Woven paper basket

Hello everyone! Once again I'm trying out something new for myself for a change....something I've never done before but have always been intrigued to try for a long time now. I've seen photos of people posting about weaving paper baskets from old newspapers/old magazines in Facebook numerous times over the years. And each and every time I see them in my Facebook newsfeed, I would be telling myself that this is something that I want to do someday. I guess that day finally came and I am glad I did it!

I searched and searched for video tutorials on YouTube to learn how to make the simplest woven paper baskets that I could do for the first time. And I finally found one that I initially thought was simple to do. Little did I know that it was not as easy as it seems! Haha! 

Rolling the papers one by one and weaving them was really time consuming and tiring too. I didn't have a lot of time in my hands to spend making this paper basket. I only did it whenever I have some short breaks from work. Instead of watching TV or doing other things to relax, I was weaving the basket! Haha! Whatever makes me happy! 😆😆😆.

I found out that there are a few ways of weaving paper baskets, and it's all up to your preference to try out which method that you like best. I was actually looking for a method to weave paper baskets that looks like baskets made from Rattan or Rotan in Malay. Since I found some that did have the similarities, I just had to try it!! I don't have old newspapers at home, but I do have a lot of old A4 papers to recycle and they were just perfect for this little project. I needed to make some paper baskets for me to use to organize some of my craft supplies in them and arrange them nicely on the racks in my craft room. It's a great way to recycle old papers and turn them into useful and practical items. Now there is no reason for wasting anymore papers at home.

One of the methods of weaving the paper basket is by making a base for the basket first before I can start doing the weaving. I thought that was a really brilliant idea because then I would have a really flat and even surface for the base. Although you could use any type of paper to wrap the thick board (I used an old drawing block board) for the base, I immediately thought of this wooden pattern sheet that I bought from MR.DIY a year ago. It has adhesive underneath the sheet so you can peel it off like a sticker and paste it on the board easily. The sheet is easy to clean when it gets dusty, so it's perfect for my paper basket project! Love it! 💗💗💗 

Check out the photos of the weaving process below 👇👇👇

Weaving was fun but rolling the papers was not. I needed a LOT of rolled papers in order to weave a big basket like this one. So it felt like forever to finish this big piece! HAHA! I guess I didn't have enough patience to do it as I was too excited to see the finish product. Furthermore, I didn't have enough time to spare anyways. I would probably do this again when I have some free time but I won't use the same method though as there are many other interesting methods to try out.

Painting the basket with acrylic bronze paint was really fun as it makes it look like a rattan basket. It also gives the basket a fancier look and hopefully will last longer since it's been treated with paint. I simply love the look although the basket is looking a little crooked because of my weaving method hahahaha. Hopefully I'll weave it better next time!