Are past issues of your favorite magazines piling up and collecting dust? You can use them in craft projects to create lovely and even functional objects. One such project is a decorative Easter basket filled with grass and eggs, all made from recycled magazine pages. Learn how to make simple yet beautiful baskets that you will love to show off and give away.
Things You Will Need
Several magazine pages with similar or coordinating colors
A bowl in the desired size of the basket
Plastic wrap
White glue
Paintbrush or sponge
Glue stick
Stapler or brad-style paper fasteners
Instructions
If you have a paper shredder, use it to shred several magazine pages. Use scissors to chop the shreds into smaller pieces. If you do not have a shredder, simply cut up the pages with scissors. The strips should be about 1/8 of an inch wide and about 1 1/2 inches in length. Reserve three or four pages, as you will need these to make a handle for the basket.
Spread out newspaper pages, an old tablecloth or a plastic tarp to protect your work area. Turn the bowl upside down and cover it with plastic wrap. Combine two parts white glue and one part water. Spread some of the glue mixture onto the plastic wrap on the bottom of the bowl with a paintbrush or sponge. Cover the glue with a small handful of shredded paper. Add more glue to the paper so that it sticks together well and lies flat.
Add more glue mixture and shredded pages, working down and around the sides of the bowl. Cover the plastic wrap with about three layers of paper and glue. Finish with a final coating of glue mixture. Allow the bowl to dry in a cool, dry place for one or two days. When it is ready, the paper will feel stiff and dry.
Remove the paper basket from the bold. If the plastic wrap is stuck to the inside of your basket, carefully peel it away. You may need to use scissors to snip away bits of plastic. Allow the interior of the Easter basket to dry for a day or two until it is no longer damp and feels firm to the touch.
Once the basket is completely dry, you can use it as it is. These make lovely bowls to hold keys, faux pieces of fruit or as a decoration on their own.
If you wish to make a more traditional Easter basket, though, you can add a handle to the basket. Fold several magazine pages in half lengthwise and then fold one or two more times so that you have long, thin strips. Use white glue or a glue stick to adhere the folded section of the paper so that it will remain folded. Glue the end of the first strip to the end of the second strip, gluing as many strips together as you need to achieve your desired handle length.
Staple each end of the handle to one of inner sides of the basket, or use paper fasteners to attach the handle. Cover the handle with the same glue mixture you used to make the basket. Place the basket on its side on some newspaper or plastic to dry so that the handle retains its shape. Allow the mixture to dry for a day or two.
When the handle is dry and hardened you can fill it with Easter grass and eggs.
Visit the author’s profile for instructions on Easter eggs and grass you can make from recycled magazine pages as well.
