Bigger Than A Bread Box

I love the classic breadbox - it's such an icon of the American kitchen.  Not only that, but they are incredibly good at keeping your bread handy while keeping your loaves from becoming stale.  However, have you gone to buy one? Either they're very plain or VERY expensive.  So, I decided to take it upon myself to create a good old country breadbox from a standard issue one I picked up at the store.  MATERIALSCarbon Paper (yes, they still make it)Paint (I used spray, but brush on works)Paint PenSand PaperBreadboxComputer & Paper STEPS  Paint your bread box the desired color.  For the square box I just painted it full on fire engine red.  For the roll top box I decided to get a little fancy and did an undercoat of yellow, let it dry, and then a top coat of aqua.  The yellow undercoat will come into play later. Use your computer to print out the word "Bread" in the desired font.  Tape a piece of carbon paper, carbon side down, to the area you want the word.  Tape the paper with "Bread" on it on top of the carbon paper.  Using a pencil trace over the word leaving an outline on the breadbox. Using a paint pen, paint over the carbon outline.  For the red box I used black, but for the aqua box I outlined in black and then filled in with white.  Let it dry. Now, it's time to create magic by aging the breadbox using sandpaper.  I used 120 grit for mine and just sanded the edges, the corners and the flat spots here and there.  For a single color box you want to sand it enough so that the natural wood shows through in a few spots.  Pay attention to where the box would get natural wear and tear - like the knob, the corners, etc.  For the aqua box and the yellow-over-red box above, sand some spots just so the undercoat shows through, and then in some other places, sand it enough so that you see the wood as well.  As a final touch, just to soften the sanding a little, take your spray paint can and hold it 2 feet above the bread box and just give it a quick little squirt. Just enough to let a fine mist of paint fall randomly on the bread box - kind of like your mother taught you to put on perfume.  Do this a few times, you can barely notice it, but the fine dots of paint that will fall on the box will give it that softness you want. Now let it all dry and go put some bread in it!!