Did you know that March is National Craft Month?! Yay!
I am determined to do at least one craft a day throughout the month of March. I love creating and trying new things, so this is going to be a really FUN month!
Today I’m turning wood macrame rings into a unique basket.
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Wood Ring ‘Bubble’ Basket
I’ve been redesigning the decor at our lake cabin and wanted a unique basket for the bathroom to hold hand towels. I’ve always loved bubbles, so thought a bubble basket would fit right in at the lake. I used wood macrame rings, a punch balloon, and hot glue to make this basket. It was a blast to make! Seriously. Especially when the balloon popped unexpectedly.
I realize now that I should have been more careful with the hot glue so it wouldn’t get on the balloon. The balloon didn’t pop when in contact with the hot glue, but when I was done gluing rings, and the balloon popped, I realized some of the glue had stuck to the balloon. Now I get the fun job of using either an X-acto knife or a tweezer to pick off the remanents of the blue balloon. UGH.
I used up every last wood ring I had (I probably should have had two bags instead of the one I had). The top rim of the basket is uneven, but I actually like it this way.
I think the basket is going to look great at the cabin! For now, I just stuck a planter in the basket to see how it would look.
I would definitely do this project again. I really enjoyed it!
What You Will Need:
- Wood Macrame Rings (this bag contains 100 various sized rings)
- Hot Glue Gun and Hot Glue Sticks
- Punch Balloon (Punch Balloons are much thicker than a standard balloon, so they don’t pop when in contact with the hot glue)
- Cereal Bowl
What You Do:
- After you lay out all your supplies, blow up a punch balloon to about 12″ diameter and tie it closed
TIP: You can make your balloon around 10″ diameter if you want the 100 wood rings to cover more of the balloon. Otherwise, you might want two bags of wood rings for a 12″ diameter balloon. - Place your punch balloon into a cereal bowl to hold the balloon in place
Make sure the top of the balloon is facing up, as this part of the balloon is more round in shape than the tied-off side. - Place one of the largest rings around the top of the balloon – no need to glue this down, as it will soon be held in place by the other rings glued to it
Remember that this ring will end up being the bottom of your basket, so you’ll want to position it centered to create an even basket. - Working your way from this starter ring all the way down the balloon, hot glue additional rings to this first ring
When gluing rings together, try to be careful not to get the glue on the balloon itself. I have found that the hot glue won’t necessarily pop the balloon, but it will stick to the balloon, so that when you pop the balloon when you’re done, you’ll have to pick off the bits of balloon (see photos below to see what I mean). - Vary the rings as you work to create an interesting pattern – making sure the rings are glued together on as many points as possible to make your basket as strong as you can
- When you get near the bottom of the balloon (the top of your basket), finish off what will become the rim of your basket with rings all at about the same level around (see my photos for an example)
- When you’re done gluing rings, pop the balloon and remove it – and your basket is done!
TIP: You might want to go back inside the basket and glue any areas that might need a dab more glue. This will help make your basket stronger.
Additional Tips:
- Use a Bowl as Your Form – A friend suggested using a bowl as the form for this basket and I think that’s a great idea (thank you Bente)! I would definitely line the outside of your bowl with plastic cling wrap (Saranwrap) or aluminum foil first to ensure the glue doesn’t accidentally stick to the bowl. This protective liner will also make it easier to remove the newly formed wood ring basket from your bowl.
- Paint Your Basket – If you’d like, you could paint your finished basket any color you like. For example, spray paint it Metallic Copper or Chrome Silver.
Make sure to see all my other projects for National Craft Month to give you ideas of projects you might want to try!
I hope you enjoyed this project! Make sure to check back tomorrow to see what I’ll be working on.
