There is a lot to take care of when it comes to planning a wedding, from the gown you’ll wear to how the flower girl will dress. Speaking of the flower girl are you planning on going out and purchasing a basket for her to carry the flower petals? Don’t! You might already have the basket at home. That is, if you have an old Easter basket you have a potential flower girl’s basket.
Cheap, plastic Easter baskets are ideal for making the flower baskets. Other baskets can be used if they’re not too bulky on the outside. For example, a wooden slat basket can be used but a braided twig-type basket would not be ideal. Also, baskets with fabric or felt covers glued on are not appropriate.
Start by deciding on the colors you will use then purchase craft supplies in those colors. Wrap the handle of the basket with ribbon or gathered lace. Hot glue one end of the lace to the end of the handle, where it connects to the bucket. Wrap the lace round and round the handle until you have completely covered it. You can use dabs of hot glue, here and there, to secure the lace.
Now decide if the inside will be covered, too. If you want, the inside of the basket can be left as-is, and only the outside decorated. Or, you can use lace or cloth to cover the inside as well. Cut a huge circle of lace or cloth and place it in the bottom of the basket. Create pleats in the fabric and glue them around the inside edges of the top of the bucket. Make the pleats by creating the first one, gluing it in place, then going to the opposite side of the bucket to create the second one. Now go between the two pleats to make the next pleat, then to the opposite side to make the next one. This ensures that all the pleats are evenly spaced around the bucket.
Trim the excess fabric from around the top edge of the bucket. Don’t worry that the raw edges are showing; you’ll cover the edges later. Right now, use one to two-inch wide gathered lace to decorate the outside of the bucket. Begin gluing it all around the way around to cover the Easter theme. It’s helpful if you use a white Easter basket if you’re going to be adding white lace. Other colors of baskets can be covered by colored lace, but basket colors of purple, pink or green, can often still be seen through white lace.
Start at an area on the bottom side of the bucket and glue the end of the lace on. The lace should be placed so that it hangs slightly below the actual basket. Begin hot gluing the lace around the bucket, making row after row of the gathered lace, until the bucket is completely covered. When creating the last row of the lace do so by gluing it over the raw edges of the inner bucket lining. The lacy flower basket is now almost complete.
Create two long bows out of satin ribbon. Hot glue one bow onto each side of the basket. The bows should be placed in the areas where the handle ends attach to the bucket. They should hang long but not so long that the flower girl could trip. Other embellishments can of your choice can now be attached to the basket. Glue silk flower petals, here and there, on the basket. Or, create a floral motif on the front of the basket by gluing on leaves, flowers and strands of beads.
Create a different basket by taking a long piece of wide lace or tulle and gluing it to the basket. Twist the fabric again and again to form a tube-like piece of the cloth. Glue to the edge of the basket and continue wrapping. Twist the fabric again and again, glue it in place, then twist and glue the rows until the basket is covered. Do the same to the handle. You can even continue the rolling and gluing process to cover the inside of the basket. Glue on your choice of bows and other embellishments.
Your flower girl’s basket will look extremely elegant and expensive but only you will know it was cheap and easy to make! Fill with flowers, hand it over to the chosen girl, and watch everybody as they stare in awe! Not only is the flower girl grabbing attention but so is that beautiful flower basket!
Reference:
- Purchase gathered lace here: www.joann.com
