Don't Throw Away Plastic Bottles: Use Them For The Prettiest DIY Baskets

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DIY projects can be a fun way to add a touch of whimsy to your home, allowing you to take everyday items and transform them into something fun and potentially useful. If you're someone who ends up with a lot of empty plastic bottles, you might be looking for ways to reuse them. There are actually a few different DIYs that let you upgrade plastic bottles, including one from content creator Lista Tsurayya on Instagram. Just as you can turn a plastic water bottle into the cutest mini hanging basket, you can use an empty soda bottle to make a whimsical basket that is decorative and colorful.

If you want to try your hand at turning an empty plastic bottle into a small basket, there are just a few things you will need. Obviously, you'll want an empty soda bottle (a 2-liter bottle would give you a good size basket that is easier to work with than a smaller bottle would be). Make sure all the labels are removed and it's fully cleaned out. The rest of the supplies needed include a pair of scissors, hot glue, pipe cleaners, wire cutters, and a stapler, such as the Amazon Basics Office Stapler. 

For this project, the creator uses green pipe cleaners for the majority of the piece, also using pink and purple for the petals. They also use a lighter to burn the ends of some of the cut pieces of pipe cleaner to give it a sharp, tapered edge. However, this step is optional. Open to interpretation, the general idea is to create a floral design with the pipe cleaners for a decorative basket that adds a pop of color in a room.

While not shown in the original video, the first thing you'll want to do is cut off the top of the plastic bottle, reserving plenty of plastic to work with. Since you will also be making a handle with the plastic, cut away most of the bottle from the base, leaving two thin strips on each side that you will later connect. Remember that the base of the bottle will be the actual basket, so make sure that you're not cutting too low. To make the handle, curve those strips over each other, overlapping the plastic and stapling twice on both sides to join them.

With the body of the basket made, start decorating by wrapping green pipe cleaners around the handle, gluing each end down as you cover the handle. At this point, the creator tightly wraps pipe cleaner around a wooden skewer to create spiral pieces to glue around the basket opening, adding more texture. Next, you can cut the pipe cleaners into pieces of varying lengths to create blades of grass. This is also the step where the lighter is used to create finished points, to give you a "blade" effect. Each piece is then glued side by side around the bottom of the bottle, and then full pipe cleaners are glued along the base of the bottle completely. Finally, take the pink and purple pipe cleaners and wrap them into circles, before gluing them above the grass to mimic flowers. 

If you're looking to make this basket your own, consider using pipe cleaners in different shades of green to add more depth, dimension, and contrast to the overall project. The Harmoso Green Color Trio Pipe Cleaner Set would serve well here. You can also stick to all green for the grass base, and instead change up the color on the handle and around the edge of the basket. You might like to try blue, like the Zlulary Blue Pipe Cleaners Set, to represent the sky in this garden-inspired look. You can also choose whatever colors you want for the flowers, instead of working with just pink and purple. Additionally, you can use totally different materials, including foam and cardboard, for an alternative floral look.

Another thing to consider when making this basket yourself is that picking the right glue for your DIY project is important. While the original project only used hot glue, it might be beneficial to use an additional glue to keep things from falling apart. Consider whether you want to use some Gorilla Super Glue for a stronger adhesion of the pipe cleaners to the plastic bottle, or even a tacky glue alongside the hot glue.

And if you're looking for ways to actually use this type of basket, you have a few options beyond just sticking it on a shelf as a decor piece. You can use it as a small gift basket to give someone candy and other little treats. Additionally, plastic bottle baskets can be used as storage in a craft room. Use yours for keeping beads from rolling around, to store your pencils, or even as a pipe cleaner holder.