Newspaper Basket

Weaving paper makes me think of elementary school art class…but I just couldn’t help but make a newspaper basket!

Looks fun right?

Well minus me running out of newspaper halfway through, and sprinting out to the end of the drive barefoot and in PJs to pull more newspaper out of the recycling bin as the recycling truck rounded the street...it was fun!

Supplies:

Newspaper (if you’re a college kid and don’t get a newspaper, either use a few of the school papers, or go to the dollar store and buy one from Sunday!)

Glue Gun (or a stapler possibly...but I’d suggest a glue gun)

You want atleast 10+ pages of newspaper. That is, a single page. By that I mean, if it is a piece that is actually two pages folded over (like the front page of a newspaper) then cut the paper in half down the crease.

Fold it in half long ways, then fourths, then eighths. So you should have one long strip of paper!

Start weaving! Make it the size you want for the bottom. My first one was 7x7 strips (which I felt was a little large for anything useful) My smaller one was a 3x3.

Once you have the bottom the size you want. Start to secure it with your glue gun a little. Make sure there aren’t gaps in between your weave. (taken out of context, this could sound as if I am putting in someone’s hair weave.)

Now bend the extra pieces up to start to form the sides, and grab another newspaper strip and keep weaving the sides as tall as you want it. (the large one I did just two strips, the small I did three to make it a little taller)

Be patient with yourself, this is the time where the typically 3^rd grader would quit and throw it across the room. Remind yourself you are more patient then a 3^rd grader.

Keep securing it with hot glue as you go so it stays tight and there aren’t gaps between the weave!

When it is as tall as you want, trim the edges to about ½ inch long, fold them over and glue them.

Take your last strip (or maybe 2 depending on how large) and secure it over the top of your basket to give it a more finished look. (you could really add anything, ribbon, fabric, scrapbooking paper, to make it a little more interesting at the top)

Ta-dah! You’re done!