One Room Challenge: Week 1|Bathroom Renovation Preparations

Image 7 Comments April 6, 2017 Sammy and Sufi

We are super excited to share that this year we will be participating in our first ever One Room Challenge! Hosted by Lisa of Calling It Home, The One Room Challenge™, is a widely anticipated biannual event every April and October in which twenty design bloggers take the challenge of transforming a space in just six weeks. Every Wednesday, the designers document their process while sharing their sources and professional advice. On Thursdays, guest bloggers, like us, can play along and support other guest bloggers that are also tackling a room renovation. We have been wanting to participate for a while now but last year we started our kitchen renovation much later than anticipated and so we weren’t able to play along. We really hope we can get this bathroom done in the six week period but with two kids under the age of two and graduate school on our plates that is a tall order. We are diving right in regardless.

Last week, in anticipation of this event, we shared two design boards and some bathrooms for inspiration. You can check them out here. We spent the last two days completely emptying out our bathroom and relocating to the bathroom downstairs. With me gearing up to start dissertation fieldwork this summer and my husband starting his MBA soon, we decided this project could not wait any longer because life will just get busier. Besides getting it done in under six weeks, we also need to stick to a tight budget. Challenge accepted.

Alright! Here’s what our bathroom looks like now:

Ugh. So much YELLOW. As a photographer, the urge to edit these images was intense but I wanted to capture the space exactly as is so we can all enjoy the final transformation. The wall tiles are still in great condition but they make the space so dark. We really want a bright clean look that white subway tile will definitely give.

We started some of the demolition today by taking out the toilet, sink, and vanity. The tub will be next to go followed by the tile and then it’s all rebuilding from there. We still haven’t fully settled on the floor tile, accent wall tile, and vanity but we will be deciding in the next day or so. The feedback we have received from readers, family, and friends has overwhelmingly been in favor of Design Board #2 which is interesting because we are leaning toward white marble floors and black fixtures. I guess you will just have to tune in next week to see where we are in the process. You can also follow along on Instagram @thecozyhomechronicles for the latest behind-the-scenes and videos of our progress. Until next week 🙂

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National DIY Day Celebration

Image 4 Comments April 3, 2017 Sammy and Sufi

Happy Monday Friends 🙂 Yesterday, April 2nd, we celebrated National DIY Day by gathering with a group of awesome volunteers to build raised garden beds for a local community garden. If you are unfamiliar with National DIY Day, it is a day founded by Craft Box Girls two years ago as a way to bring people together and celebrate creativity. Last year, people all over the world were celebrating April 2^nd, some as far as Australia!

As DIY Day Ambassadors we wanted to use our DIY skills for a good cause and so we teamed up with Zaman International, a non-profit humanitarian organization committed to addressing the basic needs and empowerment of marginalized women and children locally and internationally, to host the event. Since their foundation, they have provided essential needs to more than 180,000 clients in Southeast Michigan. In April 2016, Zaman moved into a 40,500 square foot Hope for Humanity Center in Inkster, Michigan. Aside from launching a Food Pantry, Zaman was recently accepted into the Feeding Inkster Community Garden Program which provides seeds, plant starters, garden tools (as available), and technical assistance for the creation and harvesting of a community garden. They are expected to ensure low-income community residents receive harvested, fresh produce in a timely manner. With not much viable land near their warehouse, we stepped in to build and decorate raised beds that will allow them to grow their fruits, vegetables, and herbs. We will be returning early next month to fill the beds up with 2 inches of gravel, soil, and plants but until then we just wanted to share a little bit about our first successful event. There were a few minor hiccups and delays but overall we are very pleased with the end result.

Almost an F-150

Pre-Assembly

With a team of 10 volunteers were able to put together four 4ft x 8ft beds in just a few short hours. Two local Home Depots were generous enough to provide $25 vouchers to help with the cost of supplies like the screws, paint, and weed-blocker while the Craftbox Girls sponsored the cost of the wood to build the beds. A friend with a background in interior design and art, came up with a few cool designs that were easy to paint and added a fun splash of color to the garden beds. Scroll on down to see pictures from the event and be sure to check back in with us next month when we return to complete the project. If you’re feeling inspired and want to build your own raised bed for your dream summer garden, head on over to our very own post that covers just that. If there’s anything we hope people take away from National DIY Day, it’s this: The ability to create is part of what makes us human. We all have it in us and anyone can unlock that potential and create anything, if only they set their mind to do it.

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Bathroom Renovation: Design Inspiration

Image 5 Comments March 28, 2017 Sammy and Sufi

Happy Tuesday friends 😊 Today we are sharing two design boards and some inspiration for an exciting renovation we have planned…our main floor bathroom. This is a project we have wanted to do for quite some time but it was pretty low on our priorities because of time and budget. Now that we have finished our basement and renovated our kitchen, we figured it was a good year to do it (our painted tub is also starting to chip away). We also wanted our renovation to coincide with The One Room Challenge although right now we are not so sure because we can’t really start our project unless we have settled on a design. And that has been quite hard to do!

Here are just some of our dilemmas:

Black, steel, or chrome faucet fixtures?
Floating shelves or cabinets?
Colorful or white/gray mosaic tile?

We know what you’re thinking! That may seem like everything but we promise there are some things we do know for certain that we want.

White subway tile.
A narrow vanity.
An accent wall in the shower.

With that in mind, here are two design boards that we came up with based on what we like. They do look very similar but there are some major differences with regards to floor tile, vanity color, fixtures, and mosaic tile choices. The reason there are three tile choices because even with two boards we couldn’t narrow things down. Heck, we even have a Pinterest board dedicated to all the mosaic tiles we like. If there was no such thing as a budget then we would hands down go with Moroccan fish tile. Unfortunately what we were quoted for a small area was almost more than our entire bathroom renovation budget (boo). The real question now for us is whether we should go with a white/gray stone tile or a bright pop of color like emerald or mint green. We are leaning toward a splash of color even though white herringbone and hexagon patterns are beautiful. Home Depot carries gorgeous arabesque tile that are very reasonably priced (decisions, decisions).

Before we get to our boards, here are some bathrooms that we saved in our bathroom inspiration Pinterest board that have really stood out and helped us realize what features and looks we like. Now only if we can settle on something.

A Pop of Color or Pattern in the Shower

Source: Mercury Mosaics

Source: Jacquelyn Clark

Black, White, and Wood All Over

Source: Little Lulu

Source: Falken Reynolds

Small and White, Clean and Bright

Source: IKEA

Source: IKEA

Simple and Rustic

Source: Housley

Source: Eric Olsen Design

All right. Without further ado here are our boards.

Our finished bathroom will probably pull features and inspiration from both boards and some of our favorite bathrooms but until we can be decisive and settle on a final look, there won’t be a finished bathroom. What do you guys think? Which board was your favorite? We would love to hear your thoughts and opinions in the comments below.

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DIY Framed Chalkboard Wall

Image 18 Comments March 20, 2017 Sammy and Sufi

Our son is getting to the age where he can almost color without trying to eat his markers and crayons (the keyword there is almost), however, he still attempts to scribble on the wall any chance he gets. Despite getting him a small IKEA table for all of his creative pursuits, he seems not to want to be confined to paper so we figured if coloring on the walls is what he wants then coloring on the walls he shall get. We have always been admirers of chalkboards…the rustic kind that you see in old schoolhouses in black and white movies. We figured a chalkboard would not only be nice for doodling and writing the dinner menu on but also as a fun educational medium to teach letters, words, and concepts.

We did toy around with the idea of painting an entire wall, which has become popular these days, but in the end we decided a 6ft x 3ft area was plenty of space for all of us to use. Plus since we chose to put it in the hallway, adjacent to the kitchen, we wanted to preserve some wall space just in case we wanted to add wall art or organizers for a command center in the future. The awesome thing about making your own chalkboard wall is that for $10 of chalkboard paint, you can get a little over 100 sq. ft of coverage. That’s a steal when you consider that chalkboards the size of small picture frames are going for that and much more. The other really nice thing is that you can frame the painted area to achieve that authentic chalkboard look and you can do so using any type of wood you like in any stain you want. We went with an inexpensive white moulding from Home Depot that we nailed directly to the wall. We’ve come across DIY framed chalkboards that involve painting another medium and then hanging it up. Not only is a large chalkboard heavy and impractical to hang but it would be dangerous if you have little ones in your life. Just something to think about if you are not sure how you feel about painting a wall with chalkboard paint.

The only thing you need to be mindful of is if you have kids in the house then you will want to time your painting after their bedtime so the paint can dry without handprints all over it. Other than that, this chalkboard wall is super easy to put together and loads of fun. Our son loves scribbling on it, I love practicing my handlettering, and of course baba loves leaving silly doodles for us to wake up to. Yes, we are not ashamed to admit it… this chalkboard was as much for us as it was for our son.

Supplies
Chalkboard Paint ($9.67)
Wood Moulding
Trim Nails

Tools
Paint Roller
Paint Tray
Paint Tray Liner
Blue Painters Tape
Hammer

Chalk options
Chalkboard Wall Safe Markers ($12.95)
Regular Chalk from IKEA ($0.99)

Note: If you end up taking on this project using similar dimensions to our chalkboard then know that you will have leftover paint. Don’t you fret though, we will probably come up with another DIY project to make use of it.

Directions
1. Measure the area you want to paint and outline the area with pencil.
2. Apply the painter’s tape over your outline, pressing down firmly as you go so you don’t have any air pockets where the paint can seep through.
3. Mix the paint using a paint stick and pour 1/4 of the paint in the paint tray.
4. Gently dip your paint roller in and start painting your designated area in a “W” pattern. Make sure you don’t use too much paint on your roller as it will start dripping and take away from the smooth surface of the board.
5. Let dry for 4 hours before applying a second coat.
6. After the final coat is painted, let it set for 3 days (per instructions on the paint container) before writing on it.
7. Test your new board with the writing medium of your choice: old-fashioned chalk or chalkboard marker.

Have you been wanting to put up a chalkboard wall? If so, what’s been stopping you?

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DIY Spring Succulent Wreath

Image 13 Comments March 7, 2017 Sammy and Sufi

Can you believe it’s March already?! I mean just last year we were gearing up to begin our kitchen renovation and now here we are off on new adventures and projects. Spring is certainly in the air here in Michigan as we have had several days of 55 degree weather in the last few weeks. We are now preparing to usher spring into our home and what better way than to spruce up our entrance. I was recently at Jo-Ann Fabrics getting ideas for some upcoming projects and I came across several pretty spring wreaths covered in moss, crawling vines, foliage, and succulents. These wreaths screamed Lord of the Rings (big fans here if you hadn’t figured that out already) but the price…they ranged from $30-$60! I knew I could make one for much less and that’s exactly what I did (with a lot more succulents too). This is such an easy and fun project and it really made the door stand out with a pop of earthy green. This wreath is also the perfect project to make with children and can even be turned into a learning activity. Our son, who is almost two years old, had so much fun picking up the succulents and moving them around as I tried to settle on the final design.

In other news, we are super excited to share that were chosen to be ambassadors for National DIY Day which is coming up on April 2nd. Aside from this post, we will have some more fun DIYs coming your way in the spirit of celebrating creativity and crafting. We will also be hosting a local event in the Metro Detroit area, building raised garden beds for a community garden (stay tuned for more info). And speaking of DIYing for a good cause… As National DIY DAY ambassadors we are proud to support AdoptAClassroom.org and their mission to give teachers a hand by providing much-needed classroom materials so that their students can learn and succeed. National DIY DAY and The Cozy Home Chronicles are committed to supporting classrooms and providing tools for students and teachers to enhance the creative learning experience.

You can support AdoptAClassroom.org by Texting a Donation Today! Text the word “Give” to (678) 582-8594 and you will be prompted through a secure system to make a donation of your choice!

Alrightie, let’s make that wreath!

Supplies
18′ Grapevine Wreath ($4.99)
Succulent Mat ($4.99)
Moss rocks ($3.49)
Greenery of your choice ($4.99-$9.99)
Hot glue gun & glue sticks

Total Cost: $23.45 + tax

I purchased my supplies from Michaels over the course of a few weeks and used my coupons to put my wreath at well under $20. From the greenery I purchased, I had enough leftover to make another wreath if I just purchase more succulents and a grapevine wreath. So for the price of a store-bought wreath, you can basically make two or even three wreaths.

Directions:

Collect your succulents, moss rocks, and greenery and start placing them on your grapevine wreath until you are happy with the arrangement. You might have to move things around several times to get the desired look.
Once you have settled on your design, you will need to glue each piece in place using a generous amount of hot glue, embedding the stem deep into the vine, and holding down for 20-25 seconds until firmly in place.
Once all the pieces have been glued down and any excess strands of glue have been removed, you can hang your wreath on a hook or door wreath hanger.

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Lebanese Lentil and Rice Pilaf (Mdardara)

Image 8 Comments March 2, 2017 Sammy and Sufi

We know we haven’t posted in a while but we have been a bit busy working on some fun DIY projects around the house as well as an exciting project that we will be announcing next week. Although our lives are busy, we wholeheartedly believe in eating healthy homemade meals. It might seem difficult to strive for but there are plenty of healthy and simple meal options that one can make in a pinch. That’s why today I’m sharing one of our favorite vegetarian meal options that we enjoy almost every other week. I didn’t like this meal much when I was a child but it grew on me to the point that I now crave it as an adult. It’s a pilaf made of rice, onions, and lentils topped with more crispy caramelized onions and served with yogurt, crunchy radishes, and a side salad. It is both nutritious and delicious.

To be honest though, there is one downside to making this dish. ONIONS. Your house will smell like onions, you will smell like onions, your car will smell like onions. The smell of onions will permeate your life for days. But I can promise you that it will all be totally worth it! I look back now and laugh but I remember in my early undergraduate days when I’d be getting ready to leave the house for my evening class and my father would start cooking this meal. I would try to race through the kitchen and out the side door but to no avail. That split second in the kitchen was enough to have me reeking. It’s funny to think that now, as a mom, I will be responsible for ensuring my family has their fair share of embarrassing, onion-filled moments. The circle of life. How beautiful 😉

Lebanese Lentil and Rice Pilaf (Mdardara)

Time: 40 mins
Difficulty: Easy
Print

Ingredients
1 cup brown lentils
1 cup white rice
2 medium yellow onions, diced
3 large yellow onions, cut into half rings (optional)
4-5 cups of water*
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

*Note: I use 2 cups of water to parboil the lentils and 3 cups to cook the onions, lentils, and rice together. Even on the lowest setting our stove gets very hot and cooks very fast. You may find you only need 2 cups of water rather than 3.

Directions

Rinse your lentils under cold water and remove any small debris.
In a small pot, parboil your lentils in 2 cups of water for 10-12 minutes. Drain and set aside for step 5.
Meanwhile in a larger pot, begin caramelizing your finely diced onions in olive oil. This will take time so be patient. Keep the fire on low and stir every so often until you have beautiful golden brown (but not burnt) onions.
Add the remaining 3 cups of water to the onions and bring to a boil. Stir well, reduce the heat, and let simmer for 2 minutes.
Pour the rice, lentils, salt, and pepper into your onion mixture. Stir well, cover, and cook until all the water has been absorbed (about 15-20 minutes).
While your rice and lentils are cooking, heat the vegetable oil in a saucepan and fry your onion rings in batches until crispy and golden brown. Let drain on a paper towel until ready to serve. This part of the recipe is a bit unhealthy and you can skip it though it won’t be the same. Or you can slow caramelize your onions (I have done this many times) but it will take more time and they won’t be as crispy.
Top your mdardara with the crispy fried onions and serve with yogurt (to keep this meal vegan leave the yogurt out), radishes, mint, and a fresh salad.

What are some healthy meals you hated growing up but grew to love as adults? Let us know in the comment section below.

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Mindful Homekeeping Series: Seventh Generation

Image 9 Comments February 20, 2017 Sammy and Sufi

If you’ve been following along on our blog, you know that we do try to reduce our negative environmental impact any way we can through things like cloth diapering and upcycling, to name a few. This journey has been challenging especially because we live in a country where food, clothing, hygiene products, cleaning supplies, etc. are readily available to us for super cheap. The circumstances we live in are such that we almost have no reason to give our consumption and excess a second thought. But we should and we must. Fortunately there are people and companies out there who are engaging in this conversation and raising the important questions we need to be asking ourselves both as consumers and as citizens of this beautiful planet. This post is the first in a series we are calling Mindful Homekeeping which will cover simple homekeeping practices, DIY ideas, and products that are mindful of the environment, body, mind, and soul.

Image Sources: Cleaning01 available under CC BY-SA 3.0 NY and Pexels

One company inspiring civic action is Seventh Generation with their Generation Good initiative. Generation Good is essentially an online community for parents and non-parents alike, who care about their environmental impact, to share ideas and support one another, test out products, and participate in green forum discussions ranging from baby nutrition to gardening. Once you register, you are taken to a dashboard populated with various surveys and activities. Completing the surveys and participating in activities and forum discussions earns you points which in turn earns you more activities and sometimes free stuff (wohoo).

As a participating member, I received a free Baby Care Kit (diaper, lotion, wipes) , 2 trial packs of Free & Clear wipes, and three coupons for a total of $4 savings on Seventh Generation products. With the coupons, I purchased Seventh Generation Hand Soap from Target. All-in-all we enjoyed using the products and found them to be “greener” than many of the products out there in terms of the plant-based ingredients they use and their packaging. Our favorite product was definitely the coconut lotion which smells AMAZING! While we loved the texture and feel of the diapers and wipes, they were unfortunately non-biodegradable, making them not a sustainable alternative to cloth diapering.

Despite these issues, Seventh Generation and their Generation Good initiative deserve major credit for not only encouraging the conversation on social responsibility but for providing a platform where it can happen and where they can listen to their consumers. Sure they’re not perfect (who is?) but what they offer is a great start. For your convenience, we have compiled a list of five Seventh Generation products (along with links to their pricing at Target) that we would consider buying because of their high rating by the Environmental Working Group. If you are ever unsure about the health or environmental impact of a particular company or product, the EWG is an excellent and invaluable resource for deciphering labels and learning to make safer, healthier consumer choices. These following Seventh Generation products were given an A rating by the EWG:

The important thing is that companies like Seventh Generation are offering alternatives to the unhealthy status-quo household and baby products. For that reason, we highly recommend you check out their products and consider participating in Generation Good.

What are your favorite “green” homekeeping products? Let us know in the comments below or share on instagram using #mindfulhomekeeping

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Note: This is not a sponsored post. This is purely our opinion regarding our experiences using the Generation Good Platform and some Seventh Generation products.

Celestial Themed Nursery

Image 7 Comments February 8, 2017 Sammy and Sufi

Today we are doing something new while throwing it back to a project we completed before we started blogging: the nursery. When we first found out we were having a baby, we knew instantly that we wanted to create a celestial-themed nursery. My husband and I have always been astronomy nerds; we own a telescope, we’ve dabbled with astrophotography at the Headlands International Dark Sky Park, and we just love the sense of peace and mystery that the cosmos invoke (insert Interstellar Soundtrack here). The theme for the room really started coming together when we started thinking about words to describe the space we wanted to create: whimsical, colorful, adventurous. If those words were a color scheme, it would kind of look like this:

We thought of children’s books that could fit in our theme and exemplified these adjectives. The one that stuck out was Le Petit Prince (The Little Prince) by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. Although we both didn’t read the book until we were adults, it really left a deep impression on us. We loved the profound wisdom and simplicity of the story but it was the childlike innocence and way of looking at the world that we found most beautiful. We wanted the nursery to inspire the inner-child in all of us.

Naturally, I turned to Etsy for Little Prince inspiration and I found it in the form of a watercolor print based on a scene from the book. The colors in print were just so pretty so I contacted the shop owner and had a custom order made that included one of our favorite quotes from the book.

Everything else in the room was pretty much designed around this print’s color scheme. We ended up painting an accent wall with Behr’s Rise and Shine and putting up silver and deep yellow star and moon decals. We went with white furniture, a plush silver rug, and celestial-themed bedding from Babies R Us. While many people use design boards to collect inspiration for designing a space, we’ve put together a design board based on the space we created for those who are interested in designing a whimsical, celestial-inspired nursery. This board was created in part by things we do have in our own nursery (which is basically a playroom now) but it also includes things that we don’t have but find inspiring and beautiful. It’s fascinating to think that all of this was sparked by a piece of artwork based off of a children’s book but it just goes to show you how amazing the human imagination is.

Sources
1. Petite Tresor Nuit Bedding Set
2. Rocket Shelf
3. Silver Shag Rug
4. Delta Bennington Bell Crib
5. Pallra Light Blue Box Set
6. Star Pillow
7. Cape Cod Rocking Chair
8. Believe Wall Decor
9. Le Petit Prince Watercolor Print
10. Star Wall Decals
11. Skojig Ceiling Lamp
12. Dream Ring Moon & Stars Mobile
13. Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost Watercolor Print
14. Colorful Watercolor Pillows
15. Moon Night Light

We will eventually get around to doing a house tour but until then this design board will do. Not only was it super fun to make but it is great practice for when we start to brainstorm and think about the bathroom that we will be remodeling later this year. Have you ever put a design board together? Share your experience in the comments below and…

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Healthy Homemade Butterfingers

Image 14 Comments January 25, 2017 Sammy and Sufi

My brother recently brought over a PB&J Chobani Flip for me because he’s experimenting with “healthier” snacking and wanted me to try it out. Ignoring the fact that it had 18 grams of sugar, the crunchy peanut topping was quite good and reminded me instantly of the popular candy bar Butterfinger; something I haven’t had in a long time. Although we both love all things peanut butter and chocolate, we have chosen to stay away from processed foods especially made by Nestle. Of course I couldn’t leave my sweet tooth hanging so I sought to create a healthier, homemade version of the candy bar. And that is exactly what I did… in the form of a granola bark.

Plain granola bark without the peanuts or chocolate drizzle on top.

Granola and roasted peanut cluster bark

I did look up how to make homemade Butterfinger but all the recipes I found either required a candy thermometer or even unhealthier store-bought candy corn. Ain’t nobody got time for that! All I did for this recipe was create a sweet, nutty, and crunchy granola as a substitute for the crispy textured inside of the candy bar and made it into a bark for easy assembly. At first, I tried making a batch of granola with regular peanut butter but I felt that I could not control the flavor as I desired so I used PB2 instead and experimented with different combinations of maple syrup, vanilla extract, and salt until I felt I achieved that distinctive Butterfinger taste and texture. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at how simple this recipe is and the best part is that it has real wholesome ingredients and none of the preservatives! Just know that this bark is addicting but it does store well in the fridge so try to save some for your friends and family. They’ll be happy you did 🙂

Healthy Homemade Butterfingers

Time: 40 mins
Difficulty: Easy
Print

Ingredients

Granola
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup coarse crushed salt roasted peanuts
6 tablespoons PB2 powder
3-4 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Butterfinger bark
1/2 cup of quality milk chocolate, melted
1 1/2 cups of crunchy peanut granola
1/4 cup salt roasted peanuts (optional)

Directions
1. In a mixing bowl, combine PB2 and water. Stir in the salt, vanilla extract, maple syrup, and oil until smooth.
2. Add in rolled oats and crushed peanuts and combine until evenly coated.
3. Spread mixture on a thin baking sheet and bake at 250F for 30 minutes stirring every 5 minutes until evenly golden brown and crunchy.
4. In a double boiler or in the microwave, melt your milk chocolate and spread half of it thinly and evenly on a silicone baking sheet or parchment paper.
5. Immediately top with a generous amount of crunchy peanut butter granola and peanuts (optional) then drizzle with remaining chocolate. Refrigerate until firm before peeling off the silicone or parchment paper and breaking the bark into pieces. If you have extra granola you can store in an airtight container for snacking at a later time 😉

Have you ever tried to make a copycat candy recipe? Do share in the comments below. And as always…

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IKEA Hack: DIY Rustic Bread Tin Box

Image 19 Comments January 11, 2017 Sammy and Sufi

We eat A LOT of bread… possibly too much of it but we are hobbits so that’s probably not going to change anytime soon. Although we finished renovating our kitchen this past May, there is still some work to be done in terms of organizing and decorating. One of the things that needed to get checked off of our to-do list was finding a way to preserve and store our leftover bread. When we searched for bread storage online, we immediately fell in love with the charm of those rustic farmhouse bread tins. Of course it would have been easy to click purchase and have one delivered straight to our doorstep for $45 but where’s the fun in that? Instead we took our time getting ideas until we came up with an easy DIY bread tin. Not only is it way cheaper than any bread tin you’ll find in store but it’s super easy to make and customizable too. IKEA has two different tin options that you can use for this project and both are under $15.

Hemsmak

Beromlig

The Beromlig that we settled on came with two sizes for $8.99 and we used the larger one to make the bread tin box (we will probably turn the smaller one into a cookie tin). That’s a steal considering simple tins like the one pictured below on wayfair.com are going for $26.99 at sale price. Besides the choice of tin, you also have the option to pick any font you want. We went for a classic look with “Old School Alphabet” stencils that we found at a local Michaels. Lastly, you’ll need to settle on an ink color from the many pretty shades that are out there. Why permanent marker you ask? Well we did try acrylic paint and it peeled off too easily. Although permanent marker can come off with rubbing alcohol (we checked!), it does not come off with a gentle wiping using a wet cloth. I suppose you can use spray paint or some other fancy medium but for a simple and inexpensive home decor item,a good old Sharpie will do the trick. Alright, let’s get started!Materials
Beromlig Storage Tin or Hemsmak
Letter stencils
Permanent marker
Washi or painter’s tape

Directions

1. Wipe the inside and outside of the tin clean with a damp cloth and dry thoroughly.
2. Arrange and level your letters on the tin and tape them in place using washi or painter’s tape.
3. Fill in the letters with any color permanent ink you choose.
4. Let dry for 10 minutes before removing the stencils.
5. Find a happy place for your bread box and fill with delicious breads 🙂

What projects and adventures are you working on right now? Please join the conversation below in our comment section, we would love to hear from you!

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THE COZY HOME CHRONICLES

Cultivating coziness one idea and project at a time

Images

One Room Challenge: Week 1|Bathroom Renovation Preparations

National DIY Day Celebration

Bathroom Renovation: Design Inspiration

DIY Framed Chalkboard Wall

DIY Spring Succulent Wreath

Lebanese Lentil and Rice Pilaf (Mdardara)

Lebanese Lentil and Rice Pilaf (Mdardara)

Mindful Homekeeping Series: Seventh Generation

Celestial Themed Nursery

Healthy Homemade Butterfingers

Healthy Homemade Butterfingers

IKEA Hack: DIY Rustic Bread Tin Box

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Healthy Homemade Butterfingers

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