Christmas is my most favorite time of the year to decorate with all my Christmas floral designs. I have so many at this point in time that I have to rotate them year to year. Since most are made with silk floral or pine-cones and nuts they never wear out and look just as good now as they did when they were made. Some have lasted twenty years or more.

If you love decorating for the Christmas season with floral as much as I do then you'll be happy to know that we have several free tutorials, how-to's, and e-books for creating floral Christmas decorations. Just click the links below. Enjoy!

I love using potpourri in my bathrooms and throughout the house. However, potpourri doesn't last forever and you have to replace it with new potpourri.

Well, since I never like to get rid of anything that I think I can reuse again I save all the potpourri in plastic resealable bags. I did this until I ran out of room in my storage area. Well, instead of disposing of all the plastic bags I had saved I decided I should re-purpose the old potpourri!

If you haven't heard of re-purposing that's when you take something that had one particular use and turn it into something else for another use.

In this instance I took some potpourri that contained large potpourri elements that I had bought at Yankee Candle over the years and turned it into a potpourri basket that could be used to decorate my home at the holidays.

How did I do that? Well, it's fairly simple to do.

You take an old wicker basket and spray paint it whatever color you want. Since I had a lot of potpourri that I wanted to use I had to choose a LARGE wicker basket to hold it.

Then you place Spanish moss along the inside of the basket so as to cover any openings in the sides of the basket. Since my wicker basket was rather large I had to use a lot of moss.

Depending on how much potpourri you have and the size of your basket after lining the inside of the basket with Spanish moss you would glue green floral foam to the bottom of the basket using the low temperature setting of a dual temperature glue gun. Then, you would glue your first row of potpourri elements to the green floral foam. You would continue adding layers of potpourri elements and gluing them in place until you had completely filled the basket and were pleased with the results.

As I had a LOT of potpourri to use I decided instead to just layer mine.  I started layering the potpourri elements row by row and gluing them together. I alternated the different colors and sizes of the potpourri I was using until I had a pleasing result. When I had fully filled the basket and was pleased with the results I glued the final row in place.

I added a large wired ribbon loopy bow to the top center of my basket.

It's a little heavy - make that very heavy with all the potpourri in it, but I think it looks nice. What do you think?

I have always wanted to learn how to create my own caned baskets but have never found the time to do so.

However, during a basketry crafting phase several years ago I decided I wanted to take some of the baskets I had and cover them with fabric.

I wanted to place several fabric covered baskets in my kitchen and one large woven covered basket in my master bathroom.

For the bathroom I wanted to create a large woven covered basket to hold towels in my master bathroom and used a pattern I had purchased years before.

For the kitchen I wanted to cover several baskets with the same fabric as the curtains and bench pad that I had in my kitchen.

The basket fabric would compliment my curtains and bench and would be placed in the space between the top of my cupboards in the kitchen and the ceiling. I had a lot of room up there and I thought it would look really nice having baskets up there.

I wanted to use handle baskets and since I only had so much room between the cupboards and the ceiling height would be an issue. So, I measured all the handle baskets I thought I would like to see if they would fit. Luckily, most of them did.

I had seen several pictures of covered baskets and thought it shouldn't be too hard to figure out how to cover them.

I wanted my baskets to have a gathered inner lining and outer cover with a finished seam in order to create a ruffle along the rims of the basket. Some of the baskets I was using were round and some were oval.

So, I measured the length and width of the bottoms of my baskets. Then I measured the circumference and height of the sides of all the baskets. The circumference was for the width around the rim of the basket and the height was from the top of the rim of the basket on the left hand side to the top of the rim of the basket on the right hand side.

I was going to cut out two large round or oval circles for each basket that would be big enough to cover the entire basket, except the handle.

As I wanted to create a gathered effect and seam allowance for my basket lining and covers I added 1/2" to the circumference of all my baskets. And, as I wanted to create a gathered ruffle along the rim of my baskets I added 1 1/2" to the the adjusted circumference.

Then to create my patterns for each basket I drew the length and width of the bottoms of my baskets on a large piece of paper. To this I added 1/2" around the circumference and then added another 1 1/2" around this adjusted circumference.

I then measured the length and width of my round or oval circles to make sure that I had added enough to the circumference for the ruffle and enough to have plenty of room for the seam allowance and gathering. After I was satisfied with my pattern I cut two round or oval shapes for each respective basket.

The handle would be added first and would be made out of a long rectangular type tube that I was going to scrunch up when I was finished hand sewing the seam together.

For the handles I measured the length of the handle from one side to the other and measured the circumference of the handle so I would know how long to make my tube and how wide it would need to be.

I added several more inches to the length of the tube so I would get a scrunched up effect and added 1" to the width of the tubes so I could fold each of the ends wrong sides together (WST) and then overlap the edges to create a nice finished seam that would be hand sewn.

I was also going to add wire ribbon bows to the sides of one of the basket, fabric lined bows to the sides of another,  and fringed bows to the sides of the other basket.

Two of the baskets were going to have lace trim around the rim of the basket and one was going to have ruffled trim around the outside and inside rim of the basket.

I was going to create a seam allowance along the rims of my baskets so I would have a nice finished edge for my ruffle. As I was going to machine stitch my two pieces together I needed to provide a slit down the center of each lining to insert the baskets. The slit would be the diameter of the basket from the left hand side of the handle to the right hand side of the handle. The ends of this slit would be turned wrong sides together (WST) and then hand sewn shut.

Once I had inserted the baskets into the lining and cover and then hand sewn the slits together I measured 1 1/2" down from my seam allowance for my ruffle. I tightened my fabric so the bottom of my basket cover was smooth to the bottom and sides and then sewed a gathering stitch  1 1/2" down from my seam allowance.  Then I gathered the lining and cover tightly to the actual circumference of the basket using DMC embroidery thread and secured the thread.

To hold the cover and lining in place I inserted a needle and thread just below the rims of each basket and tacked my lining and cover in several places around the rim.

I hot glued my trims and ruffles around the rims of my baskets. I tied each of the bows I was going to use and then hot glued them to the sides of their respective baskets.

By the time I was done the area in my kitchen above the cupboards was filled with lovely fabric covered baskets and stayed that way for several years.

I still want to learn how to create cane baskets and other beautiful baskets I'm been collecting on my basket making Pinterest board.

I've always wanted to learn how to make baskets. If you have, too perhaps these tutorials, video's and how-to's will be helpful.

If you love my Basket Making Tutorials, Video's, Patterns and How-To's board please follow my board by clicking on the link above.

I've always liked adorning my presents with big bows and other accessories - silk florals, stuffed animals, and cute little decorations for kids like bendies, softies, etc. My grandchildren loved getting gifts with little creatures attached.


During the holidays one of my favorites things to do is decorate the presents. Hubby does all the wrapping. I do all the decorating and, when I doing this, I'm in my glory. Storing all the different accessories needed for decorating presents all year can be a bit of a challenge, but the end result is always worth it.


So, of course, I love it when I find beautiful, creative ways to decorate presents, gift baskets or gifts in a jar. If you love decorating as much as I do I hope you find the tutorials, video's, patterns and how-to's on my Pinterest board helpful.

If you love my Gift Baskets & Bags Tutorials, Gift Boxes Video's, Patterns, and How-To's board please follow my board by clicking on the link above.

Since I had just finished my Linda's Blog post on the fabric covered baskets I had made I thought you might enjoy a step-by-step "How-to" on how to make one of your own.


Supplies Needed

1 Small Round Basket With Handle - 3" Round
1/4 Yard Fabric - 36" Wide
1" Lace Trim - 16" Long
DMC Embroidery Floss
Sewing Thread
Dual Temperature Glue Gun
Glue Sticks
Measuring Tape
Large Plain Piece Of Paper
Iron

Instructions

(Note - These instructions are for ADULT use only as they require the use of a hot glue gun. Always use caution when working with any kind of hot glue gun.)

1. Measure the width of your basket and then measure the height of your basket from the bottom of the basket to the top of the rim. Multiply the height of your basket times 2 and then add this to the width of your basket.

2. Follow the diagram shown below and draw a circle the width + height X2 of your basket on a large plain piece of paper. Draw a circle around your initial circle another 1/2" around for your seam allowance and gathering of your fabric. Now, to this adjusted circle you have just drawn add another 3/4" around for the ruffle.

3. Cut 2 pieces of fabric for your lining and basket cover according to the final circle pattern you have just drawn.

4. Measure the length of the handle of your basket from the bottom of the handle starting on the left hand side of the basket to the bottom of the handle on the right hand side of the basket and add 3/4" - this is your adjusted handle length. Measure the circumference of the handle and add 3/4" - this is your adjusted handle width.

5. Cut a rectangular strip of fabric the adjusted length of your handle by the adjusted width of your handle.

6. With wrong sides together (WST) turn both edges of your adjusted handle length under 1/4" and press.

7. With wrong sides together (WST) turn both edges of your adjusted handle width under 1/4" and press.

8. Wrap the handle fabric around the handle overlapping the pressed under edges until the handle fabric is tight to and completely covers the handle. Hand sew the overlap closed. Position the handle fabric so the hand sewn seam is on the underside of the handle.

9. Cut a slit in the center of your lining for the width plus height of the basket X2.

10. Cut a piece of the 1" lace trim to match the circumference of the circle plus 1/2" for an overlap.

11. With right sides together (RST) position the lace trim on the edge of the basket cover so the finished edge is facing towards the inside of the circle and the edges are overlapping. Then stitch the lace trim to the edge of the basket cover using a 1/4" seam allowance.

12. With right side together (RST) sew the lining to the basket cover using a 1/4" seam allowance.

13. Turn the lining and basket cover right sides out (RST).

14. Insert the basket through the slit in the lining and pull the basket cover up until the bottom and sides are tight.

15. Turn the sides of the
 slit under 1/4" and then pull the lining up and around the bottom of the handles until they are completed covered. Overlap the turned under edges of the slit and then hand sew the slit closed.

16. Sew a gathering stitch 3/4" down from the edge of the cover with the DMC embroidery floss. Pull tightly to gather and then knot to secure. The gathering should be slightly over the rim of the basket as shown in the picture below.

17. Position the ruffle so it is facing upwards against the sides of the handle and then using the low temperature setting of the dual temperature glue gun glue the sides of the ruffle to the handles like those shown in the picture below.

18. Cut 4 strips of fabric 1/2" wide by 8" long and tie into 2" wide bows. Trim the ends and then glue two bows (one on top of the other) to the sides of the baskets using the low temperature setting of the dual temperature glue gun like those shown in the picture above.

19. Congratulations - You're Done!

My "Linda's How-Do-I Series? How To Make A Fabric Covered Round Basket" free e-book includes my Linda's Blog post and my instructions on how to make a fabric covered round basket of your own.

To view and download my free e-book please CLICK HERE. You'll be brought to Google Drive where you can view our free e-book. Then just download our free .pdf e-book by clicking on the down arrow in the top center.

For more information on all my free e-patterns, e-printables and e-books please CLICK HERE.

While shopping in the Fall over 20 years ago with hubby we happened to venture into one of those seasonal Christmas decoration shops - just to see what they had.

Well, I was immediately drawn to a pine cone basket that was on the floor. It was pine cones in a large basket that was decorated with berries, ribbons, lace, and assorted dried floral.

I thought it was really pretty and would make a great Christmas decoration until I looked at the price. They wanted close to $180 for the basket which I thought at the time was outrageous. But, the basket was lovely and I thought it would make a wonderful Christmas decoration.

So, I decided to make my own. After all, I had pine cones all over my lawn from the white pine and evergreen trees that had fallen that year. Why not use them and create my own pine cone baskets? I certainly had plenty of pine cones of different sizes and types. And, they were free.

This was the beginning of my love of pine-cone baskets which developed into a love of all sorts of baskets that I could use to decorate my house.  Truth be told I've made quite a few over the years and decided you might like  to make a few of your own so I developed a few e-books and e-patterns for you.

Enjoy!

Since I had just finished my Linda's Blog post on the fabric covered baskets I had made I thought you might enjoy a step-by-step "How-to" on how to make one of your own.


Supplies Needed

1 Small Round Basket With Handle - 3" Round
1/4 Yard Fabric - 36" Wide
1" Lace Trim - 16" Long
DMC Embroidery Floss
Sewing Thread
Dual Temperature Glue Gun
Glue Sticks
Measuring Tape
Large Plain Piece Of Paper
Iron

Instructions

(Note - These instructions are for ADULT use only as they require the use of a hot glue gun. Always use caution when working with any kind of hot glue gun.)

1. Measure the width of your basket and then measure the height of your basket from the bottom of the basket to the top of the rim. Multiply the height of your basket times 2 and then add this to the width of your basket.

2. Follow the diagram shown below and draw a circle the width + height X2 of your basket on a large plain piece of paper. Draw a circle around your initial circle another 1/2" around for your seam allowance and gathering of your fabric. Now, to this adjusted circle you have just drawn add another 3/4" around for the ruffle.

3. Cut 2 pieces of fabric for your lining and basket cover according to the final circle pattern you have just drawn.

4. Measure the length of the handle of your basket from the bottom of the handle starting on the left hand side of the basket to the bottom of the handle on the right hand side of the basket and add 3/4" - this is your adjusted handle length. Measure the circumference of the handle and add 3/4" - this is your adjusted handle width.

5. Cut a rectangular strip of fabric the adjusted length of your handle by the adjusted width of your handle.

6. With wrong sides together (WST) turn both edges of your adjusted handle length under 1/4" and press.

7. With wrong sides together (WST) turn both edges of your adjusted handle width under 1/4" and press.

8. Wrap the handle fabric around the handle overlapping the pressed under edges until the handle fabric is tight to and completely covers the handle. Hand sew the overlap closed. Position the handle fabric so the hand sewn seam is on the underside of the handle.

9. Cut a slit in the center of your lining for the width plus height of the basket X2.

10. Cut a piece of the 1" lace trim to match the circumference of the circle plus 1/2" for an overlap.

11. With right sides together (RST) position the lace trim on the edge of the basket cover so the finished edge is facing towards the inside of the circle and the edges are overlapping. Then stitch the lace trim to the edge of the basket cover using a 1/4" seam allowance.

12. With right side together (RST) sew the lining to the basket cover using a 1/4" seam allowance.

13. Turn the lining and basket cover right sides out (RST).

14. Insert the basket through the slit in the lining and pull the basket cover up until the bottom and sides are tight.

15. Turn the sides of the
 slit under 1/4" and then pull the lining up and around the bottom of the handles until they are completed covered. Overlap the turned under edges of the slit and then hand sew the slit closed.

16. Sew a gathering stitch 3/4" down from the edge of the cover with the DMC embroidery floss. Pull tightly to gather and then knot to secure. The gathering should be slightly over the rim of the basket as shown in the picture below.

17. Position the ruffle so it is facing upwards against the sides of the handle and then using the low temperature setting of the dual temperature glue gun glue the sides of the ruffle to the handles like those shown in the picture below.

18. Cut 4 strips of fabric 1/2" wide by 8" long and tie into 2" wide bows. Trim the ends and then glue two bows (one on top of the other) to the sides of the baskets using the low temperature setting of the dual temperature glue gun like those shown in the picture above.

19. Congratulations - You're Done!

My "Linda's How-Do-I Series? How To Make A Fabric Covered Round Basket" free e-book includes my Linda's Blog post and my instructions on how to make a fabric covered round basket of your own.




However, you may link to my website(s)/blog(s) and the individual page(s)/blog post(s) (including 1 picture) but do not copy, reprint or duplicate my website(s)/blog(s) or individual page(s)/post(s ) without my permission.

Items made from Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns are intended for personal use for fun or small scale personal and business profit as long as you credit us with the design. Large scale commercial use (i.e. mass production) of items made from Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns are by permission only.

Please see my Terms and Conditions for additional information.

Copyright © 2004 - 2023 - All Rights Reserved - Written By Linda Walsh of Linda Walsh Originals and Linda's Blog. Linda is a doll maker and doll pattern designer.

During a basketry crafting phase several years ago I decided I wanted to take some of the baskets I had and cover them with fabric.

I wanted to place several fabric covered baskets in my kitchen and one large woven covered basket in my master bathroom.

For the kitchen I wanted to cover several baskets with the same fabric as the curtains and bench pad that I had in my kitchen.

The basket fabric would compliment my curtains and bench and would be placed in the space between the top of my cupboards in the kitchen and the ceiling. I had a lot of room up there and I thought it would look really nice having baskets up there.

I wanted to use handle baskets and since I only had so much room between the cupboards and the ceiling height would be an issue. So, I measured all the handle baskets I thought I would like to see if they would fit. Luckily, most of them did.

I had seen several pictures of covered baskets and thought it shouldn't be too hard to figure out how to cover them.
I wanted my baskets to have a gathered inner lining and outer cover with a finished seam in order to create a ruffle along the rims of the basket. Some of the baskets I was using were round and some were oval.

So, I measured the length and width of the bottoms of my baskets. Then I measured the circumference and height of the sides of all the baskets. The circumference was for the width around the rim of the basket and the height was from the top of the rim of the basket on the left hand side to the top of the rim of the basket on the right hand side.

I was going to cut out two large round or oval circles for each basket that would be big enough to cover the entire basket, except the handle.

As I wanted to create a gathered effect and seam allowance for my basket lining and covers I added 1/2" to the circumference of all my baskets. And, as I wanted to create a gathered ruffle along the rim of my baskets I added 1 1/2" to the the adjusted circumference. 

Then to create my patterns for each basket I drew the length and width of the bottoms of my baskets on a large piece of paper. To this I added 1/2" around the circumference and then added another 1 1/2" around this adjusted circumference.

I then measured the length and width of my round or oval circles to make sure that I had added enough to the circumference for the ruffle and enough to have plenty of room for the seam allowance and gathering. After I was satisfied with my pattern I cut two round or oval shapes for each respective basket.

The handle would be added first and would be made out of a long rectangular type tube that I was going to scrunch up when I was finished hand sewing the seam together.

For the handles I measured the length of the handle from one side to the other and measured the circumference of the handle so I would know how long to make my tube and how wide it would need to be.

I added several more inches to the length of the tube so I would get a scrunched up effect and added 1" to the width of the tubes so I could fold each of the ends wrong sides together (WST) and then overlap the edges to create a nice finished seam that would be hand sewn.

I was also going to add wire ribbon bows to the sides of one of the basket, fabric lined bows to the sides of another,  and fringed bows to the sides of the other basket.

Two of the baskets were going to have lace trim around the rim of the basket and one was going to have ruffled trim around the outside and inside rim of the basket.

I was going to create a seam allowance along the rims of my baskets so I would have a nice finished edge for my ruffle. As I was going to machine stitch my two pieces together I needed to provide a slit down the center of each lining to insert the baskets. The slit would be the diameter of the basket from the left hand side of the handle to the right hand side of the handle. The ends of this slit would be turned wrong sides together (WST) and then hand sewn shut.

Once I had inserted the baskets into the lining and cover and then hand sewn the slits together I measured 1 1/2" down from my seam allowance for my ruffle. I tightened my fabric so the bottom of my basket cover was smooth to the bottom and sides and then sewed a gathering stitch  1 1/2" down from my seam allowance.  Then I gathered the lining and cover tightly to the actual circumference of the basket using DMC embroidery thread and secured the thread.

To hold the cover and lining in place I inserted a needle and thread just below the rims of each basket and tacked my lining and cover in several places around the rim.

I hot glued my trims and ruffles around the rims of my baskets. I tied each of the bows I was going to use and then hot glued them to the sides of their respective baskets.

I had also decided to create several small round covered baskets with a lace ruffle trim, which are shown in the picture to the left. I created a .PDF E-Book for making this round fabric covered basket and will be posting that shortly.

During this period I also wanted to create a large woven covered basket to hold towels in my master bathroom. For this I used an old Simplicity #9420 craft pattern that I had purchased years before. This basket is shown in the picture at the beginning of this post and is a great decoration for my master bathroom.

Since I had just finished my Linda's Blog post on all the pine cone baskets I had made over twenty years ago I thought you might enjoy a step-by-step "How-to" on how to make one of your own.
My instructions on how to make a pine cone basket of your own are shown below.


Supplies Needed

1 Large Handle Basket
1 Can Green Spray Paint
1 Can Spray Varnish or Lacquer
1 Bag of Spanish Moss
4 pk OASIS RAINBOW FOAM BRICK TURQUOISE - Enough Floral Foam Bricks To Line The Bottom Of The Basket
1 1/2" to 2" Wide Green Wired Ribbon
Package of Green Preserved Boxwood
Batch of Green Preserved Evergreen Sprigs or Other Green Silk Floral
1/2" to 1" Plaid Cloth Covered Box Decorations
Red Berry Spray With Multiple Berries or Red Berry Picks
1/2" to 1" Shiny Red Apple Decorations
Wire
Dried or Preserved Pine Cones of Various Shapes and Sizes
Dual Temperature Glue Gun
Glue Gun and Glue Sticks
Wire Cutters

Instructions

(Note - These instructions are for ADULT use only as they require the use of a hot glue gun.  Always use caution when working with any kind of hot glue gun.)

1.  Spray paint the inside and outside of the basket with the green paint.  Let dry completely.
2.  Place the Spanish moss along the inside of the basket so as to cover any openings in the sides of the basket.
3.  Pack the bottom of the basket tightly with the floral brick foam to within 4 inches of the top rim of the basket.
4.  Glue the first layer of pine cones to the floral brick foam using the low temperature setting of the dual temperature glue gun.
5.  Arrange the pine cones of various shapes and sizes that you are going to see until they fill the basket and the arrangement is pleasing to the eye.  Then glue them in place using the low temperature setting of the dual temperature glue gun.
6.  Glue the smaller pine cones in between the larger pine cones until all the gaps are filled.
7.  Spray the basket and pine cones with varnish or lacquer.  Let dry completely.
8.  Glue the preserved box wood amongst the pine cones until the arrangement is pleasing to the eye.
9.  Glue the preserved evergreen sprigs or other green silk floral amongst the pine cones until the arrangement is pleasing to the eye.
10.  Glue the 1/2" to 1" plaid cloth covered box decorations amongst the pine cones until their placement is pleasing to the eye.
11.  Glue the 1/2" to 1" Shiny Red Apple Decorations amongst the pine cones until their placement is pleasing to the eye.
12.  Cut the red berries so they are individual and then glue the red berries amongst the pine cones until their placement is pleasing to the eye.
13.  Tie the 1 1/2" to 2" wide green wired ribbon into a large decorative bow with many, many  loops so it is very full and then fasten the bow to the middle of the handle of the basket with the wire.
14.  Congratulations - You're Done!

I also created a .PDF "Linda's How-Do-I Series How To Make A Green Painted Pinecone Basket" e-book for this as well.


To view and download my free e-book please CLICK HERE. You'll be brought to Google Drive where you can view our free e-book. Then just download our free .pdf e-book from the File menu in the upper left hand corner.

For more information on all my free e-patterns, e-printables and e-books please CLICK HERE.


However, you may link to my website(s)/blog(s) and the individual page(s)/blog post(s) (including 1 picture) but do not copy, reprint or duplicate my website(s)/blog(s) or individual page(s)/post(s ) without my permission.

Items made from Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns are intended for personal use for fun or small scale personal and business profit as long as you credit us with the design. Large scale commercial use (i.e. mass production) of items made from Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns are by permission only.

Please see my Terms and Conditions for additional information.

Copyright © 2004 - 2023 - All Rights Reserved - Written By Linda Walsh of Linda Walsh Originals and Linda's Blog. Linda is a doll maker and doll pattern designer.

While shopping in the Fall over 20 years ago with hubby we happened to venture into one of those seasonal Christmas decoration shops - just to see what they had.

Well, I was immediately drawn to a pine cone basket that was on the floor. It was pine cones in a large basket that was decorated with berries, ribbons, lace, and assorted dried floral.

I thought it was really pretty and would make a great Christmas decoration until I looked at the price. They wanted close to $180 for the basket which I thought at the time was outrageous.  But, the basket was lovely and I thought it would make a wonderful Christmas decoration.

So, I decided to make my own.  After all, I had pine cones all over my lawn from the white pine and evergreen trees that had fallen that year. Why not use them and create my own pine cone baskets? I certainly had plenty of pine cones of different sizes and types.  And, they were free.

So, hubby and I set to picking up all the pine cones in the yard and sorting them by size and type. I happened to mention to my Mother that I was going to make pine cone baskets and she mentioned this to one of my brothers who decided to have my nieces and nephew collect the fallen pine cones in his yard and give them all to me. I think you can imagine where I'm going with this story. Needless to say I had way more pine cones then I'd ever be able to use in a lifetime. But, I appreciated the effort and the thought.

I decided that I didn't really want to take the time that was required to properly dry my pine cones in the stove as it would take way too much time and would not be worth the effort. So, I decided to store my pine cones in a box for a year and let them dry that way.

Of course I had a LOT of boxes in my basement, but I didn't mind that. To my surprise my pine cones actually dried fine in their boxes and had opened up beautifully by the following year.

I had been collecting baskets on sale during the year along with various other decorations for the baskets - all of which were on sale either after Christmas or before. To my delight I had even found a wooden crate that I thought would make a lovely pine cone basket.  I had also bought various types of wire ribbon which I wanted to use on all the baskets along with various sizes of Christmas tree bulbs.

So, I decided which baskets I was going to spray paint, which baskets I was going to leave as they were, how many pine cone baskets I was going to make, etc. I laid all my baskets out on the floor so I could decide which pine cones to use for which basket, which wire ribbons I was going to use, which dried floral filler I wanted to use, which Christmas tree bulbs I wanted to use, and which decorations I wanted to use.

Given that I never do anything in moderation by the time I finished I had quite a few baskets to make.  Well, make that MANY baskets to make.

Oh, well! I LOVED creating them and had plenty of relatives I could give them to so it was a win-win.  At least that's what I tried to tell my husband when he saw the number of baskets I was making.   My sister keeps telling me I'm married to a saint.  Given my over abundance for creativity and desire or lack thereof  to do anything in moderation I'd have to agree he is a saint.

I spent a couple of days spray painting the baskets red, gold, and blue and then proceeded to make my first basket.  Of course I didn't make a small basket first.  Oh, no! I went for the largest basket I had spray painted.  I had visions of this beautiful gold pine cone basket decorating my front foyer and wanted to make this first.  If it came out okay I'd make the rest.

The first basket that I made is the gold one shown in the picture at the very beginning of this post.  It's a very LARGE basket.  I selected different sizes and kinds of pine cones for this basket, large (3") red Christmas bulbs, dried green eucalyptus floral, dried green pine floral, dried red berry floral, dried jade green berry floral, cinnamon sticks, and gold/green/red 1" ribbon.

Since the basket was really large I decided not to fill it completely with pine cones but to line the bottom with  green florist foam.  For a more realistic woodland feel first I placed enough Spanish moss along the inside of the basket so as to cover any openings in the sides of the basket.  Then I packed the bottom tightly with green foam so that it filled the basket to within 4 inches of the top.  Once my basket was firmly packed I glued my first layer of pine cones to the foam.  For this layer I used some of the uglier pine cones I had collected and some of the broken ones.  It didn't matter as no one was going to see them anyway.

Next I arranged the largest of the pine cones I wanted to use and large red Christmas bulbs (turned upside down) and arranged them within the basket until I was happy with the arrangement.  I glued them in place and added smaller pine cones to fill in the gaps.

When I was happy with the way the arrangement looked I sprayed the basket and pine cones with varnish to seal everything.   Then I proceeded to add and glue the various dried floral I had selected for this arrangement. I cut the cinnamon sticks into various sizes and glued them throughout the basket.   Then I created two large bows with multiple loops and wired them to the sides of the basket.

When it was finished I decided I really liked the way the basket came out and proceeded to make a bunch more.  By the time I was finished I had spent less in supplies for my baskets than the decorated basket I had seen in the Christmas store would have cost and had close to 25 different baskets made that I could give as presents that year.  I was happy with that and everyone who received the baskets seemed to like them.  In fact, I know they liked them because every year they put them out with their Christmas decorations.

Since I do still have quite a few of the pine cone baskets each Christmas season I decide which of the pine cones baskets I'll put out this year.  Each and every year it's a hard decision as they are all wonderful and after twenty years still look as good as the first year I made them.  With twenty plus years in age the pine cone baskets are still going strong and to their credit I'd have to say they were well worth the time and effort it took to make them. Pine cone baskets - now that was a good idea!  And economical to boot!