How to Make Decorative Baskets

Baskets make great decorations and organizers. Large or small, you can always find a use for them. It's fun and easy to decorate them to match your decor. You have so many choices when it comes to baskets. There are metal, wooden, wire and many more. The decorations for the basket gives you just as many choices. Decorated baskets make great gifts or gift baskets.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Baskets
• Paint
• Paintbrushes
• Stencils
• Twine
• Small wooden shapes
• Ribbon
• Raffia
• Sand
• Sea shells
• Glue
• Craft wire
• Beads

Make a Painted Basket

1. Select a wooden or vine type basket that you can use for organizing in your home.

2. Use stencils of a house and paint it red and blue, Americana colors. Then use letter stencils and paint on the family name under the design. Such as: THE SMITHS. Do this on both sides.

3. Paint two small wooden houses that match your design. Glue a 6-inch piece of twine onto the houses, one end on each house.Hang over the handle of the basket. If your basket doesn't have a handle, loop it through the weave at the top rim of the basket and put the wood through the loop. Pull tight so they hang down.

Make a Sea Shell Basket

4. Spray some glue onto the bottom third of one side of a basket. Sprinkle some sand onto the glue. Let it dry and repeat. When it dries again, spray on another coat of glue but don't put on any more sand.

5. Glue on some sea shells above the sand. You can use star fish and pebbles too, depending the size of your basket. Glue small shells on the handle. If your basket doesn't have a handle you can glue them on along the top rim of the basket.

6. Tie two bows out of raffia and glue them to the top rim on each end of the front of the basket. Let the ends of the raffia hang down to almost the bottom of the basket in uneven lengths.

Make a Beaded Wire Basket

7. Take some craft wire and weave it through the wire of the top rim of the basket. Before weaving into the next section, add three beads. Go into the next section, come back out to the outside and add three beads. Repeat all the way around.

8. Cut three pieces of wire at different lengths, one almost as deep as your basket. Knot the ends so the beads will not fall off. Fill with beads leaving two inches at the top without beads. Twist together and attach to the top rim of the basket on the side. Repeat for the other side.

9. Weave or dangle beads across the handle. You can put two beads on a piece of wire and attach to the handle so they dangle down. Do one dangle every inch. These baskets look great holding decorative soaps or your hair accessories in the bathroom.