Happy Spring Baskets

Today( or is it tomorrow) is the first day of spring! Maybe you cannot go everywhere you wish and do all that you want, but you can go outside, smell the fresh air that carries a hope this will end soon, and you might even hear a bird or two. and if the snow melts and a bit of sun shines, the grass will start turning green before you know it.

So let’s do a little project to cheer up the people around us— okay? It will cheer us up to because using our hands creatively always does. We will make « Happy Spring » baskets. You can give them to people in your house. You can give them to people in your apartment complex, if you live in one. And if you have your own house, why , you can leave one on the neighbor’s doorstep and ring the doorbell and run. No physical contact, but I guarantee, their faces will light up!

These are the materials, more or less, that you need!

First, cut a square of paper, any kind or color, and fold it like this. My papers were about 14 cm wide.

So, you will decide how many baskets you need and will cut that many papers, handles, grass strips, flowers, and « Happy Spring » signs. You fold the square to figure out where to cut.

just a tiny cut along the fold

The purpose is to make a box. You can either glue the box ends, which looks prettier than attaching it with an ugly staple but takes a bit more patience. Or just staple it and cover the staple with decorstions! Look at the pictures and I am sure they can say it better than I can.

See where the glue goes? If you let it sit a little, it will stick better, but you still need to pinch the sides together for a few seconds to get a good bond

perfect little box… now make one for everyone! The most I made at once was sixty- four!

Now you need to attach a handle. Just out the glue on, let it get a bit sticky ( but not dry), then pinch it to the insides of the box. Now for the grass. Just fringe your grass on both sides, as the picture shows:

Skinny fringes crumple better than fat ones

Now, put glue down the middle of the fringe and glue the green grass strip to the bottom of the basket. Wait til it dries and crumple it with your fingers until it loks a litle like grass. It adds great spring color to the creation!

Put the glue on the green and press a minute

Now you need to decorate the baskets. You can cut out anything— birds, flowers, bumble bees, butterflies, little kites, little ducks, raindrops, you name it! A marker will add some nice touches and some contrast and make everything look at little more detailed and sharp.

You can decorate ANY way you wish!

And then , when all the baskets are done, you have the fun of digging around the house for things to fill it. I found tictacs, Christmas chocolate I did not know I had, and jelly beans. I also found some lovely polished rocks, but people might get mixed up and eat them. You might find nuts, dried fruits, raisins, cookies, little muffins that you made fresh, Turkish delight, or mentos! And it doesn’t all have to be food— even a little card, a toy, or a paper flower would be welcome!

Here is my first basket

And here are all SIX! ( filled with goodies!)

And now I will go next door and leave the basket and ring the bell and I will snap a picture of the neighbor’s face when she sees it. I can promise you— it will make her day!