Community Brag Posts

I just swooned when Ana posted her Tab-top curtain tutorial! I decided right then and there I'd be tackling all of the window treatment-less windows in my new home using her instructions. I'm no whiz on the sewing machine but I couldn't be happier with the way my curtains turned out!! No joke, if I can do this, so can you!!

I made the green shelf in my living room all by myself a couple years ago from Ana's Painter's Ladder Shelf plans. :-) It used to be red but I refinished it to match the decorating scheme in my new house. I love how everywhere you look in my home you see some piece of furniture or project that came about as a direct result of finding and embracing Ana's DIY spirit!! My curtains are no exception. :-)

I've made the curtains for my living room and my bedroom, and I just started the set for my boys' bedroom tonight. I've gotten better with each set, and this third time around I'm pretty confident in what I'm doing. Lucky for my kids, they're going to get the best set, lol!

I'd already been agonizing over what to do for curtains in my bedroom and I fell instantly in love with the fabric Ana used for hers. I already had bedroom linens that would match perfectly so I went ahead and snagged a few yards. All three of the fabrics I've used have been in the Waverly Home Decor line. The patterns are fun and modern, the price is right, the quality is great and I've always been able to find the perfect design. I usually buy from Fabric.com as it tends to be cheaper once you search for readily available online coupons.

I've really enjoyed making my window treatments! I get to have exactly what I want, in a better quality for a better price than I would ever be able to find in a store. It takes me about a day to finish a set (or at least the first two did) and I have relished the excuse to watch girly movies or listen to music while I get these babies sewn. I've had my first two sets done for 4 & 6 months respectively and they still bring me such joy every day.....give it a try, you wont regret it!!

This was not my first build, but it was the first time I have done miter cuts. It was an easy to follow plan. The hardest part was trying to decide on the stain color! I am thrilled with the way it turned out. This table will easily seat 10 people which will be perfect for parties and dinners.

We made the entry way bench down to 40 inches.  It was my first Ana project.  Will do many more!   www.amyjoprice.com

This is my first big build. I did make a small twin sized headboard a few years ago. But this time we built the entire bed frame along with the headboard. It took a loooong time but was totally worth it!

I built the Rustic Farmhouse table and I only had to make minor changes because I got the wood rough cut milled in my neighbor's backyard. I built the bench with the left over pieces without any plans, just tried to make it match the table. We love it and it is definitely a step up from what we had before! I just have to browse your chair plans now because these chairs in the picture are from our old table.

Slightly Modified from the Console table plan, but 2 toned Rustic X Console or Sofa Table with colored distressed finish

This is the third project I've built from Ana's blog, and my husband and I just LOVE it!!It was very easy to build, even six-months pregnant. I lucked out in that I had everything I needed for this project on hand with the exception of one 1x3 (and the basket, of course), making it a super affordable and much nicer-looking alternative to purchasing a portable bassinet.
I used pine for this build. The only modification I made to Ana's original plan were the rockers. I couldn't find the pattern for her rockers, so I took a rocking chair we had, laid it on it's side and traced its rockers onto a large piece of craft paper. I just used the sander to round off the corners on the top so that the legs would be easy to attach.
I built this in an evening and my husband was able to stain it that night as well. (He's not great with stain, so I had to clean it up a bit after this picture was taken and before the poly was put on.) Had I started earlier in the day, this would have easily been a one-day project including our trip to the store for the 1x3.

My husband and I did this as a weekend project. We had been looking for a bench like this for quite some time but they were either cheaply made or way too expensive. My husband went through the plans and decided he could do it. We added a shelf to it and also made it larger to fit the area we were putting it in. The great thing about the plans is that you are able to easily modify them to create what you are looking for.

This is the Rustic X Coffee Table without the rustic finish. I used cedar wood with Early American stain. This was my first furniture project and I am so happy I did it. We needed a coffee table badly and I couldn't fathom spending several hundred on a good one. This one saved money and I appreciate it so much more. Because I used cedar the cost of the project was about $100. I used pine on the 1X12s on the bottom shelf and once stained it looks just fine. I did not stain the under side of the table top so as to maintain the smell of cedar.

After 16 years of marriage our bed literally fell apart. Rather than agreeing to buy a new bedroom set, my husband said I should just build a new bed. It turned out even better than I ever thought it would. I got the platform bed plans from addicted2decorating's blog. Thanks Ana and Shanty sisters for another great plan! I had to modify for the king size and mounted it to the wall because it was HEAVY. I used metal French cleats from HD.

This was the first building project I have ever done. it was easy and fun. The end product is sturdy and looks stylish. I'm very happy with it. 

A 1m version of the farmhouse bench. We needed a shorter one for the hallway and realized that the only way would be if we built it ourselves. My bf and I built this together and it's really sturdy. Some adaption to the plan was made since it's shorter. It's very useful and we all love it. It's used each and every day.

I made this hallway table for my gf's bday. It is really simply apart from taking apart pallets and squaring them off. The project only costs about $40-50, which most of the cost came from the purchasing of the table legs. I angled the pallet boards to be approximately 45 degrees. For this project, I used a table saw to cut, pneumatic brad nailer, tite bond wood glue, kreg jig pocket hole and paint/stain.

I built your 2x4 shelving to fit a small space in my garage. The unit is really easy to customize and ended up being a perfect fit for my saws. Thanks Ana!

This project is the mirror from page 37 of The Handbuilt Home. I received my copy on Thursday night, built this and painted on Friday, then (impatiently) waited 24 hours for the paint to dry before distressing and hanging it up yesterday afternoon. The mirror was a plain one I found at Lowes for about $20 and attached with mirror clips. I attached to the wall with 2 1/2" screws through the frame into the wall studs. I was going to leave the screw heads exposed for decoration, but now I think I'll add a dab of gray on them to blend them in. This was a super fun project, easy to do. Love the book, and can't wait to build more projects from it! Ana, fab job on the book!!

I saw a post some time ago from brookifer86 for a wedding guest bench...I knew I would build one someday. First I'd like to thank Ana for her plans Fancy X Farmhouse Bench, and Whitney at Shanty 2 Chic for the wonderful instructions/pictures for this build. I would also like to thank Brooke at Killer B Design (brookifer86) for the mods to this plan.

This bench had to be able to break into the top and legs as it had to go from Texas to California. That is why I used Whitney's idea for pocket holes to attach the top to the legs. I used 2" screws. Brooke shortened the table with just two legs, and used a project panel for a smoother top for writing. I did, too. She also added a 1" x 2 " board around the edge of the 3/4" panel to beef it up. I used this idea and mitered the corners of the board and filled in the space between the board and the panel to make it very smooth. I sand a lot, and I painted three coats, so this took several days for me to complete.

For signing the top, I purchased fine-tipped oil paint pens. I learned from other brag posts that permanent-type "Sharpie" pens would smear when a finish was applied later. Also, you should use spray poly-acrylic finish to avoid yellowing the white paint.

My dear friend's daughter was thrilled with her surprise, and the guest bench was a hit at the reception. Thanks to all the brag posters - I studied every single one.