Put It All Together And What Do You Get?

The last few posts I have shown you how to make a Chain Garland, a Satin Ribbon Garland, Cake Pops and Paper Baskets.

But what I was really showing you, little by little, was how I was pulling together a small dinner party for some very special friends.

Put them all together (with a few extra touches) and this is what you get:

I added some crepe paper, some small hearts hanging from ribbons on the chandelier and some white tulle and colorful ribbon on the chairs. Then I set the table with the paper baskets for the Valentine exchange.

All in all, this whole room transformation was made with one pack of scrapbook paper, ribbon and tape. I added small embellishments like crepe paper and pink party napkins, but overall, the decorations and food were made by me.

The whole space cost me less than $30 dollars and it created a mood and theme, welcomed my guests and made them feel as though I had gone out of my way just for them.

Making Paper Baskets

You may have noticed these in the flickr slide show on my sidebar. They are paper baskets that I made for Easter last year; to dress the table, act as a place card, and an Easter basket to hold yummy treats for my guests.

I made them again to collect valentines for friends, so I thought I'd show you how easy it is to make them! You will need paper, scissors, hole punch, stapler, ribbon and a ruler or small square tracer (not shown).

I used a square pack of sticky notes to measure the square I needed to cut out from each corner. The paper I used was 12" x 12" double sided scrapbook paper and I used a 3" x 3" pack of stickies. This made my finished basket 6" x 6".

Next, use your hole punch to put holes in each of the sides. This is how you will pull the sides together. In the very first picture you can see that I only made one hole on each side, but in the background you can see another basket where I used three holes. It doesn't matter how many holes you make, as long as there are the same number on each side!

Cut a length of ribbon for each hole. Then fold each side in towards the middle. Thread the ribbon through the matching holes....

...and tie them to hold the sides together.

Cut a length of paper for the handle and staple it on. You could also make 2 holes here and tie it on with more ribbon, or staples the ribbon on and tie a bow. Be creative!

And there you have it! Paper baskets that dress up your table that are just waiting to be filled with valentines!

For a more shallow or deep basket: change the size of the square you cut out from each corner.
*For a deeper basket (taller sides) make the square larger. This will make the bottom of your basket smaller.
*For a shallower basket (shorter sides) make the square smaller. This will make the bottom of your basket larger.

For a rectangular basket: start with rectangular paper. You will still need to cut a square from the corners, as this shape ensures the sides will be the same height when you fold them up and tie them together.