By Noreen Doll.
An envelope basket is quick and easy to make, and can be used any time of the year.
Kids can easily make these baskets, too, and it would be a fun favor to fill with goodies for a classroom party or a birthday party.
It could also be a fun way to present a small gift.
And here’s a way to make your own DIY Easy Easter Basket Grass.
What You Need
Envelope – regular size (3 5/8 inches by 6 1/2 inches) or larger
Card Stock Scraps
Glue or Double Sided Tape (I used tape)
Buttons, ribbons, or other embellishments
Scissors
Pencil
Ruler
What You Do
1. Seal the envelope. Turn the envelope so the length is vertical.
2. For a 1 inch wide handle, measure in about 1 5/16 inches from one side and mark it. Measure down 3 1/2 inches from the top and lightly draw a rectangle from the edges toward the center. Draw a slight curve on the inner corner – this will be your cutting line.
3. Cut out this piece, using the photo to see what it should look like.
4. Flop the cut-out piece over and lay on the top corner of the other side of the envelope. Lightly draw around it and cut out the second shape.
5. Your finished basket shape should look like this.
6. Decorate your basket. Kids can add stickers (see center basket in top photo) or color them.
Stamped Envelope Basket
Use one of your stamps to stamp the front of the basket.
I made 2 sizes of paper flowers and taped them together with a button on top. Double sided tape also holds the flower on the envelope basket.
Pink Envelope Basket
From designer paper, cut a rectangle slightly smaller than the main part of the basket. Center and attach with glue or tape.
Cut another rectangle slightly smaller than the front of the basket handle. Center and attach with glue or tape.
Tie a bow in a coordinating ribbon. I used tape to attach a button to the center of the ribbon and then used double sided tape to attach the bow to the bottom center of the bow handle.
Tips
Lightly stuff the finished envelope basket with Easter grass, shredded paper or crumpled tissue paper before adding goodies.
The basket handle needs to be fairly long. If you make it too short, it’s difficult to get things in and out of the basket.
You can make baskets from any size envelope. You may have to adjust the width and length of the basket handle.
Make one undecorated basket and use it to make a cardboard template. You can use the template to make a bunch of baskets quickly, or kids can use it to make them more easily.
You can decorate the envelope basket with paper bows from scraps of designer paper or colorful magazine pages.
Here’s a link to a list of other ways to recycle envelopes.
Leave a Reply