Upcycle Packing Paper to Make a Free Basket

Do you feel guilty throwing away the packing paper that protects items you ordered online? Have you ever wondered if you could do something useful with it? Today, I’ll show you how you can upcycle packing paper to make a cost-free basket to decorate your home!

I love to walk through my favorite stores and look at what’s new and trending in home decor!

Every store I’ve been in lately has rows and rows of beautiful baskets.

Some of the baskets textures reminded me of brown packing paper, which got me thinking.

It made me wonder if I could make a basket out of the pile of paper I had been saving at home.

So here goes my try at upcycling packing paper!

What does it mean to upcycle?

Not sure what upcycle means?

Here’s a quick definition!

It means to take a discarded or unwanted item and create a new item of higher quality or value.

And that’s what we’re going to do today!

We’ll take packing paper and a metal tin (that most people would have discarded) and make a beautiful basket!

Let’s get started!

Steps to make a basket out of packing paper

Gather

Gather or purchase the following items to complete this project:

• Tin or cardboard box
• Packing paper
• Measuring tape
• Yardstick
• Scissors
• Hot glue gun
• Hot glue sticks
• Silicone finger protectors
• Paint and paintbrush (optional)

Paint the tin

If you do not have a tin at your house, like I did, use a cardboard box instead!

If the box is a similar color to your packing paper, you can skip the painting step!

We received the red and black buffalo check tin from one of our neighbors at Christmas.

It was filled with yummy goodies!

I considered putting it in my donate box but changed my mind because I figured I could paint it or cover it with something to use for storage.

Who knew it would be perfect as the base of my basket?

However, I did not want the red and black buffalo check pattern to show through my packing paper, so I painted my tin.

Prep the Packing paper

Measure

Measure the widest part of your basket.

We will twist and braid the packing paper.

So you will need strips of paper to be double the length of the basket!

My basket is 28 inches at the top. So I need my packing paper to be 56 inches long.

Next, measure across the top of the packing paper and make marks every three inches.

My paper is 15 inches wide and will make five strips.

Repeat this step every couple of feet until you reach the bottom of the paper.

Cut

Being careful with scissors, as they may be sharp, cut the packing paper into long strips.

My strips are 3 inches wide by 56 inches long.

Twist

The next step is easy, but you may want to turn on your favorite tv show or movie because it takes a while!

Twist each strip.

Braid

Now you’re going to braid the twists together!

Take three of the twisted strips and hot glue the ends together.

Be careful since hot glue can burn you! We highly recommend using silicone finger protectors!

Braid the strips by crossing the right piece over the piece in the center.

Then, take the left piece, and cross it over the one in the center.

Continue the steps until you reach the end of the paper, and hot glue the pieces together.

Don’t be worried if your braid is uneven when you get to the bottom! Just cut off the excess and glue the ends together.

As you can see in the picture above, your braid will be much shorter than the strips you cut!

Determine how many braids you’ll need

I planned to use four braids.

But when I glued them to the tin, I pressed them close to each other and realized four would not be enough.

Unfortunately, five braids would be a smidge too tall!

So I came up with a new plan.

Fortunately, I had already decided to add handles to the basket but thought the braids looked too bulky.

So, I made braids with 2-inch strips of packing paper (instead of 3 inches) because they would be a bit smaller.

I also used packing paper that was lighter in color than the original to give the basket some variation!

Make the Basket

Now comes the fun part, let’s put this basket together!

Adhere braided strips

Start at the corner on the bottom and work your way to the top.

Use hot glue to adhere the braid to the bottom of the basket!

When you get around the basket, cut the excess braid off and carefully hot glue each of the three strands to the area where you started.

If it looks too bulky, cut some of the paper before adhering.

I glued three of the wide strips and then the skinnier strip to the basket!

Stop here and add the handles!

Add the handles

The braids for handles are 10 inches.

Hot glue the handles wherever you like!

Adhere the last braid to the top!!

Can you believe how cute this turned out?

Style the basket

I think the basket looks pretty by itself!

But look how cute it is dressed up with a faux plant!

I think my basket looks as good as those I saw in stores!

And can you believe it didn’t cost me anything, since I already had all the items at home!

There’s nothing better than beautiful decor that’s free!!

Are you inspired to save packing paper now?

My friend Cara, from Vintage Style Gal, saved hers and made the cutest wreath you’ve ever seen! Go check it out and tell her I said HI!

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Blessings, Donna and Rich

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More DIY projects we made from items in our home

• Repurpose a Wood Sign Into Wall Art
• How to Transform Ceramic Items with Spray Paint
• Simple Steps to Create a Paper Leaf Garland
• Bed Tray Makeover
• Learn to Make a Personalized Coat Rack