Primitive Baskets & Berry Garlands

This basket was handmade for me. It was one out of a set of 8, that a reader sent in for a product review sample. This particular basket was handcrafted with natural maple & leather straps.

During one of my trips to a favorite gift shop, I saw a beautiful black basket with a berry garland around the top. Unfortunately, it was way out of the price range that I was willing to pay for it.

I started thinking about some of the baskets that I had at home, and I decided to try an experiment with one of them.

I used a can of flat black spray paint and covered the basket inside & out (outside in a well vented area of course :). At first I wanted to try to keep the handles from getting paint on them for fear of ruining the leather, but then I decided to go ahead & try to paint them.

I was pleasantly surprised at how nice this project came out! Both the leather & the wood received the paint, and both covered very well!

As you can see in this picture, I’ve added a nice fall berry garland to the top for the season. Each season, I plan to add some different type of decoration.

You could use any extra basket that you have around your house – a $1 can of paint & some seasonal decorations to make your own inexpensive decorative display.

I really love the way this project gives me a primitive basket look, at a very small price!