This is my third consecutive Tuesday sharing a crafty project (two weeks ago I made a small fall wreath, and last week I stenciled a pillow using a metal grate). I thought it would be fun to try doing something creative each week — aiming for Tuesdays when possible — and call the series “Weekly Crafty.” Life will probably interfere sometimes, but I’m hoping to keep it loose and enjoyable.
I’ve always enjoyed sharing simple craft ideas (there’s a whole category devoted to them on our Projects page) because they’re a nice way to stay mentally active while our house is stuck in that long phase of wallpaper removal, trim work, and endless painting. Those tasks feel like they’ll never end, but once the house becomes more of a blank slate, the fun decorating choices can begin. Some weeks I’ll tweak something I already own; other weeks I’ll pick up inexpensive supplies. It could be homemade art, fabric or paper projects, or something else entirely. This week I had fun painting baskets.
Basket painting is popular — designers and brands have explored it for years — and we’d even spray-painted the bottoms of some baskets for Clara’s playroom in the past. This time I wanted something bolder with a hand-painted look, so I started with a couple of plain baskets my mom brought over. She didn’t have a place for them and thought we could use them for toy storage or under-sink organization.
I gathered the paints I had on hand and chose colors that worked together: a pearly cream (Folk Art’s Metallic Champagne), a light Tiffany blue (Martha Stewart’s Surf), and a deeper metallic gold (Deco Art’s Dazzling Metallics in Glorious Gold) for one basket. For the other basket, I picked red and pink tones (Martha Stewart’s Geranium and Pink Dahlia).
The whole family joined in. John and Clara played with watercolors at her desk while I painted at the white pedestal table that now sits in the middle of our office (it used to be our too-small kitchen table). The relaxed, casual setup made the craft feel really homey.
About thirty minutes later I had two cheerful painted baskets. One got simple stripes of pearl, blue, and goldy-pearl in varying widths. The other became more playful with a neon palette and small, sideways-heart-like shapes across the middle. Once they were dry, Clara immediately put them to use in her room for toys, which worked out perfectly.
You can see in a close-up that the paint isn’t perfectly within the lines in every spot, but woven baskets are naturally imperfect, so a little paint bleed doesn’t matter. That slightly uneven, hand-painted finish is part of the charm.
Here’s a closer look at the blue-striped basket. Stripes are a quick option, though the red-and-pink basket wasn’t complicated either. I didn’t use painter’s tape — I painted freehand to keep a relaxed, handmade look rather than crisp, taped edges.
This project was essentially free for me since I used handed-down baskets and leftover craft paint. If you needed to buy everything new, you could probably find baskets at HomeGoods for around $7 each and pick up a few paint tubes at a craft store for about $10 total, and with coupons you might keep the cost under $20 for two baskets and some paint.
Would you try basket painting? I didn’t spray-seal these because our previously spray-painted baskets have held up well; woven materials tend to accept and hold paint nicely. If these start to show wear I’ll consider a clear coat and will share an update.
What other crafts are you working on? Any seasonal projects or pumpkin decorating happening? Maybe next week I’ll try something autumn-inspired.
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