Paper Twist Easter Basket

Steps:

1. Untwist all of the paper twist. Reserve two 6-inch pieces of white paper twist for the bunny's ears and don't untwist them yet. Note: It takes a little while to do the untwisting; you could let your little ones help.

2. Keep the bag folded (closed) and cut off about 5 inches at the top.

3. Find the natural crease in the bag and fold the top down at that point, folding the bag into itself.

4. Cut four pieces of yellow paper twist long enough to reach from the top inside edge of the bag down the front, underneath the bag, and back up the rear. These are your front-to-back pieces.

5. Cut two pieces of yellow paper twist long enough to reach from the top inside of the bag's side, down the side, across the bottom, and back up the other side. These are the side-to-side pieces.

6. Cut three pieces of purple paper twist, each one long enough to go all the way around the outside of the bag.

7. With hot glue, glue one end of the four front-to-back pieces of yellow paper twist to the inside rim of the basket. Pull the length snugly around the bottom of the basket and glue the other end on the inside rear of the basket. Don't worry about how the ends look — you'll cover that up later. Try to glue the ends of the strips as close together as possible, but don't worry if the strips don't completely cover the bag — weaving the purple twist through will cover up the rest of the bag.

8. Glue one end of a side-to-side piece to the inside top of the bag side. Pull the piece down the side to the bottom of the bag and weave it over and under the front-to-back pieces on the bottom of the bag. Then glue the other end to the inside top of the other side of the bag. Repeat this for the second side-to-side piece until the bag is covered in yellow paper twist. Make sure the second row goes over and under alternating pieces on the bottom different than the ones the first side-to-side piece went over and under.

9. To add the bottom row of purple: Feed a piece of purple paper twist over and under the yellow strips all the way around the bag. Where the ends meet, glue them to the bag itself underneath the yellow strip.

10. For the middle row of purple, repeat the process above, but start by going under a piece of yellow that you went over in the previous step. This will create the basket "weave." Glue the ends to the bag underneath a strip of yellow, like above.

11. Repeat this process for the top row of purple. This time, you should feed the paper twist over and under the same yellow strips that you did for the bottom row in step 9, gluing the ends in place the same way.

12. This completes the basket. To make the handle, braid three pieces of paper twist (two yellow and one purple, or vice versa) and staple the three pieces together at each end. Then glue or staple each end inside the basket. If you staple the handle to the bag, be sure to slip your stapler underneath the outer rows of paper twist so they'll hide the staple on the outside. It's ok if the staple shows on the inside — you'll cover that up later.

13. To make the bunny's face: Cover the rounded half of the plastic foam ball with white twist paper, securing it on the back (the flat part) with pins or glue. This is the bunny's face. Note: If you can't glue to the foam, make the piece of white paper large enough to glue onto itself.

14. Make two balls of tissue paper or scrap paper about the size of a quarter and cover them with white twist paper to create the bunny's cheeks, or use large cotton balls.

15. Use a pink cotton ball for a nose, or make a ball of paper covered in the pink paper twist.

16. Cut pipe cleaners into three 5-inch pieces and glue them onto the bunny's face, three on each side. Glue the white cheeks over that, and the pink nose on top of it all. Finish the bunny's face by drawing or painting two eyes, or use wiggly eyes or felt pieces.

17. Cut two 6-inch pieces of pink paper twist for ears. Untwist the middles of each piece, leaving both ends tightly twisted in points. If you want white ears, use white paper twist and 'blush' the insides pink with pink paint and a dry brush or pink make-up (blush or eye shadow). Attach the bunny's ears with hot glue just behind the top of the bunny's head.

18. Glue the bunny's head to the basket with hot glue. Make a bow of remaining paper twist (any color) and glue under bunny's head like a bow tie.

19. Line the inside of the basket with tissue paper (secured with glue stick or craft glue), or glue rows of the paper twist around the inside. Fill the inside as you wish, with Easter grass or paper shred and lots of treats.