Tag Archives: table decor

Tiny Treat Basket

Here is a tiny treat basket I made for Easter. You can adjust the colors and themes to suit any occasion you want.

Here is an easy basket to make out of paper for handing out small treats or using as party favors. Each basket side is about 1 3/4″ square. I made these samples for Easter. The colors I used could also work for other spring occasions such as Mother’s Day, showers or weddings. Change the colors and design motifs for any occasion of your choice throughout the year.

Tools and Materials

Downloadable image file – Tiny Treat Basket
Scissors
Glue stick
Scrap cardstock, such as old file folders
Clean scrap paper
Bone folder or squeegee
Decorative cardstock and paper
Heart punch or other shape punch of your choice
Decorative paper edging scissors
Adhesive dots and/or double-sided tape
Washi/Design tape

Optional extras: basket “grass”, gift tags, embroidery floss, baker’s twine.

Instructions

Download and print out the template Tiny Treat Basket.

Tiny Envelope Treat Basket Template
Tiny Envelope Treat Basket Template
Gluing parts cut from template printout to leftover file folder cardstock to make templates for tracing.
Gluing parts cut from template printout to leftover file folder cardstock to make templates for tracing.

Loosely cut out the basket, handle, and one of the squares out of the printout. Leave a little paper outside the outline when you cut so that you can trim it closer after gluing. Glue the pieces down on the scrap cardstock with a glue stick, burnishing it well with a bone folder or squeegee to get a good tight seal on the glue. Cut out the pieces.

Fold in the flaps and seams to get a crease the fold back out before you use the basket template. Seeing where the folds are will help you make little pencil marks on the back of the tracing in case you need some to indicate where the folds will go.

Next trace around the shapes you just cut out onto some cardstock with pencil. Only one side is going to show when finished, so if your cardstock is double sided make sure your pencil lines are not on the side you want to show.

Trace squares, the basket, and the handle. Each basket uses two squares as shown, but I made four out of each piece of card stock I was using to have extras for making cards and other things later. Another reason it’s good to have extra squares is that if you use decorative cardstock that doesn’t have the same pattern all over, it’s easier to find combinations that you like with a variety to choose from.

Tracing around basket, handle and square shapes on the back of decorative thin cardstock.

I recommend making several baskets at a time – that’s the easiest way to experiment with colors and patterns to get the look you want. You can make them all match each other, or make them all different like I did.

Cut out the basket piece and handle with a plain scissors, and the squares with a decorative scissors. Punch out a bunch of shapes of your choice.

Cut out a bunch of squares with a decorative paper edging scissors and punch out a lot of hearts so you have a lot of choices to work with.

Take a basket cutout, and fold the flaps and basket sides in and out again to make creases. It’s best to fold toward the outside of the basket first before folding inward. The reason for this is that some colored papers have a white core which can show through if there is tearing along the fold. This shows far less if you fold toward the outside first.

Having creases at this stage makes centering the squares and the punched out shapes in the middle of each side of the basket much easier. Glue a square onto two sides of the basket, and a punched shape on the other two. Then glue a punch shape over each square. Place clean scrap paper over all and burnish well.

Here are some of the resulting color and texture combinations.

One layer of card stock is a bit flimsy for this project in my opinion. To make the basket and handle sturdier, I picked a complementary color of solid cardstock and glued it to the reverse side of the basket and handle pieces to make double thickness laminated cardstock. Then I trimmed around the baskets and handles with a scissors.

Now you can assemble the baskets. Place double sided tape on the flaps and fold in and press the basket together like a little box.

Reinforce each basket corner with design tape, also known as washi tape. Florals and butterflies worked really well with my spring theme.

Put adhesive dots or double sided tape on the top side of each end of the handle, then bend and position it in place. Press with your fingers where the adhesive dots are to firmly attach the handle to the insides. If you think the handle needs a bit more support, a piece of design tape over the join on the inside looks nice and makes the handle attachment stronger.

Here are more examples of Tiny Treat Baskets I made for Easter using different color combinations. I used paper scraps from making them to make little tags which I tied on with bakers twine and embroidery thread.

You’re done! Now you can fill the basket and tie on a gift tag if you want to.

Make a Seed Packet Bouquet

A bouquet of seed packets

Here is a way to give a bouquet of flowers that is a little different from the usual! Mount seed packets on skewers in a vase for a festive gift. Such arrangements can also be used for table centerpieces or party favors.

Tools and Materials

Packets of seeds, either purchased or handmade

Seed packet holder templates
Laminating sheets (optional)
Scissors
Cardstock
Cutting mat
X-acto or craft knife
Metal ruler
Pencil
Double-sided tape
Small hole punch
Wood skewers (available in grocery stores)
Decorative paper flowers
Needle tool or awl
Decorative flower-shaped brads

1. Download the template Seed Packet Holders. It includes two holder templates. Cut out and if you like, laminate for durability.

2. Use the template that is the correct size for your seed packet and cut out a piece of card stock of a color that is harmonious with your seed packet. Fold it in half.

3. Lay the holder piece flat on your cutting mat and place the template over it. Cut four diagonal slits through both your template and the front of the seed packet holder. When you use the template again, if you like you can draw lines through it with a pencil to indicate where to cut on the front of the holder.

4. Push a wooden skewer through the back of the holder so that the blunt end of the skewer ends up inside the holder butted up against the fold. Tape in place.

5. Slip your seed packet into the front of the holder and poke a hole with a needle tool or awl in the holder piece at each corner of the seed packet.

6. Take four small paper flowers in colors that go well with your seed packet and position them inside four larger paper flowers. Poke a decorative brad through each flower to make a flower center. Push the brads through the holes in each corner and fold brads over on the back. If you can use the brad tines to help hold the seed packet in place as you spread them that is a bonus.

7. Put double sided tape along the sides and bottom inside your holder. Fold the front down and press halves together.

8. Arrange your packets in a vase. You’re done!