Things You'll Need:
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 cup water
- Small bowl and spoon
- 12-inch-capacity balloon
- Ruler
- Spool of crochet cotton thread, color desired
- Scissors
- Paint brush
- Clothes hanger
- Lightweight cardboard
- Pencil
- Straight pin
- Permanent marker
- Clear acrylic spray sealer
- 1-inch-wide ruffled lace trim, 24 inches long
- Hot glue gun
- 1/4-inch-wide satin ribbon, 12 inches long
- Wicker paper plate holder
- 15 to 20 assorted spring silk flowers
- Easter grass
- Easter candy and small gifts
-
Step 1
Mix 2 cups of sugar with 1 cup of warm water in a mixing bowl until the sugar has dissolved. Blow up a 12-inch capacity balloon to the size you desire (at least 10 inches) and tie off. Cut approximately 18 inches of crochet cotton thread and tie to the knot for hanging. Use a paint brush to paint the balloon surface with the sugar mixture to give it a tooth to hold the thread when wrapping.
-
Step 2
Tie the end of your spool of crochet cotton thread to the knot of the balloon. Do not cut the thread. Work from the spool. Wrap the balloon with the crochet cotton thread. Wrap heavily in several different directions until the balloon is covered. Clip the end of the thread and tuck it under a wrap on the balloon.
-
Step 3
Use a paint brush to paint the threaded balloon with the sugar mixture, saturating well. Tie the hanging thread to a clothes hanger and hang up to dry. Allow the sugar mixture coating to dry about an hour. The timing will depend on the humidity and the thickness of the thread. Repeat with two or three additional layers of the sugar mixture. Allow the balloon to dry for at least 24 hours. Check for hardness by pressing on the side of the balloon. If the balloon gives easily, add more layers of the sugar mixture.
-
Step 4
Draw a 4-inch-wide by 6-inch-long rectangle on lightweight cardboard. Round the corners of the rectangle to form an oval and cut out. This is the pattern for the opening of the balloon basket. Pop the balloon with a straight pin. Place the cardboard oval pattern on the side of the stiffened egg shape. Trace around the shape using a permanent marker. Stick the end of your scissors, just outside the traced line, and cut around the shape. Discard the cut opening of the stiffened egg shape and the deflated balloon. Spray the egg shape with two or three coats of clear acrylic spray sealer.
-
Step 5
Cut a 24-inch piece of 1-inch-wide ruffled lace trim. Apply a bead of hot glue around the opening of the egg shape. Starting at the top of the opening, place an end of the lace trim in the glue and attach it around the opening. Overlap the ends of the trim and and cut off the excess. Cut a 12-inch piece of 1/4-inch-wide satin ribbon. Tie the ribbon into a bow. Apply hot glue to the back of the bow knot and place over the overlap of the lace trim.
-
Step 6
Apply hot glue to the bottom of the egg shape and place in the center of a wicker paper plate holder. Pop the silk flower heads off of 15 to 20 stems. Apply hot glue to the bottoms of the flower heads and evenly place them in the plate holder around the egg shape. Place Easter grass in the bottom of the egg basket and fill with Easter candy and small gifts.
