Bleach Bottle Easter Bunny Baskets and Crafts

Bleach and other similar plastic bottles are good materials to use for making Easter baskets and other crafts because the container is usually already white, has a round finished bottom and a built-in handle. Also, the plastic is easy to cut with scissors and can be embellished with simple craft materials that, if you have small children, you may already have around the house. For very little cost, you can have a cute Easter basket to fill with Easter grass, colored eggs and candy.

Most bleach bottle crafts start with a cutting or embellishment pattern, sometimes with written instructions. Many patterns are available on the internet or in magazines. Print or copy the pattern and cut it out. Rinse out your empty bleach bottle with water, thoroughly wash with hot soapy water and let dry. Mark the pattern on the outside of the bottle using a felt tip pen or slim marker.

Scissors are the best tool with which to cut bleach bottles. Often you need to make holes for attaching handles or other embellishment. For very small holes, melt through the plastic with a heated needle held with pliers. For slightly larger holes, use a sharp knife. Place the section of the bottle to be punched through on a cutting board or wooden block before inserting the tip of the knife through where the hole is to be cut. For larger holes, use a hole punch. It will make nice round holes large enough to fit a crochet hook, yarn or chenille stems.

You can use various types of embellishment to decorate your bleach bottle baskets. You can cut features from construction paper or felt and attach with hot glue or white glue or to the bottle. You can draw on the plastic with felt tip pens, markers, or crayons. You can use chenille stems for embellishments, such as Easter bunny whiskers. If you don't want to use the bleach bottle's handle, you can use chenille stems to attach handles cut from spare bottle pieces. To do this, cut the stems in half and insert through holes on both the bottle and the embellishment. Twist the stem several times to secure it. Cut off any excess, and fold down the sharp cut ends about ¼ inch. You can also make handles by twisting chenille stems together. Make Easter bunny tails and facial features from cotton balls or pom-poms glued to the bottle.

Besides Easter bunny baskets, you can make many other crafts from bleach bottles. The plastic material of the bottle can even be sewn together to make projects. For example, you could cut squares from the plastic, punch holes evenly spaced around the squares and then sew them together with colorful yarn to make small boxes or baskets.