Craft Basket Weave Rubbings for Easter Egg Pictures

      I made these Easter baskets from crayon rubbings and a simple basket stencil that I cut from cardboard.  Then I pasted a half dozen Easter eggs into my baskets after cutting egg shapes from decorative papers. This simple Easter egg, basket craft can be accomplished by students as young as six or seven, but I would recommend it for students in second through fourth grade.

Supply List:

• crayons
• construction paper
• decorative papers
• markers and pencils
• white glue
• Woven patterned surfaces on placemats, baskets and glass or plastic plates if you can find them
• scissors

Directions:

1. Cut and trace a basket stencil. Make this shape simple and with plenty of volume sot that a rubbed texture will be obvious once the project is complete. 
2. Trace and cut the basket shape from yellow or brown construction paper. 
3. Then place the cut basket shape on top of a woven textured surface and then rub the side of a darker crayon firmly across the surface. 
4. Draw additional details onto your paper basket's handle and paste it onto an additional sheet of paper for the background.
5. Then cut and trace egg pattern onto decorative papers for your Easter eggs. You could also use wrapping paper, wallpaper, etc... for these paper eggs. Use your imagination!
6. Paste these paper Easter eggs into your basket picture.

"The weave pattern on these Easter basket is created by rubbing crayons across the surface of paper laid on the top of a Depression glass plate." Depressionware is a marvelous surface for children to make rubbings with. Don't use anything too valuable however, they may break the surface accidentally.

More Art Projects Made From Textured Rubbings:

• If Kids Project: Textured Rubbing Plates
• Arts & Crafts Projects for Young Children-Texture Rubbing 
• Corrugated Cardboard Relief Prints
• Craft a Fall Landscape Using Leaf Rubbings

video about rubbing textures

When Planning the Easter Basket

Left, the bow at it's best. Center, a prize winner. Right, tiny rose buds on a round form.

      Which shall it be the gaudy tinsel-decked form filled with candy or rather questionable value, or the Easter basket that combines present beauty with future worth? When planning the basket for the gift, it is undeniable that there should be something more than a combination of much money and little taste; indeed, it is better to have a little less of the former, and by emphasizing the latter, make the Easter basket a gift worthy of the thought.

      A stroll through any basketry department will unfold hundreds of shapes to your eyes--forms so lovely in color and variety that the specially "seasonable" baskets of greens and pinks will be rejected to the past, when beauty was not so much insisted upon.

      From the dull shades that have the advantage of affording a harmonious background for any color, a receptacle for the gift (it may be a plant, flowers, or candy) can be evolved that will stand for the best in this line.

      With green leaves from the flower counter, and pale yellow satin ribbon, a spray of tiny rosebuds it is possible for any woman who has the knack of tying to decorate a superior basket. The basket form (left) pictured above is decorated with three or four loops of ribbon for the making of each bud. Notice the attractive line that trails around the shapes in graceful abandon.

      On the bucket-shaped wicker basket, center, a larger rose and bud are used. The petals are made separately of two pieces of silk, and stamens make up the attractive center. Large leaves are placed between the silken forms. The result is particularly pleasing.

      The high standing basket (right) above shows the effective use of a bow--not the stiff large form that spells yards of expensive ribbon, but the soft French bow, secured by twisting the ribbon before tying. From this, a few satin roses and green leaves follow the weave up to the top.

      For those who prefer the undecorated form, a round basket filled with fresh eggs contains no headaches for the fortunate recipient. It is a gift for an invalid that will bring the thought of the giver in tangible form. If for the little boy or girl, a morning spent in decorating the eggs with  faces, or colors, will fully compensate for the lack of the sweets that usually result in vain regrets. 

      It is hardly necessary to suggest that each of these baskets will fit into a niche when the Easter season is no more. For the porch, the sewing table or the library shelf they will supply just the tangible reminder that we are improving in the appreciation of the beautiful. A basket selected and decorated in this fashion will be received with as much joy as the coming of the springtime.

Weave an Easter Basket Scene

      This is a time consuming project that has wonderful results when completed. I recommend this craft for students in 3rd or 4th grade. It will take time for them to create their pictures and to also carefully follow instructions. Never avoid teaching art assignments to older children for any of these reasons. Perseverance is a rewording human attribute to develop and nurture in the young. They will make something they can be proud of and teachers will learn to adapt processes to challenge their aging protégé.

Far left: I cut a basket stencil to fit the largest piece of standard sized construction paper I could find. Working large for this art project makes it much easier for a small child to craft. Adults may scale the activity down and create interesting Easter cards using the same weaving process with ribbons if they'd like. Center: Here you can see; I've traced around my stencil and added long wavy lines down the front vessel part of my basket design. I then cut along these lines that imitate the 'warp' part of the woven design. Proceed then to use long strips of construction paper to mimic the 'weft' process by which the construction paper basket is woven. Far Right: After I have woven my basket, I will paste down and tuck in loose edges of the design on the front side of the basket to hide any imperfections.

Far Left: Turn the woven design over and mask the back side of your picture before cutting it out. Center: Cut out the basket carefully; remember to leave approximately 1/8 of an inch around the edges of your flat woven basket as you go. Far Right: The finished basket is now glued along the edges only and adhered to a bright white background. Only the edges of the basket and the handle of the basket are glued, so that additional paper elements may be added into the inside of the flat woven picture in the end.

Cut some grass to add to the bottom of your woven Easter picture. Measure from the bottom of your background paper up to the point where you would like the grass to cover the bottom of the basket. Double this measurement and cut a strip of green construction paper out that will run the length of the white construction paper. Fold the paper in have horizontally and cut narrow slashed along the folded edge only. Be careful not to cut all the way to the other edge of your folded paper; leave about 1/8 of an inch of an additional boarder. Unfold your grass border. It should look something like the one pictured above. The cuts do not need to be as regular as mine.

 Now refold your green construction paper and staple it to the white construction paper along the bottom edge.

Left: Cut the loops in half. Right: Give your grass a bit of a fringe with the sharp edge of your scissors.

Now you can cut and color some bright eggs, peeps, and a chocolate bunny to add to your woven Easter picture. I also stuffed the basket with green, paper, Easter grass in order to enhance the three dimensional effect. Glue the paper embellishments on the complete picture.

Baby's Easter Basket from 1894

I found this tiny article for the making of an Easter basket for an infant in a newspaper from 1894. The idea is sweet, however, some of you may wish to update it a bit. Apparently, you can still purchase violet powder from The Williamsburg Marketplace.

A Charming Little Gift Which Unites Utility and Beauty.

      This is a delightful gift to the little one, combining as it does utility and beauty. Take a small basket and gild it. Make small rosettes of pink or blue baby ribbon and sew them around the edge and over the handle as shows. 

      Fill the basket with white swan's-down cotton and place the prepared eggs, one on either side.

      To prepare the eggs make small holes in the ends and expel the contents by blowing. When empty and dry fill with violet powder. Cover the ends with perforated white court-plaster. pasted on neatly, making the perforations with a shoe-punch.

      A powder puff tied to the handle adds to the effectiveness. The powder can be dusted on the tender flesh from the egg and "smoothed down" by means of the puff.

Additional Gift Basket Ideas for The Modern Baby - by Natalie:

• Gift It! Baby Bath Time Tub
• Bathtime Bubbles & Bedtime Snuggles Baby Basket
• Baa Baa Black Sheep Baby Gift Basket
• Honey Themed Baby Baskets

A-Tisket, A Tasket, A Green and Yellow Basket

      This green and yellow Easter basket was made with inexpensive white paper plates, tissue paper, ruffled cup cake liners and a bit of lacy, green ribbon. I've included below the sequence for folding and stapling the basket together. Prior to this step, I glued fancy tissue paper onto my paper plates. You can use white school glue or Mod Podge for this step. I also hot glued yellow, ruffled, paper liners to the edges of the paper plates before stapling these together. The handle was stapled on at the very end of the process. This is very simple and inexpensive way to craft large quantities of Easter baskets. The project would also be an excellent one for those of you who celebrate May Day.

      Click on the photo to see it larger. The basket may be stapled together with only three staples. These paper plate baskets can be mass produced by art teachers, classroom teachers or Sunday school teachers for little ones to decorate however they wish. These are very affordable alternatives to what you might end up purchasing elsewhere. These paper basket versions are also quite durable!

Spring by Jane Smith, (11 years old)
Spring is the merriest time of year,
When children usually are full of cheer,
And flowers bloom and birds all sing-
That is the way it is in the spring.