Easter is COMING!!!

Easter would not be complete without a colorful basket. In the States, the basket plays a fundamental role in the celebration of Easter morning. In fact, the traditions are a little bit different than what you find in Italy in that the classic chocolate egg with a surprise hidden inside has a different twist. Easter morning is characterized by egg hunting! In my house, my brother and I first had to search all over for out basket (we used the same one every year) which was filled will all different sorts of little presents and candy. Then (weather permitting) we would participate in an outdoor easter egg hunt! The Easter bunny is the mastermind behind these activities and would hide colored eggs in the most unusual places.

This year my inspiration to make a basket as a centerpiece for Easter brunch came from an usual source. When I was home for Christmas I cleaned out my Mother’s sewing chest. You are probably thinking on vacation she cleans-what a masocist! Instead, cleaning out the bottom of her chest is a treasure hunt into vintage crafting classics. Styrofoam balls, left over pieces of felt in great colors and PAPER TWIST. I have to admit that I had absolutely no idea what it was or how to use this strange crafting material. Instead, my Mom quickly explained to me that she and her teacher’s assistant had made cute Easter baskets for a class many years ago. More than anything she said that they are really easy to put together. This was the deciding factor for me: cute and easy.

You will need:

A quick explanation of paper twist. This great material comes in all different finishes and colors. I used what I found in my Mom’s chest but the options are limitless. All you need to do is cut a piece the desired length, completely untwist it and then fold it in half length wise. One of the most popular ways to use paper twist is in the creation of paper flowers as seen in the post by Barbara at SpeedyCreativa.

Step 1: Decide how big you want your basket to be. I decided that it should be around 12 cm tall and therefore cut my cereal box down to a final size of 19cm x 12cm x 7cm.

Step 2: Cut 3 pieces 40 cm long and 1 piece 55 cm long out of the white paper twist. Cut 2 pieces 66 cm long out of the peach paper twist.
Step 3: Glue one end of your 40 cm long white pieces to the front inside edge of the box. Pull under the box and glue the remaining end to the back inside edge of the box. Repeat for all three pieces trying to glue them as close together as possible. Don’t worry about the inside being a little messy because we will cover it at the end of the project.

Step 4: Glue one end of the 55 cm length white paper twist to the inside of the right end of the box. Weave the piece over and under the front to back pieces on the bottom of the box creating a basket weave effect and then glue to the inside of the left end of the box.

Step 5: You are ready to start weaving in the peach paper twist. Work one peach piece over and under the white twist and then glue in the back under one of the white pieces so that you do not see the junction.

Step 5: I decided to make a braided handle for my basket but you could also cover an old metal coat hanger with the paper twist. Measure out three lengths of paper twist. I used two peach and one white pieces. Untwist them and then braid them together tightly. I stapled the ends to hold it while I was glueing the handle to the basket.

Step 6: Measure out a piece of white paper twist that is long enough to completely cover the inside of the box. Untwist it and use as a liner for your basket so that you do not see the glued on pieces along the rim.

We filled it with fake grass and a couple of flowers but STAY TUNED BECAUSE THE FINAL TOUCH IS ON THE WAY!!!