Materials
- 20 Paint stir sticks 12"
- Paper plate
- Pencil
- Scissors
- Paint or stain for the base
- Paint brush (chip brushes work well enough)
- Embroidery hoops in two different sizes
- Hot glue gun and glue sticks
- Sandpaper
- OPTIONAL:
- Ribbon
- Burlap
Instructions:
1. Lightly sand paint sticks for smooth finish.
2. Paint or stain your hoops and paint sticks, give them ample time to dry.
3. Once dry, place the small hoop in the center of your paper plate, which will become the bottom of your bushel basket.
*The glue seepage should be enough to secure the paper plate later but add more glue if necessary. *
4. Hot glue the flat side of your paint stick to the inside of your small hoop at a slight outward angel (they will have to splay out to inside of larger hoop).
*If you have paint sticks with grooves, like a handle, glue in with grooves at the top.
5. Continue this all the way around the inside of your hoop, leaving even spacing between each stick.
6. If you have the paint sticks that have grooves, use that indent to place your next embroidery hoop. If you have plain sticks, just go about 3”-4” down.
7. Place the larger embroidery hoop around the OUTSIDE of your sticks.
This will be a little awkward, but you can do it!
8. Hot glue one of the sticks to the inside of the hoop. Hold this in place until it cures (just several seconds).
9. Hot glue the paint stick directly opposite of the one you just glued to the hoop. Once these are done, the craft will be braced pretty well and will be easier to work with.
10. Glue the remaining sticks to the hoop.
11. Once all of your paint sticks are glued in, completing your basket, trim the excess material of the paper plate off by running an X-Acto knife blade or scissors along the edge of the bottom of the hoop.
12. Take a chip brush and some white paint and add a bit of dry brush to the outside of your basket.
13. If you would like your basket to look a little more rustic, you can take some sandpaper and sand back the color a bit.
14. Fill it with apples, pumpkins, gourds or even treats! Enjoy!
