Shoebox-turned-classy gift basket :)

[koombalai]

Hello hello!
This is a very elegant picnic gift basket I made for a special guest at my school.

So... Can you tell it was a shoebox?
For the record, this is the shoebox. It had my new winter boots in it.


Tutorial:
1. Cut a large circle out of the bottom of the box. Cut long strips from the sides of the box. If the strips are not long enough to meet the circumference of the circle, attach the strips length to length in order to make three strips equal in length to the circumference of the circular base. Connect the ends of each strip to create three circles.
2. Hot glue the circular base to the first circular length of cardboard.
3. Using platypus or other brand decorative duct tape, cover the outside of each circular strip. I used a wood grain patterned tape. Using the duct tape again, weave between the circular layers to create a basket weave and connect the three circular strips to the base.

4. Cover the base similarly in the duct tape. 
5. Line with pretty tissue paper, tie a nice bow, and fill with goodies!
As an example, I filled the basket with flavoured tunas, a jar of roasted red peppers, gouda cheese, canape crackers, sparkling juice, and chocolate filled crepe cookies. Yum! I also added some faux flowers to pretty up the place.

[blupaisan]

You must have either a great deal of talent or a great deal of patience. I cannot for the life of me figure out how one would go about 'weaving' with duct tape!  Goodness gracious, all I have to do is touch it to any surface, and I'm done.... can't get it to let go!  Did you put two sticky sides together,, then do the weave?  do tell!!!  This looks so beautiful, there is no way anyone would guess that is was originally a shoe box.  Nice job. Who would ever think of going circular??!!  (-;

[PaperBeau]

What a wonderful gift basket - and everything I love about upcycling - stylish and useful

[koombalai]

The answer is... a great deal of patience!
The trick to keeping the duct tape from sticking to itself is to keep the loops of duct tape loose. Just don't let it touch anything except your hands and the object you need to stick it to. You can also consider sticking the tape to something else until it is ready to be applied.
I stuck one end of a long strip to the bottom of the basket and stuck it vertically to the outside of the bottom ring. Then the tricky part begins... I passed the strip between the bottom and middle ring towards the inside, then back toward the outside between the middle and top rings. This leaves the sticky side exposed at the level of the middle ring. Be careful not to get it stuck!  I used the palm of my left hand to separate the tape while my right hand controlled the direction of the strip. After passing the tape through, stick the strip vertically to the outside of the top ring then stick it down vertically on the inside of the basket, making sure to line it up with the exposed sticky bit from the middle ring.
To give the look of a basket weave, evenly space the strips. I visualized the bottom of the basket as a clock and applied strips at 9, 3, 6, and 12. I then applied more strips between the first set as I saw fit.
I hope this helps. If I make another basket soon, I'll be sure to take more in-progress pictures. Shoebox gift baskets for everyone!

[JS]

So creative and pretty!

[ruthiebaby]

Wow, I am VERY impressed!! With both your ingenuity and patience!!