Community Brag Posts

Our daughter has a very small room. She also LOVES disney princesses. So I wanted to build her a princess castle bed.... but how do you fit a castle bed in a 9x11 bedroom?

There were some plans on Ana's site (good plans), and others on-line. But many of these plans had the bed on the TOP of the castle, and we were concerned with her trying to make her way down if she needed to in the middle of the night.

She also loves her Disney princess canopy bed that she has now... so if I could somehow build the castle around that bed, we'd be set. Which is exactly what we did.

I reviewed several pictures online, and then designed this bed with Sketchup (I LOVE that tool).

There is storage in the stairs, in the towers on the front down below, and in the back up on top. I also put rope lights inside around the ceiling over her bed for that 'Night light Princess glow."

There is also enough room on top for her bed if she wants to put it up there at some point in the future.

The idea for the decoration came from another poster who simply used the Vinyl Disney princess wall decals.

She loves it. Plus its big enough for daddy to read stories to her up in the loft at bedtime!

I've posted the plans on the sketchup warehouse... here is the link...

http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=65f7fb029052c660cb6c…

If you can't find it with that search the sketchup warehouse for 'castle bed.'

This was my first solo build project and my first time using a power saw. I was terrified but determined because I've been wanting to make these chairs for years. After failing to convince my husband to make them for me, I decided to make them myself and I am so glad that I did. I am so proud!

I fell in love with the fabric first (Premier Prints' Suzani Chocolate and a striped fabric called Veranda Chocolate for the bottom) and then picked a stain to match. I chose to reinforce the sling by sandwiching the outer fabric with a layer of heavy duck fabric. I also made pillows, which protect your head from that upper wood support.

Also, I ordered some special connecting bolts and nuts made by Rockler that someone else mentioned in their brag post. Unlike the hardware mentioned in the original plan, these bolts are flush with the frame on both the inside and out so the chairs can fold completely flat. Here are the links to them on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Statuary-Bronze-Connector-Bolts-8-Pack/dp/B001DT3…
http://www.amazon.com/Cap-Nuts-Connector-Bolts-pack/dp/B001DT3G9O/ref=p…

The inner frame did need slightly larger holes (3/8 inch, I believe) to accommodate the cap nuts.

This was a project I took on for my two daughters (5 and 2). I was pretty intense as I used the castle loft bed as my starting point. The drawbridge is fully functional, but I had to remove the black ropes as my kids were running around and tripping (safety hazard). I made the top large enough to house two small mattresses for the kids to sleep on. I made use of the space under the stairs and the slide by cutting out doors. This is a very large structure and is modular (front, towers (2x), stairs, slide, platform). They are all joined with some significant lag bolts and is sturdy enough to have my wife and I and both children up top. I have also mounted LED lights under the platform wired to a switch so that they can see at night. Overall, it has been a hit for my daughters and their friends. Thanks for the plans!

After being forced to sell my first build by an admirer, I decided to do another and distress it rather than stain it.  Turned out really nicely.

Dear Ana White: Please stop posting cool - “must do” projects on your website … you’re killing us.

After we saw Ana White’s posting for her pallet wall http://ana-white.com/2015/02/free_plans/pallet-wall-hgtv-saving-alaska , we knew we had to augment our guest bedroom with this concept.

Before we began this project, we really didn’t have any idea how expensive “rustic” was or how complex “random” could be.

Mostly, we used 1 type of reclaimed barn wood and stained it with 3 different colors as well as using the natural un-weathered side to add color contrast. For added variety, we used some leftover reclaimed barn wood from a previous project spattered throughout the design.

This was really a fun project. Barn wood is very forgiving and user – friendly. Each piece of barn wood is unique in itself, very much like a snowflake, from being weathered in the elements.

We finished the room off with closet sans door, picture frame & nightstand.

The GOOD news is that we are now out of reclaimed barn wood and we can’t build anything else.
Thanks, Ana! You have helped us make our guest bedroom a special place for our visitors.

Built this for one of my children for Christmas!

This is one of my favorite pieces on Ana's site. I knew the minute I laid eyes on it I had to build it. I hope you guys enjoy it half as much as I do.You can read the full details of the build at my blog here:

http://copycatcarpenter.blogspot.com

This is from Ana's Squared2 headboard plans. I made it for my Mom and she loves it. I adjusted the width to fit a full size bed by taking a few inches off each side. I found some right angle clamps at an estate sale that were invaluable in putting all this together. It would be very tricky getting everything just square and lined up with just regular clamps. I was worried about it being a little flimsy with all the small pieces, but it seems pretty sturdy.

My wife asked for a homemade votive candle holder for the holidays. Searching online, I found that the general design concept is a board with holes in a straight line. Since the desired design is for a holiday centerpiece on a table, I chose an octagon shape. We think it turned out very nice! My kids even gave it a "that's pretty cool" which is an upgrade over their comments on my previous projects :). 

I was inspired to try this after reading all the comments and being discouraged by the high price and poor quality of commercial sandboxes. We followed the instructions and it was super easy! I'm a complete novice, so if I can do it, anybody can.

After cutting the wood and sanding it, it only took about three hours to assemble the sand box. I then primed and painted it the next day taking about 3-4 hours. We also attached a landscaping barrier to the bottom with a staple gun to prevent weeds from growing through the sand. We used 10 bags (50 lbs) of play sand, but you could get by with less.

So far, it's been a big hit with my three-year-old son.

This was my very first project wood building project. I was very pleased with how it turned out. It's not perfect, but I have learned some tricks for my next project.

I wanted the older look, so the top planks are all boards cut from pallets (not very easy to take the pallets apart). The rest of the wood was purchased, with the legs cut from treated wood.

All parts were coated in 2-3 coats of spar varnish.

Skill level, I would say is intermediate, with the lining up all of the separate boards and the pocket holes making it a little harder than beginner project, in my mind. BUT, remember that is coming from someone who has never built anything.

Time was a little longer because of using the wood from the pallets. Removal from the pallets was difficult and time consuming. The boards then required extensive sanding, and then several coats of spar varnish before building to be sure that ALL surfaces were covered, since the wood was not treated.

Very glad that I did it. I like the imperfect top (most of it), with the nail heads down the middle (not functional, just kept them from the skids), and the worn top.

I completed the project myself, with a little help from my dad at the end, putting the legs on. Just using screws didn't sound strong enough, and the bolt locations were a little tricky with the locations of the pocket holes on the inside.

Plan to make a bench, next, but maybe not the matching one. I think a project with fewer cuts and attachments is next in my future.

This was a time intensive gift made for the husband for Christmas.  Found a really cool Mars Map that's in print here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/387457074/mars-map-8x8-letterpress-redwhit…
That we saw in store at the amazing Boys Fort in Portland.  Decided it might be cool to make a wood wall hanging from it, and woodburn the image.  

Traced image onto wood with graphite paper, then took versatool from Michael's and woodburned for the next 20,000 hours : )  It was a ton of work, but in the end, a completely one of a kind, personalized gift that I know he'll love on his office wall.  Real conversation piece.  Cool stuff!

It’s not done yet, but I wanted to share my coffee table with y’all. I made it with the same proportions as Ana’s fancy x kitchen table just 3ft wide and 16 inches high. It’s going to be the same finish as Ana’s too. Dark walnut with satin polyurethane.