Special Monthly Challenge – Tutorial by Lena-Katrine

We are so thrilled that Lena Katrine agreed to be our Featured Stamper this month, she has done such an amazing tutorial for us all and our special monthly challenge is based on this tutorial.  The challenge will be posted tomorrow morning as usual, together with the DT’s projects but we’ve posted the tutorial separately as it’s quite long.  It’s very easy to follow and the basket is actually very easy to make following the instructions below.  But you don’t have to make this basket to take part in tomorrow’s challenge, the challenge is to make/alter an Easter basket/container – so you can make one from scratch or decorate/alter something you already have in your craft room.
Thanks so much for sharing your talent and knowledge with us Lena Katrine.
Here’s her fab tutorial
Picture 1:
Supplies you’ll need for this project: 1 sheet of 12”x12” patterned paper, 2 colours of cardstock, ink, border punches, coloured images, dies, and embellishments of your choice.

Picture 2:
Cut the patterned paper in stripes of 2 cm

Picture 3:
Ink the edges on each stripe.  This is to create some depth in to the braiding

Picture 4:
Put some removable glue to each end of 4 stripes (on the front side).   This is for making the stripes stay in place while braiding.

Picture 5:
Fasten the 4 stripes horizontally to your working area, with the backside up, and the braiding  may begin.

Picture 6 - 7:
Brade 10 stripes vertically  in to the 4 ones.  Keep the braiding as tight as possible, to make the basket straight.  Glue the stripes to each other, so they wont glide.


Picture 8:
When you’re done braiding the 10 stripes, cut off the ends of the 4 horizontally stripes, and glue the ends to each other.
Cut the vertically stripes to be a bit more than 6 cm.
Score the sides of the bottom of the basket with a bonefolder.
The bottom becomes of the 4 x 4 stripes in the middle (8 x 8 cm).
If you’re not using a two-sided patterned paper, you may now add some colour to the backside of the basket if you like (ink, glimmermist etc).

Picture 9 - 10:
Braid the basket with the outher 3 stripes (on the right and left) into the top- and bottom 4.
Don’t glue the stripes on the sides together at first, because the brading needs to be done double, so tigh up every end.
Braid first from the one side, and then from the other – on top of the first, in the same pattern.


Picture 11:
Glue the stripes together on the top, after tightening the braiding well.
Then you braid the other side in the same way.   Now the base of the basket is finished.

Picture 12:
Cut 3 stripes of light cardstock into 3 cm, and one into about 4 cm.
The 3 stripes in 3 cm are for the lace border around the basket, and the one in 4 cm is for the handle.
Also cut one stripe of a darker cardstock in 1,5 cm. This is for the backside of the handle.

Picture 13:
Use one or two border punches, two make border laces of the stripes of light cardstock.
Ink the edges.  Mount the stripe of the darkest cardstock on the back of the handle-lace, and cut it into 26 cm. Cut one of the lace borders in to 2 x 8 cm too, to make the laces go all around the basket.

Picture 14:
Fasten the handle inside the basket, and glue the lace borders on the top of the basket – inside and outside – just a little bit higher than the sides of the basket.


Picture 15:
Then use your images - one on a tag, and the other cut out, and used to decorate the one side of the handle. Now you can embellish your basket in any way you want to.

My braded basket – finished decorated, and filled with delightful chocolate


We do hope you will give this a try and come back tomorrow to see the creations from the DT and also a few more photo’s of Lena Katrine’s awesome project.