Baskets provide the perfect balance of form and function, beauty and practicality. And, believe it or not, basket weaving is surprisingly easy to do yourself!

Directions:

1. Separate your magazine into pages of spreads. Fold your spread in half, and cut strips, lengthwise. Repeat until you have a decent number of strips.
2. Once you decide on a size for your basket, lay out an even amount of strips on the table vertically. Then, gather the same number of strips to weave horizontally through your first set, going over and under the vertical strips. This will create a square weave that will become the bottom of the basket. (There should be sections of your woven strips that are off the sides of the bottom square. These will be used as the frames for weaving the sides of your basket.)
3. To weave the sides of your basket, hold the side structure up and weave a new strip, over and under, all the way around your basket. If your strip ends before you get around the basket, just glue on a new strip to finish your first woven row.
4. Once you get back to the beginning of your strip, make sure it is tight around the basket, then glue the ends together. If necessary, trim the ends of the strip.
5. For the next woven row, take a new strip, and, again, weave around the basket but in the opposite direction of the previous row. Continue this pattern with the remaining strips.
6. Once your basket is the desired height, trim any remaining strips sticking up, and then simply tuck the ends down into the weave inside the basket. Spray the entire basket with polyurethane spray, to help form and maintain the shape and make the paper stiff.
7. Cut a square piece of cardboard to fit inside the bottom of your basket. This will be your base insert for the basket and help maintain the shape, and then glue a piece of matching fabric or burlap to the base to finish the look.