How to Make Kids' Easter Baskets Out of Construction Paper

Create your own Easter baskets out of construction paper.

A fun way to get into the spirit of Easter celebration is to create your own Easter baskets for children. All you need is some construction paper to form the baskets and then you can decorate and personalize them for the kids. They're easy to make, so kids can even help make their own baskets if they like. You can use thicker paper for a sturdier basket if you like, but construction paper will work just fine.

Things You'll Need

• Construction paper
• Pencil
• Ruler
• Scissors
• Paper fasteners

Instructions

1. Determine how large you would like the base of the paper basket to be. You need to decide this ahead of time so you know how big the piece of paper needs to be. We will use a 3-inch square base as an example.

2. Draw a square that is 3 times the size of your base. For a 3-inch base, measure out and draw a 9-inch square on the construction paper using your ruler and pencil.

3. Cut out the square.

4. Measure the paper into 9 equal squares. Do this by placing your ruler along a side of the large square, dividing the length into thirds and marking the points with your pencil. Using your ruler, draw a straight line across the paper at each point. Do the same on an adjacent edge of the paper.

5. Cut along the right edge of the top left square. Cut along the left edge of the top right square. Cut along the right edge of the bottom left square. Cut along the left edge of the bottom right square. Make sure you don't cut into the center square, which will form the base of the basket.

6. Trim off the corners of the four corner squares, so the edges of the basket are curved.

7. Fold along the top edges of the bottom three squares and the bottom edges of the top three squares. Crease and unfold.

8. Position the basket so the center square is on a flat surface. Fold the top center square and the bottom center square upright. Fold the left and right squares on each side inwards at a diagonal to form the sides of the basket.

9. Position the squares the way you want the basket to look. Mark a point on the center squares on each side where you will fasten them together. Take your scissors and pierce a small hole. This is where you will place the paper fasteners on each side of the basket.

10. Take another piece of construction paper to create the handle for the basket. Measure a strip that is a few inches longer than the square you created in step 2. For a 9-inch square, measure a handle that is about 12 inches long and ½ inch wide. Make a larger handle if you have a larger basket.

11. Poke a hole with your scissors through each end of the handle strip, about ½ inch from each end.

12. Reposition the left and right squares to form the sides of the basket.

13. Place a paper fastener through the two folded ends on each side of the basket. Poke the paper fastener through one end of the handle (in one of the holes you just created). Finally, poke the paper fastener through the upright square on each side of the basket. Once fastened on each side, the fastener will secure the handle and the three folded ends. The Easter basket is complete.

14. Decorate the basket as you wish.

References

• All Free Crafts: How to Make a Paper Easter Basket