Separation preparations #8: Creating baskets
So I wanted this skill since I was a kid, because I saw my parents doing it, and they wouldn't teach me. So naturally, as an adult with entire internet at my disposal, I decided to rebel and get the knowledge anyway. And while I was looking into that, I realized people have started a new trend from making baskets out of old newspaper, and I had.. a lot of newspaper.
There's a process of growing, wetting, drying, and peeling the wood for the wooden baskets, and I realized it would be hard to do it in an apartment, but newspapers were a good starting point to learn how to actually weave the material and put the baskets together.
So these are first things I was making, a fruit bowl, a decorative basket, and a big one that I'm using as a laundry basket. They're all useful and decorative at once, and I got acrylic paint on them, so they wouldn't leak any color and stay firm once they're done. Baskets from newspapers are incredibly firm! People are surprised when they touch them just how stable they are. That's because you roll an entire page of newspaper in one long stick, and then weave the stick together. It's firm.
I later made an angular one specifically to hold the newspaper hanging off of the radiator pipe, so they wouldn't have to lie around, and a treasure chest, because at that point, why not? It's filled with holiday decorations I keep safe in there.
I also build a few for foraging purposes, for balcony, for keeping plastic bags in, and so on. Making them out of wood would be a bit harder but similar, because weaving is done on the same principle.
If you want to learn how to do this, all you need is newspapers and paper glue, and this video will show you all you need to know.