Star-Rimmed Basket

Perfect for toting picnic goodies, this white-washed basket is trimmed with precut wood stars painted in patriotic red and blue.

What You Need:

Filled with goodies, this makes a
perfect housewarming present.

Basket
White stain gel
Paintbrush
Disposable foam plates
Acrylic paints in barn red and navy
Wood stars 1 to 2-1/2 inches wide
Fine sandpaper
Tack cloth
Hot-glue gun and hot-glue stick

Instructions:

1. Paint the basket using white stain gel and a wide flat brush.

2. Place some gel on a foam plate. Paint vertical strokes until well covered. Let the stain gel dry. Paint another coat if a more opaque color is desired.

3. Put a dab of barn red and navy blue paint on plate. Thin the paint with water, about one part paint to one part water.

4. Paint the stars. Let the paint dry. Using fine sandpaper, lightly sand the stars. Sand the edges to create a worn look. Brush off dust and wipe with a tack cloth.

5. Using hot glue, layer contrasting small stars over large stars. Hot-glue stars onto rim of basket, alternating colors and sizes of stars.

More Ideas:

For a picnic, place silverware in patriotic paper napkins, tie with ribbon, and use the basket as a holder.
To change the rim design for different seasons, attach the stars with circles of hook-and-loop tape, such as Velcro.