If you want to recycle all those old orange juice cartons but you are tired of just tossing them into a recycling bin, here's how to get creative and make a basket from what would otherwise be of no further use.

Steps

  1. Rinse the orange juice carton thoroughly with cold water.
  2. Cut the carton along the vertical folds. Flatten out the sides, but leave the base intact.

    The orange juice container
  3. Cut each flap into five ¾" (20 mm) sections.
  4. Flatten a bunch of plastic grocery bags (Or newspaper, if you don't like the look of the bags)with your hands, and cut them into long strips, about 1" (25 mm) in width.
  5. Flip the container over a bowl to give it the desired bowl shape.
  6. Start weaving.

    • Fold a strip of the grocery bag in half.
    • Slip it over one of the spokes of the orange juice container.
    • Weave it over and under as you would weave a rug.
    • When you come to the end of the bag, tie another strip onto the end, and continue weaving. Continue in this method until you reach the desired height.
  7. Fold the orange juice spokes over and tuck them inside and under the plastic bags.
  8. Secure the top by taking a paper hole punch and punching a hole in the center of each spoke. Then weave with ribbon or twine.

Warnings

  • Be careful when using the knife. It is easy to cut a finger or your hand if you slip.

Things You'll Need

  • Empty orange juice carton
  • Old plastic grocery bags (about 3)
  • Ribbon (used for wrapping presents)
  • Scissors or a knife
  • Hole puncher