Franzi Shelton

Jan 7, 20212 min read

'Paper Swan' Trinket Baskets

Follow the tutorial below to create super easy trinket baskets for your littles. Also a perfect way to package your Valentines.

What you need:

Directions (per swan):

Image 1: Fold a piece of white printer paper (8.5 x 11 inches) in half lengthwise. Cut the paper into two elongated pieces.
Image 2: Wrap one of the pieces around a toilet paper roll. Mark the point at which the paper fully encases the roll. Cut off the excess piece.
Image 3: Use clear tape to connect both sides of the paper.
Image 4: Use a pencil to lightly sketch the outline of a swan onto your roll. This does not have to be perfect at all.
Image 5: Cut out your swan shape using your own outline.

Image 6: Use an eraser to carefully erase your pencil lines.
Image 7: Use the toilet paper roll to trace a circle onto an excess piece of paper.
Image 8: Cut out the circle leaving approximately 1 cm of excess paper on either side of the circle. Use scissors to add small cuts around the inner circle. You should cut from the edge of the larger circle towards the pencil lines.
Image 9: Use an eraser to carefully erase your pencil lines.
Image 10: Fold the little incisions upward to form your swan's base. Add a layer of school glue to the interior bottom half of your swan. Glue your base to the bottom of your swan.

Image 11: Use your scissors to cut out quill-like shapes from excess printer paper.
Image 12: Add feather-like cuts to each quill shape.
Image 13: Start attaching your feathers using a glue stick.
Image 14: For the tail feathers, cut out larger shapes.
Image 15: Cover the entire body of your swan in feathers. The neck and head regions can remain featherless.

Image 16: Use colored pencils to draw an orange beak onto your swan. I used a lighter orange for the inner portion of the beak and outlined the beak with a darker shade of orange.
Image 17: Add black details including the eyes.
Image 18: Fold up your swan's neck, adjust its beak, and use a small hole puncher to puncture holes into each side of your swan. Use thin garden wire (I used gold) to create a handle for your little basket.

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