Beaded Milk Jug Basket

You've probably seen the standard "milk jug basket" before, but this is a really nice way to dress one up and make it look really fancy. My kids were so crazy about this idea that they want to make these for their "official" Easter baskets this year.

What You'll Need:

• Gallon Milk Jug (empty, clean, & dry)
• Scissors
• Hole Punch
• Stapler
• Yarn
• Pony Beads
• Tape

What to Do:

1. Cut the bottom of the milk jug off. You should cut about 4 inches or so from the bottom so that you'll have a basket that's deep enough to put things in without them falling out.

2. Use the extra piece of the milk jug to make a handle for the basket and staple it on the basket bottom. Use a couple of staples on both sides to make sure it will hold. You're basket should look like the picture below.

3. Use the hole punch to punch holes all the way around the top edge of the basket. The holes should be about an half inch apart.

4. Cut a long piece of yarn and tie one end through one of the holes in the basket. Wrap a small piece of tape around the other end of the yarn to make a "needle" so it's easier to use. Now thread on two pony beads and thread the yarn through the next hole. We used a "whip stitch" for our basket, but it doesn't matter as long as the child does this him/herself.

What I mean by "whip stitch" is that we went in through the hole in the front, pulled it through, went over the top of the basket, and back in through the next hole in the front again.

Continue putting a couple of beads on the yarn and then threading it through the next hole, and so on, until you've gone all the way around the top of the basket.

Tie of the yarn and fill it up!