Hand Painted Easter Baskets Made Of Paper Mache Make Nice Gifts

People of all ages love to receive hand painted Easter baskets. As a matter of fact, gift baskets in general are great gifts anytime of the year. It can be for a Birthday, Christmas, Wedding, Baby Shower, Anniversary, Graduation, Retirement, etc. Making it yourself shows the person receiving it that you put time and effort into it which makes it really special. This year for Easter, I decided to make my own paper mache Easter basket for my daughter.

There’s quite a few steps to the process of making the basket, painting it, filling and wrapping it, so get ready for some creative fun! Most of the materials are things you already have on hand. Of course you will have to buy the things that you want to put into the basket, the wrap and bow.


Materials Needed:

Flour

Water

Salt

Spoon

Box

Scissors

Masking Tape

Metal coat hanger

Wire Cutters

Acrylic paint - see Best Paint

Paint brushes - see Best Brushes

Palette or Wet palette - see How to Make a Wet Palette

Fine grit sandpaper

Template or drawing - (See below for the ones used for this project.)

Graphite paper

Pencil or pen

Newspaper torn (not cut) into strips

White computer paper torn (not cut) into strips

Elmer's Wood Filler

Things to put in your basket (see ideas below)

Cellophane gift bag or Cellophane wrap

A plastic tie (like the ones on bread bags)to fasten it (gift bags sometimes have ties and some have bows included)

Gift Bow or Curling Ribbon

Easter grass or tissue paper

Cut The Box To Shape The Basket

Use a rectangular box as opposed to a square box. Remove any labels and cellophane tape holding the box together and replace it with masking tape. This will help the paper mache adhere better to the box. For my project I’m using a 9” X 6” X 4 ½” box. Cut off the long flaps of the box. See Picture #2.

Measure the width of the short end flaps and put a mark in the center of them on both sides. Make the base of the handle 2” wide by drawing lines 1" to each side of the center marks. Then cut off the excess off the sides of the flaps. Make sure it’s centered. See picture #3 and 4. You may adjust the size according to your box size.

Take the long flaps that you cut off and make them the same width as the base of the flaps and use them both or cut a little off one to make the handle the size you want. Fasten it with masking tape. If your handle doesn’t look completely round, try bending and shaping it, working with the cardboard until it’s the shape you want. See picture #5 below.  

Mixing And Applying Your Paper Mache Paste

For the bottom of the basket use a mixture of 2 tablespoons all-purpose white flour, ⅛ teaspoon salt, and 2 tablespoons water. When covering the rest of the basket use ¾ cup all-purpose white flour, 1 tablespoon salt, and ¾ cup water. You can adjust the amount to more or less according to the size of your project.

Put the all-purpose white flour and salt in a bowl. Gradually add the water, stirring until it’s the consistency of white glue. Make sure to use white flour and not whole wheat or it won’t stick very good. Only make enough mixture for that day. Throw away the leftovers each day and start with fresh the next time. Be sure to wash the bowl and spoon after each use before it hardens or it won’t be easy to clean.

Use torn strips of newspaper, as opposed to cut strips. It makes a smoother surface. Completely wet each strip 1 at a time with the paper mache paste. Hold the wet strip over the bowl and run it through your fingers squeezing out the excess paste. Do the bottom of the basket first. Make sure to smooth out the bumps and creases. Criss-cross and overlap the newspaper strips to be sure it’s covered completely. Let it dry 24 hours. See the picture #7 below. Then flip it over and completely cover the rest of the basket with a layer of wet newspaper strips.

Do only 1 layer at a time and let each layer dry for 24 hours before doing the next. After the first layer of the handle prop it up with a piece of wood or cardboard, see the picture #8 below.

Once that dries overnight, for added support in the handle use a metal coat hanger. Cut it with wire cutters to fit inside the handle and secure it with masking tape. See pictures 9, 10, and 11 below.

Make another layer the same way. Do the bottom first and let it dry overnight. Flip it over and do the rest of the basket. The reason for doing the bottom first is to make sure it gets a chance to dry completely.

Use white computer torn paper strips for the third and final layer in the same way. See picture #13. Bottom first, let dry overnight, then flip it and do the rest. Try to make sure all the edges are semi-smooth in this layer. Rub a little paste over it to smooth the edges if necessary. See Picture #14. The reason for the white computer paper on the last layer is it’s a lot easier to cover it with paint than the newspaper strips.

Once that’s completely dry overnight you can lightly sand any rough edges. Go very lightly. If you run into a trouble spot where you see a crack you can repair it with Elmer's Wood Filler. See picture #15. Let that dry overnight and lightly sand it and you’ll never know there was a crack there.

Paint the whole entire basket with acrylic paint in a color of your choice. Start with the bottom and then the sides. Work your way to the inside and do the handle last. Let it dry and do a second coat. See picture #16.

Choose A Design To Paint On Your Basket

There are many different choices of designs for your paper mache Easter basket. It  depends on who you’re giving it to. You can paint colorful Easter eggs, stripes, zigzags, an Easter bunny, birds, flowers, trains or sailboats, use your imagination. I want my basket to be reusable so I decided on a love birds with flowers. It’s a good idea to transfer the picture onto the basket using graphite paper as opposed to drawing it directly on the basket. This way if you make a mistake you can fix it before you put it on your basket. See picture #17, 18 and 19 below. If you want to use my templates you can download them in the 2 links below.

Easter Basket Love Birds

Easter Basket Side

Then paint your basket. See picture #20 below. When it’s completely dry, use an acrylic sealant spray to protect it. I used 2 coats, I think that’s sufficient but you can use more if you want.

Gather The Goodies For The Basket

This basket can be can be used for a gift to children as well as adults. Load it with Easter candy and a small stuffed animal and or toys for children. Another idea is to put fruit and nuts in it for a healthy gift basket. It’s entirely up to you. It will all depend on who you’re giving it to. Here’s a list of ideas you can load your Easter basket or gift basket with:

Candy

Toys

Fruit

Nuts

Chips

Dips

Crackers

Cheese

Pepperoni

Slim Jim's

Beef Jerky

Summer Sausage

Trail Mix

Cookies

Popcorn

Coffee

Hot Chocolate

Lotion

Lip Gloss

Chap Stick

Scented Soap

Shower Gel

Hair Products

Bath Salts

Bubble Bath

Perfume

After Shave

Shaving Lotion

Fishing Lures

Golf Balls

Golf Tees

Socks

Shirts

Scented Essential Oils

Candles

Jewelry

Videos

Books

Baby Products

This list could go on forever!

Assemble And Wrap Your Easter Basket

Add some Easter grass or crushed up tissue paper in the bottom of the basket. Arrange your goodies in the basket. See picture #22 below. Once you’re happy with the arrangement, Use a cellophane gift bag or cellophane wrap to cover your basket. Tie it at the top. Most gift bags come with a tie, and/or a bow that ties. If you use the cellophane wrap you can tie it with a plastic tie (like the ones on bread bags). See picture #23. Top it off with a bow. See picture #24. I’m a big fan of the curling ribbon. You can use any kind of bow you want.

Please leave your comments and questions in the comments section below.

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