"x55". A quick Google search revealed that even a cheap poster frame with these dimensions would cost $110 at minimum; not to mention that it would have zero character. And a custom frame? psssh, don't even go there...this girl wants to decorate her apartment, but come on she still has to be able to afford groceries! :)

Anyway, as the new owner of a miter saw I saw an opportunity and I'm so glad she let me give it a go. We discussed the plans I had and ventured off to our local Lowe's. About 2 hours--and lots of laughs--later we walked out with all supplies in hand (who knew two girls in their young 20's could spend so much time at Lowe's?! We had a blast).

I loved the base idea of the Craftsman Frame, but since she doesn't have a lot of other décor yet (and isn't allowed to paint the walls of her rental), I really wanted this piece to be a focal point. She listened to my ideas like a trooper and, to my surprise loved every one of them. We thought about making a collage frame so she can display additional photos from this trip, but instead decided to frame only this photo and to use a 1x6" board (rather than a 1x2" as in the original plans) so she can use it as a shelf to for her other photos. Since this piece will be a focal point above her bed, I wanted it to look almost like the mantel of a fireplace, so we picked out some accent pieces to achieve this look on the sides (we really had no method to this; my only suggestion is to go wild and try things in the store that you normally wouldn't). We also purchased some LED lights (battery operated, since she doesn't have an outlet nearby) for ambient lighting. I wanted these to be as invisible as possible, so I fashioned holes in the top shelf for them to fit into!

Honestly, the toughest part of this project was finding glass large enough for my frame and making it fit. I had to call several local custom shops and was very pleased with the final result. (my sliced-up fingertips however, do have one suggestion to offer: if you get glass custom-cut...PLEASE make sure you are wearing gloves when inserting it into the frame--OUCH!) The original plans for this frame include just finding a way to attach the picture to the back side of the frame. Since I was using glass in this frame, I simply used a router to create a groove on the back side for the glass and photo to sit inside.

Overall, we are both thrilled with how this turned out! Time for my next challenge...

Salvaged from an old dock cart. The wood is rough hewn oak.

This was my first project with my daughter. After a divorce, I wanted something fun to do with my daughter-something where she would learn, have fun, and see a project from start to finish.

I did a lot of pre-cutting and prepping, but she did some cutting with a handsaw and mitre box, drilled holes with the Kreg jig, stained, used the nail gun, and glued. I installed the shingles, and touch up staining, but she did a lot of work for this project!

Since then, we have built a collapsible corral (fence) for her three horses, and next is the farmhouse bed for her doll!

Thank you for the great instructions, my daughter thinks I'm the greatest person on earth because of these projects!