Make Your Own Gift Basket

If you plan far enough in advance , you may also be able to get gift basket supplies at a fraction of the cost during sales and closeouts. If not, shop around for the best pricing on shred, tissue, embellishments and more. You can even get some good deals on the contents of a basket if you look around and do your homework ahead of time.

Once you have brainstormed various gift basket ideas and themes, you can specifically determine what will go in the basket. Choose an appropriate container (you can also wait to choose the container once you have bought what will go in it).

The next step is to gather together all those gift basket supplies, which will include packing paper (old wrapping paper or paper garbage bags work too, but newspaper is too messy) to fill the bottom of the container and act as a support for the items that will sit on top of it, shred or tissue paper to cover the packing paper, so that it looks attractive, glue dots or clear packing tape to secure items in container, embellishments (little decorative extras) to add inside and/or outside the container as decorative accents, bow, curling ribbon (optional), shrink wrap, gift baskets bags or cellophane to wrap up your masterpiece, scissors and clear tape.

MAKE YOUR OWN GIFT BASKET

BASKET CONSTRUCTION:

1.Base Preparation: Scrunch up packing paper and fill the bottom of the container with it. Press down slightly and cover with either the shred or some colored tissue paper. Use enough so that the packing paper does not show through.

2. Adding Items: Typically, we look at a basket from one direction only - the front - so you will want to have bigger items in back so that the smaller items can be seen in front. You don't have to have everything on this base level. Once you have a few items set where you think they look good, try adding some of the other items on top of them or nestled between them. Once you get everything approximately where you like it, you can anchor those in between pieces or items on top of other items with glue dots or clear packing tape. Before you anchor anything down though, be sure you can see at least a little of each item and the look is pleasing to the eye. After securing items, fluff the shred/tissue up around the base items.

3. Embellishments: If you want to spice up the look a bit, add some embellishments, but don't overdo it. For example, you could add a color coordinated silk flower stem or two. There are all kinds of things you can add for interest. Think about your theme and the colors in the baskets to choose items. Embellishments should really just be to add a bit of color and interest, but not enough to detract from everything else.

4. Wrap it Up: Here, you have a choice of shrink wrap, gift wrap bags or cellophane for your custom gift baskets. The easiest and mid-priced method is the gift basket bag. These come in a variety of sizes. You'll need to know how tall your basket is, as well as how wide. Read the recommendations on the instructions to pick the appropriate size. In general though, you will want it at least 6 inches taller and 3 inches wider. Open the bag up and scrunch down the sides to make it easier to put the basket in. Gently place basket inside. Take a look to make sure you didn't disturb anything. If so, fix it now. Pull up the bag and gather it at the top of the basket. Smooth it as tightly as you can without ripping it. Either tape around the gather with a strip of clear tape or tie the gather with bow wire. Fan the bag above the tie out. If it looks too big, pull it up and trim it off straight with your scissors. Re-fan. Attach a beautiful bow and curing ribbon if desired. If the bag looks like it is loose anywhere, you can carefully tuck it in in places and secure with tiny pieces of clear tape. Be careful here though - you do not want to make it unsightly!

If you want to use something less expensive to wrap up your basket, you'll need to buy cellophane. Roll out a length of the cellophane and place basket on top of it. When you bring up the 2 lengthwise ends of the cellophane, you will want each side to be about 10 inches higher than the basket. Position the basket in the center, pull up the lengthwise ends and tape them for the moment with a piece of tape. You may need help with this next part. Either hold up the ends you just taped together or have someone else hold them up. With the front of the basket facing you, fold the left side edge up and secure with tape. Do the same to the right side edge. Next, fold the left back side edge forward and then the left front side edge over that and tape. Fold the right back side edge forward and then the right front side edge over that and tape. Remove the tape at the top gently and gather the cellophane above the top of the basket. Smooth it as tightly as you can without ripping it. Follow the same instructions as above. Tape any gaps in the cellophane.

Shrink wrap is the most expensive wrapping for custom gift baskets, but it also holds everything in place nicely. When shopping for your gift basket supplies, price this out at a variety of places. If you have never worked with it, it may be rather cumbersome. For beginners, there are simple shrink wrap bags available though. Follow the instructions on the shrink wrap packaging. You will need a hair dryer.

You're done!!! Creating custom gift baskets is easy! Imagine the delight when your recipient opens this amazing gift!

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