Whimsy Stamps ~ Easter Basket

Hey crafty friends, I'm sharing two cute little Easter Baskets today made with a sheet of 6x6 cardstock and a second sheet just for the handle. This could be done from plain cardstock if you prefer, but I think looks sweet in the matching cardstock. I made sure to use paper that had 'anyway up' designs, if they are very straight up and down, the designs end up looking a bit wrong, as a lot will end up sideways or upside down, but if the pattern is in random directions, this works very well. 

I really like the sweet design of this basket. You may recall if you've followed me a while, these versions I've made before here and here. This version is little like the yellow one I shared earlier. I didn't want to wrap my head around splitting the 2 inch sides into 3 this time around though, so I actually kept the math a little easier and split the sides into four sections half an inch each. I think it looks just as nice as the three sections I used for the earlier baskets, but was way easier math!

I made two little baskets this time with different papers from the Eggstra Bunnies Paper Pack. I scored the paper at 2 inches and 4 inches then turned it one rotation so the pattern could be scored again perpendicular to the original scores, resulting in an even grid pattern with 9 squares. 

Now you can see above, I've also scored the outer four squares into four equal sections. These are a half an inch wide. The image below shows the inside of the basket, showing the sections cut to form the sides and the central square trimmed from the outside centre point to each diagonal corner of that middle square, to give a pointed central flap.

Repeat the cuts on the opposing side of the cardstock, ensuring the cuts run the same direction on both sides of the basket, so that all four corners now have four half inch strips and one central triangle. Cut to the first score line and no further. Discard the triangle offcuts and burnish all the folds. Now you can begin from the outside tabs moving towards the centre V, to glue the tabs together overlapping and alternating sides.

I work from the inside out, meaning I glue the first two flaps together then add the next two one after the other on the outside of the first to repeating this pattern until all the sections have been glue in place finishing with the triangle central section outmost. 

I like wet glue for this process as you've got some wiggle room to get the struts even and sitting nicely. I pegged it and allowed it to dry for a few minutes. Before completing the same process on the other side, to finish forming the basket base. 

I try to get the first two struts to form a straightish line, but close enough is good enough, it's tricky when you're trying to bring all the struts together. I like to add a little embellishment front and back to cover these 'crossroads', as they're seldom perfect and you cannot see it once they're covered with a pretty detail.

I decorated the fronts of the two baskets with a stamped sentiment from the Easter Sentiments Stamp Set from Whimsy. I just love the word art design of these sentiments. There are four adorable sentiments in this set and I'll be back to share a make with another one from the set very soon. I used the same sentiment for both these baskets as it suited the Easter Hunt theme. I used one of the smallest of my Pierced and Stitched Circle Dies from Whimsy, to diecut the sentiment and then I diecut a spare plain white circle to add to the back of the coloured matt. 

I wanted to matt the sentiment onto some coloured cardstock, so grabbed the scalloped circle from my Happy Sayings Die Set and cut one from Audrey Blue Cardstock from Simon Says Stamp and one from Gina K Designs Key Lime Cardstock. They worked well to highlight the colours in the ombré inked sentiments. The circle fit just over the dots in the diecut design of the Happy Sayings die, so I just added that extra white piece over the back to obscure the back of the diecut for a clean finish.

The basket handle is cut from a second 6x6 piece of cardstock. Cut the full 6 inch length, whatever handle width you'd like, I chose to go for a 3/4 inch width. I wanted to add some detailing to the handles of the baskets, so I added a ruffled ribbon to the blue basket, which I just hand ruffled as I was adding it to the double sided tape on the underside of the strip of patterned cardstock. I did have to cut into a second piece of 6x6 cardstock to get the handles to match the bases, but I think it was worth it, as they look cute matching. I used a lace with picot edges for the second basket. I then lined the handles with a plain piece of cardstock for strength and so little fingers wouldn't end up sticking to the double sided tape the ribbon and lace were added with. 

I secured the handle to the basket with tiny attachers staples. Then added the Celtic Knot Embellishments to cover and tidy up the back of the basket and added the matted sentiment to the front of each basket. I stuffed the baskets with wood wool and filled them with little Easter treats for my nieces. I'm excited to give them to the girls now! 

Making this cute pair of baskets lined up perfectly with the latest challenge at Sweet Stampin', if you've not discovered this challenge, be sure to check it out, the theme this time is Easter Creations, a perfect fit! I'll be back with another Easter creation very soon. I've a little catching up to do, this month has been full of admin and migraines, so I'll share the next few makes closer together.

Do let me know if you make one of these little baskets, I'd love to see your version! See you soon with my next crafty adventure, until then, hugs and happy Easter crafting, Wends xoxo

(I share thumbnails to the elements I design with in order to make your search for them easier, in case you like something I've used. I do use affiliate links where possible, which gives me a tiny commission but costs you no extra whatsoever. It helps the companies I design for to improve their marketing practice and track my contributions. I am deeply grateful if you use them for these reasons. I am proud to design for the companies I do and always feel happy to share where my inspiration and where my crafty stash comes from. I am occasionally gifted products to use, but I only design for companies whose products I absolutely love and buy for myself. My opinions are always my own.)

Challenge Entries:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Sweet Treats