Community Brag Posts

Small Table

I made this little table for my sister-in-law. She needed a specific size to fit in between some bookshelves. She is going to put a lovely fish bowl on top. It cost me about $10 for the wood and paint. I modified Ana's plans for the "simple, cheap and easy console table" to fit the space.

Estimated Cost
$5 for lumber, about $10 total with other materials.
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
I used Rustoleum Gloss Black paint/primer in one. Then I used minwax polycrylic.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Farmhouse Table soon to be desk

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 01/07/2016 - 06:32

I built a narrower version of the farmhouse table with a few modifications to be used as a temporary dining table, and eventual home schooling desk. I used 5/4 boards for the top and for the apron in order to get a smooth top and have a beefier support. I used a 4x4 for the cross brace with a half-lap to give more support to the stretcher and to stabilize the legs.

Estimated Cost
Under $100
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
A 50/50 mix of Minwax Provincial and Ipswich Pine, with two coats on the top and apron and only one on the legs. In the post it shows how much darker the legs were after the first coat of stain.
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Modern Farmhouse Queen

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 02/25/2023 - 18:59

We made the footboard a little taller, pattern was simple to follow and adjust to meet our needs.

Built from Plan(s)

Comments

Benjamin's Deck Chair

Built this for my 2 yr old son. It's adorable!
The only trouble we have is that when he climbs in it wants to tip forward, a weight or stake into the ground on the back cross brace would probably solve it.

Estimated Cost
Scraps!
Estimated Time Investment
An Hour or Two (0-2 Hours)
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

A Lovely Pair of Planters with Finials

Submitted by Shelly2215 on Fri, 10/25/2013 - 05:46

I wanted a fairly simple project to get started with, something I could make use of around my home and to help me get familiar with my new power tools - well, this project did the job nicely!
I'm extremely happy with the way the planters turned out and have already had other people asking me about them as they would like some too.
These planters worked out fairly expensive for me as the materials were extremely good quality and very heavy duty in size, I think I could get away with using slightly less robust materials to bring the costs down next time.
I had difficulty finding finials for the planters so I used some wooden turned eggs that I already had from my collection of pyrography blanks.
I can't wait for my next project now which will be a little more ambitious. I absolutely love Ana's website and can't wait to see what else I can make.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
£80 a pair (UK)
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Black Ash exterior wood paint from Culprinol.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

4x4 truss beam table

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 01/07/2016 - 22:01

Great instructions, easy weekend build. 

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$150
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Stain finish with hand rubbed wax sealer
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Fancy Jewelry Box built by my daughter and me

Submitted by wowmom_cs on Tue, 05/07/2019 - 09:25

My 10 year old daughter is always creating. She recently decided that she wanted to do a woodworking project with me. We started by searching online for a design that looked doable and came up with the Fancy Jewelry Box from the Ana White website.

We decided that using the full thickness of 1x stock gave the piece a bit more of a clunky look than we were after. And since I have a thickness plainer, we milled our stock down to just under 1/2”. But that meant that we had to rework many of the measurements on the plan. This also made the drawers deeper and wider. Which is nice. A happy mistake happened when, while rough cutting the individual pieces before milling them down, I inadvertently cut the pieces between the drawers too narrow. We ended up turning them 90 degrees which allowed them to fit. This is why you see the end grain on those pieces. But we like it.

We also altered the plan a bit so that the edges of the plywood on the faces of the drawers and doors do not show. We added a nice border to the top of the box with a curved router bit. We lined the drawers with felt and then added some dividers here and there using some scraps of oak which we sawed thin with a bandsaw.

The original plan was to paint the box, as opposed to staining it. It wasn't until after I had nailed on the top and the drawer fronts that my daughter decided she wanted to stain it. That's why you can see those nail holes!

We had such fun making this Jewelry box. 

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
I don't remember. Not much.
Estimated Time Investment
Week Long Project (20 Hours or More)
Finish Used
Stain and water based polyurethane. We used 2 coats of poly "sanding" it between coats with fine steel wool.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Pantry Shelf

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 03/04/2023 - 13:03

I have a small kitchen. I found this plan on Ana's site to turn it into a pantry shelf. Initially, I was going to have wheels. That way, I could roll it to sweep. I took measurements to match the height of my upper cabinets and width so my door would clear. I put this shelf up to the side on my fridge. I didn't account for the height difference adding wheels. I still can add wheels if I change my mind. I did differing spacing, considering spices and cereal boxes and items between. I haven't quite figured out the end placement for items. I also am considering appliances to be placed on the bottom. I purchased baskets and spice drawers so I can visually organize and see what works. I used odd and end prices of wood and adjusted the measurements to fit my space. I love my corner 2x4s! They are dark and once planes, have these dark brown ribbons revealing the growth rings. We think they might be brown treated boards. Some of the shelves have a darker brown edge, 5 total. I purposely wanted the dark edge facing out. But I didn't have enough so I used different looking boards (same thickness) and played around with assign them their spot. My friend had copper pipes laying around, so I used those in the back to stop my items from falling off the backside. I polyurethaned to keep the natural wood colors. I really love it and am excited to do more projects!!

Built from Plan(s)

Comments

Bella's bed

Submitted by EmuJane on Sun, 11/13/2011 - 15:25

Since my daughter loves to climb and was starting to get a gleam in her eye when it was time to get up from her naps, the time had come to give her a big girl bed. I'm not ready for her to be in the twin bed that we have because it's so high off the ground, so the toddler farmhouse bed is perfect for her. We did have to edit the plans for our crib mattress

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$70.00
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Minwax water-based stain in Vermont Maple, 2 coats Minwax Polycrylic, final coat of paste wax
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Ana White

Thu, 11/17/2011 - 01:02

So sorry for the tech problems. I can't wait to see your toddler farmhouse bed! If you send me images I will upload to the post. Thank you so much for taking your time to submit a brag post. Ana

Knockoffwood(at)gmail.com

Angie Overton

Sun, 04/14/2013 - 12:19

I've been looking to make a toddler bed for a friend and this is the perfect one. I like the headboard without the arch and I too need to be able to fit a crib mattress in it. Would you happen to have the dimensions that are needed for it to fit a crib mattress?

X-Large Dog Crate

Submitted by Sanna on Sat, 10/26/2013 - 21:19

Found these plans for the dog crate and decided to build one for my large Rottweiler. It's large and tall enough for him to stand in (29"W x 41"L x 32.5"H). It didn't take long to cut and put all the pieces together, the longest part was staining the top and putting the urethane coating on it. The cost was really reasonable, I purchased the wood, used paint and stain I already had from previous projects. I plan on building more projects soon.

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$50
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Black spray paint on body and Maroon latex paint for accent panels. Stained the top.
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

AllegraYazz

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 03:22

I would like to build the X large kennel for my dog.
is it possible to have the measurements for the X large version.
the large version is not big enough for my sweetie.

thank you so much

AllegraYazz

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 03:22

I would like to build the X large kennel for my dog.
is it possible to have the measurements for the X large version.
the large version is not big enough for my sweetie.

thank you so much

Fancy X Farmhouse Table

Submitted by rjgold on Fri, 05/10/2019 - 11:17

While mine is not as good as some of these projects I am pretty proud of it.   

I came some 12"x1"x18' (Actual size) redwood planks that were removed from the roof of a building here in town, built in 1876.  Essentially these were milled over 125 years ago.   You can still see the the blade marks.   I did not want to shorten the planks too much so I built this table, just made two frames.  I used rough redwood 2x4 and 2x6  for the frame.  I made it a little taller.

Its the highlight of the back yard, we have dinners out there regularly now

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$40 (I did not have to buy the top planks)
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
thompsons wood sealer
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

Cup tree inspired by Anna’s plans

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 03/12/2023 - 14:17

Used Anna’s cup tree plans for this project. Thank you Anna!

I’ve also successfully built a few of your beds. Your plans are always straightforward and easy to follow.

What you do is so appreciated!!!

Angel

Built from Plan(s)

Comments

Simple Play Kitchen

Submitted by kpcrash on Sun, 11/27/2011 - 15:36

This is based on the simple play kitchen plan from Ana. The burners are 'upcycled' from an old oven and the handles/'pan rack' are simply 3/4" dowel drilled out using a forstner bit and glued. The one thing I did do is use shellac as the finish. This is for my 2-year old who will of course still pick up a snack from wherever he left it and keep going. Shellac is non-toxic when dry (it's used on jelly beans after all), and polishes nicely. Was able to save quite a bit on this project (even though the plywood used was cabinet grade) by getting all of the hinges from the local ReStore - $1 a pound for hinges.

Estimated Cost
$60
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Polished Shellac
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Margaret Kubiszyn (not verified)

Mon, 11/28/2011 - 13:57

Great job - love that you recycled the old stove elements!

claydowling

Mon, 11/28/2011 - 14:51

Like the kitchen, and glad to see a fellow lover of amber shellac on here. Just a bit of advice, you don't want shellac as your top coat for a child's item. It tends to pick up dirt, and it's damaged by water.

Either an oil based or water borne polyurethane would be an ideal sealer coat. The water borne has the advantage of drying very quickly, especially if you wipe it on. Both finishes are non-toxic once dry (as are nearly all finishes). I recently had excellent luck with Varathane's products, which are available at Home Depot. It's sold as a floor finish (at which it excels), but it's generally useful. The floor finish has Aluminum Oxide added in, which is the grit on sand paper. Tough stuff, and it will stand up to whatever your kids do.

kpcrash

Tue, 11/29/2011 - 14:22

I typically do finishes for guitars and have had great success with waterborne lacquers such as KTM-9 or EM Coatings products, and highly considered using one of those on here.

Fireplace Insert

Submitted by SaraLodise on Mon, 10/28/2013 - 14:41

I almost jumped for joy when I ran across this pin on Ana's Pinterest board. Our fireplace is stained black and smells awful during low pressure weather. This project was actually one of my October Scrap Projects, but I felt it deserved it's own post. I had the left over wood and peg board, so all I had to buy was the foam insulation and bumpers.

We are still deciding if it needs stained or not, so let me know if any of you have an opinion. The darker pieces are 2x4 studs we salvaged when we took down our kitchen wall so they have a nice 40 year age to them.

Here is the link to the instructions: http://www.prettyhandygirl.com/2013/10/build-fireplace-insert-draft-sto…

Estimated Cost
$20
Estimated Time Investment
Afternoon Project (3-6 Hours)
Finish Used
none
Recommended Skill Level
Beginner

Comments

Val Manchuk

Mon, 10/28/2013 - 22:54

Hi Brittany,

Nice work! I think a rich stain color similar to the darker bricks would really tie everything together so that the insert and the white shelf don't compete with one another.

Val
artsybuildinglady.blogspot.ca

Conversation Set

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 03/19/2023 - 18:31

My husband built this conversation set during covid. Since then he has built so much stuff for our yard. More pics to follow.

Comments

$10 Book Tower

When looking for floating shelf book storage, I couldn't quite find what I was looking for. So, I built a simple box out of 2x6's, and drilled them straight into studs. I used a 10" width to take advantage of the perfect little unused space in my laundry room. Each cube holds roughly 10 hardback books, and with 3 4" screws into studs I don't think they're going anywhere!

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Cost
$10 for 4 shelves
Estimated Time Investment
An Hour or Two (0-2 Hours)
Finish Used
One coat of gloss black paint
Recommended Skill Level
Starter Project

Comments

Junior Loft Bed

Submitted by donerlinev on Fri, 11/01/2013 - 09:50

Built for our 10 year old son...Hard to get him to come down from his bed!

Estimated Cost
$125
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Rust-o-leum Ultra coat in Semi-gloss Jet Black
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Bench

Submitted by cheech on Thu, 06/06/2019 - 18:13

Lot of fun just purchased a pocket jig and first project can't wait to make another. Thanks for the plans 

Built from Plan(s)
Estimated Time Investment
Weekend Project (10-20 Hours)
Finish Used
Semi gloss white paint
Recommended Skill Level
Intermediate

Comments

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