Simple paper plate Spring or Easter basket

The weather has been wonderful for the last few days! At the weekend we took the children down to the beach, and on a whim I gave them each a bucket to take with them. It was a big hit, they loved having a bucket each to collect little treasures in and bring them home. So I decided to have a go at making some Spring baskets that they can take out in the garden or out and about with them to keep the things that they collect. These paper plate baskets would also be great to use on an Easter Egg hunt, or to use to present a small gift.

Take your paper plate and make four slits on opposite sides, cutting about an inch into the centre of the plate. Fold lightly to make a square in the centre. Then paint on both sides using bright, Spring colours - we went for orange and pink.

When it's dry, fold up the sides and staple them together to form a basket. Use a thin strip of pastel card to make a handle, and staple into place. Then if you like you can decorate the basket - we glued on some fabric petals, you could also use scraps of coloured paper, stickers or glitter. As you can see I got a bit carried away, and we ended up with four baskets!

Then take the basket out into nature and go hunting. Mia absolutely loved picking flowers, she completely cleared our garden of daisies and dandelions, running back every few minutes full of excitement to show me, and to get me to smell them. Even when she'd finished outdoors she still wanted to play with the baskets, hanging them on the back of her pushchair as she pushed her teddies around. Such a simple thing, and yet so much play value!