DIY Easter Baskets 15 April 2014  |  Nicola

Continuing on our Easter crafting theme, today we’re bringing you the second easy peasy Easter project tutorial; bright and cheerful DIY baskets. From egg hunts, to making beautiful table displays for the traditional holiday lunch, a good basket can be used for anything from fetching and carrying to holding flowers, hot cross buns and bread – and with ours you can choose the shape, colour and size. Easy peasy!

You will need:

Paper yarn in your chosen colours

Martha Stewart Water-Resistant Fabric Stiffener

Balloons

Sharp scissors

Paintbrush

Small bowl of water

1. Blow up your balloon to the size you want your basket to be, and then fasten off firmly.

2. Prepare your surface, and make sure you have everything to hand; cover a large table in newspaper, then fill a small bowl with water and pour some of the fabric stiffener onto a large plate.

3. Dampen the paper yarn by running it through the water, and squeezing out any excess, then start to wind it around the balloon from top to bottom. As you go, dab some of the fabric stiffener onto the paper yarn – you’ll find it sticks to the balloon and doesn’t unravel.

4. Continue to do this until you’ve covered a good portion of the balloon, then start to wind the paper yarn horizontally, creating a basket effect – by wrapping it several times in the same place, you’ll create a natural top edge. You should end up with something similar to the one in the picture below.

5. Leave your basket to dry for twenty-four hours – it needs to be completely hard before you can move on to the next stage.

6. Once your basket is dry, burst the balloon and discard. Trim around the top edge, until your basket is complete, and then add any embellishments; we added a simple plaited handle, but you could weave ribbon or bakers twine between the paper yarn, or attach buttons, beads or even pom poms. The only limit is your own imagination – go Easter crazy!

7. The shape of this basket makes it ideal for egg hunts and floral displays – to make something a little flatter, which would look great as a table centrepiece, simply coil your paper yarn around the balloon rather than wrapping it from top to bottom, and finish off with a plaited handle on each side.