Tutorial: Upcycled Easter Baskets

This week's How-To is Tutorial - Upcycled Easter Baskets by Liz, from The Sitting Tree here on the Natural Kids Team. This great basket tutorial makes a wonderful start of the Spring and Easter themed tutorials I plan to do in the upcoming weeks. It is a perfect size for a child to tote around their natural toys or as a basket for Easter goodies!

Tutorial - Upcycled Easter Baskets:

Looking for an all~natural, eco~friendly alternative to the standard toxic easter baskets you find on the shelves of the big box stores? Make your own this year out of recycled clothing!

Materials::

1 linen skirt/top at least 18" wide (or any thin fabric) for the lining

1 thick wool felted sweater/blanket at least 18" wide for the body

Directions::

1. Cut out a square 18" x 18". Then in each of the 4 corners, cut out a 6" square. You'll end up with an x shape. The middle square will be the bottom of the basket, and the outside pieces will fold up to make the sides!

2. Now bring your neighboring corners together. Pin and sew all four edges together.

Repeat these steps again with the thick wool fabric.

3. Cut out two pieces of linen 2.5" x 5" for the handles. Press each edge to

the middle and then press the whole thing in half again. Sew them closed.

4. With right sides together, match up the corners and pin lining to the body.

Pin the handles upside down, in between the two fabrics. Do the same thing on the opposite side. Sew along the edge of THREE SIDES ONLY {Make sure to include both handled edges in three sides ~ I didn't of course!}

Next, take out all your pins and turn the basket right side out. Press your top seam flat and adjust the lining. Hand sew the opening closed and you're done! {My wool was so thick that the top seam didn't want to stay flat so I stitched along the top again to hold it down}

Not just for Spring, these upcycled baskets are great for home organizing and storage too! Fill them with toys, food, or {gasp} yarn!!

Need a few non~toxic, all~natural items to compliment your new basket?? I've added several new Spring items to my shop this week ~ Bunnies, eggs, and a seriously sweet pinafore!

This tutorial is brought to you by Natalie, of Woolhalla

Please visit Liz at her blog The Sitting Tree where you can see her original post and get to know her better and "for stories about my life as a wife to my best friend, proud mama of three homeschooled boys, obsessed knitter and lover of Mother Earth"

Visit her Etsy shop at The Sitting Tree "handmade, free spirited design".

What's New, and, Well Natural from the Natural Kids Team on Etsy

Welcome! Today I'm going to continue my trek backwards through the alphabet to bring the stories of the creators and their newest wonderful handmade treasures, made with natural materials from...yes! the Naturalkids Team on Etsy!

Welcome to the The Wood Garden  Chris and Laura,  create natural, handmade wooden toys and dishes for babies, toddlers and children. They are a husband and wife team who have always been creative--in fact, they met in high school art class. When their first son was small Chris started making wooden trucks for him, and quickly fell in love with woodworking and creating wooden toys especially. He bought more tools and made it his hobby, and later a business as they started to sell the toys at craft shows under the name CB (Canadian Built) Woodcrafts. Eventually they heard about Etsy and decided to open up a shop here under a new name, The Wood Garden.  Here is their  Handcrafted Wooden Rattle in Walnut and Purple Heart.

The shop The Violet Sparrow  is named after their two saanen dairy goats, Violet and Sparrow. They aim to please our planet-and you with every natural, handmade item they create, from children's upcycled wool sweater slippers, needle-felted designs, children's stuffed toys, waldorf dolls and thier hand-made, hand-milked goatmilk soaps and accessories.

The shop is filled with goods inspired by the treasures they make for and with their children. As a Waldorf-inspired homeschooling family, they are constantly creating our own playthings, dolls, and beautiful things for their  home and nature table. This is reflected in thier shop!

  Here is the   Heart Purse with Valentines Fairy and Gnome Friends 


Elizabeth from the The Sitting Tree    is an obsessed knitter. She knits anywhere & everywhere, except while riding her bike, as she has not figured that one out yet. Her favorite place to knit, though, is nestled into the trunk of a shady tree overlooking the St. Croix River. Perhaps this is the very tree she named her shop  after!

She's inspired by everything nature, and tries to make sure her products reflect the love and respect she has for mother earth. By upcycling and using natural fibers, this goal is manifested in one of her newest listings, the Tree Squirrel Upcycled cloth diaper soaker.

Mary is the creator behind The Green Goat.    She's an artist with a Bachelors degree in Graphic Design, living in the Midwest. She's a wife, a stay-at-home momma of two, and someone who enjoys the simplest things in life. The Green Goat came about after her second child was born. It was then that her bottled up creative energy exploded into a children's collection and then some. She is head-over-heels in LOVE with her new roll as mommy, but  can’t quite shake the desire to create things. So, she works in the evenings, after her babies are fast asleep. Mommy by day, screen printer by night. "I have the best of both worlds! I truly LOVE what I do and am so tickled to be able to share my creations with you," she says. Here is her
 Peacock on Seafoam spaghetti strap dress   !

From clothing to dolls, to diapers and rattles, this week's offering brings you just a taste of the natural creations  you can expect to find and make part of your life from the Natural kids Team on Etsy! Look here for a full list of our shops!

Thank you for visiting this week! I'll have another bunch of our shops to introduce you to next week as I showcase their recent creations. I look forward to seeing you then, in the meantime, our blog has interesting and informative entries each day. Enjoy!

Creatively yours!
Rebecca    aka Nushkie