Mummy Mack DIY projects

Hello, my name is Laura, I am a wife and mum of 2 who loves nothing more than spending my free time scouring through Pinterest.

My daughter is 2 years old and with her 3rd birthday fast approaching she is constantly asking me for new toys ( Doc Mcstuffins, Sofia the first, dolls, pushchairs) and last week after watching adverts on the tv she has now decided she would like a dolls bed, this is a nightmare for me because I have already got her presents for her birthday which cost a small fortune and I really didn't want to spend any more money.
I have looked in various stores and online and dolls beds in the UK range from £30 to £45 for a standard few bits of plastic, and I think this is far too expensive for what it is.
So after coming across a tutorial for making weaved baskets out of cardboard and newspaper, I thought I would have a go myself,
Here is my tutorial.

Items you will need:

About 5 standard size newspapers. (more or less depending on the size of your basket)

Cardboard to create the shape of your basket and for the base.

Masking tape.

White glue.

Clothes pegs.

Spray paint. (any colour of your choice)

Wadding and fabric to cover the base of the basket.

Firstly I started with about 5 standard size newspapers and cut them into 3 strips lengthways.		I then took a single sheet of the newspaper strips and wrapped it around a metal meat skewer and rolled it up to the end and secured it with a piece of masking tape.

Then I took a large piece of white card and cut it to the size I wanted my basket to be, I marked at every 1 and a half inches along the outside, making sure that there is an even number of markings else it won't work. I then attached the rolled up newspaper at the 1 and a half inch marks and used masking tape to secure them to the white card, once they are all secure I covered the white card with a piece of regular cardboard and glued them together.		I took an old cardboard box and bent it into the shape of the white card to create a temporary side of my structure for my basket, then I bent the newspaper tubes up the sides of the cardboard and held them in place with clothes pegs. The first row I weaved using just the pieces that are attached to the card, once they are all weaved into each other I then took a new piece of the rolled newspaper and started weaving attaching the end of each piece that has been weaved to a new piece with masking tape.

Remember to keep pushing the weave's down every so often to make sure the weave looks tight. I finished off the top by ending the weave and then looping the newspaper that is attached to the card over each other and the tucking it into the inside of the basket.		I spray painted the finished basket with 2 coats of grey spray paint that i got from the £1 shop.

Here is the finished product, I padded the bottom of the basket out with some wadding and covered it with some left over fabric, my daughter loves it, I'm feeling quite pleased with myself as it only cost me £2 for the spray paint, everything else I had lying around the house.