It's A Basket Case Blog Hop!! Day 1 -- More than just your ordinary Easter Basket... (and Blog Candy!)

*** If you are here for the "All Creatures Great & Small" Blog Hop (hosted by Misty), please scroll down or CLICK HERE!! ***

Welcome, welcome, welcome to Day 1 of the "It's a Basket Case" Blog Hop presented by the very-talented Rhonda of Scrap Happens!!  I am so excited and honored to be a part of Rhonda's very first blog hop (thank you, Rhonda!)!!  If you are hopping along with us today, and you've arrived from Serenity Scrappers, then you are in the right place!!  If you've just happened upon my blog by chance, you'll definitely want to START HERE to hop along with us and see all of the amazingly creative projects my blogger buddies have designed for you today (if you get lost along the way, you can find the whole Blog Hop list below)!!  Be sure to leave a comment if you like what you see, as I have some Blog Candy for you to win (details below)!!  Now onto my project...

I wanted to create an Easter Basket since it is, after all, a basket case blog hop...   But this one has a special SURPRISE!!

The basket top can be removed to reveal...

It's an Explosion Basket!!  :)

The weaving brought me back to my elementary school days and Art Class (which I loved)...  I weaved 1x4 strips of Clay cardstock into 4x4 squares and attached them to the four outside panels of the box...  Each strip of cardstock was inked with chocolate to give it a little extra dimension...

I made the lid for my explosion box and then added the 1.5" strips all the way around...  This created a little 'lip' to hold the grass and chocolate eggs (the top of the lid only comes to where that center strip is)...  I used brads to attach the handle -- this made it much easier to lift the basket top off and reveal the inside...  The-Girl-Child told me it really needed those punched flowers, so those were a late addition to my project -- She was right!!  Those little flowers added a cute touch!!  :)

When the box is fully open, there is plenty of room to add little pictures or mementos -- I had so much fun adding the ribbons and embellishments to each layer...  If you placed just one picture on each decorated square (excluding the 'woven' outsides), you would have room for THIRTY-THREE pictures!!  What a GREAT way to show off your Easter pictures!!  :)

Since there obviously needed to be a few more surprises (hee hee), I also added four tag pockets (complete with tags) to the outside layer...  That's room for EIGHT more pictures (one on each side of the four tags) or some journaling!!

There's even plenty of room to add a small gift or gift card to the center of the box (or maybe some more chocolate???)...

When you're all done showing off your pictures, it folds right back up into a basket...  And did I mention that while I did use several punches and some of my favorite embossing folders, there is not a single Cricut cut on this project???  When I realized that, I was kind of amazed...  So if you don't own a Cricut, YOU can make one of these (be sure to come back tomorrow for a special announcement about my Explosion Box tutorial!!)...

I hope you have enjoyed my project for the first day of Rhonda's Hop...  Now...  What's a Hop without some Blog Candy???  Well, I have some for ya!!  Unfortunately, I've reached my photo limit on blogger for the moment, so I'll be back to post a picture of the goodies in a bit...  But you can enter to WIN my Blog Candy by leaving a comment below!!  You do not have to have a blog to win, but please leave a link if you DO have one, as I'd love to stop over and see you too!!  While I don't require you to be a follower to win my candy, I'd love for you to do so if you enjoy what you see here...

Remember to stop back tomorrow to see what I've created for Day 2 of the "It's a Basket Case" Blog Hop and for another chance to WIN some Easter-themed blog candy!!  :)

Next, you're off to the talented LIZ at Tryin' to 2 Craft (trust me, she's succeeding!!)...  So hop, hop, HOP, and I'll see ya tomorrow!!  Until then, may your day be Hoppin' Grand!!  :)

In case you get lost along the way, here's a list of Rhonda's talented participants:

• SCRAP HAPPENS
  
• you had me at scrap
  
• Jean's Crafty Corner
  
• My Fantabulous Life
  
• C.C.'s Cards and Crafts
  
• Carolee's Scrappin' Spot
  
• Tamminnie's Designs
  
• TouchedbyaButterfly
  
• Homemade Happiness
  
• Unique Monique
  
• Living Life and Loving It Every Day
  
• Small Bits Of Paper
  
• Cute and Some
  
• Michele's Scrapy Creations
• 4 Goofballs
  
• Serenity Scrappers
  
• Love To Crop!  ** YOU ARE HERE!! **
• Tryin' 2 Craft ** GO HERE NEXT!! **
• Minta's Creations
  
• Country Bumpkins Scrapper

** Now for the small print (it's always here, isn't it???) -- To be eligible for my "It's a Basket Case" Blog Hop Candy you need to leave a comment on this post (if you don't know how to get to the comment box, CLICK HERE)...  For a second chance to win, please come back tomorrow and leave a comment on the post for Day 2 of the "It's a Basket Case" Blog Hop too...  The winner will be selected and posted on April 18th (later in the day rather than sooner, cuz I'm pretty useless before I've drowned myself with caffeine!)...  Selected winner will have SEVEN (7) whole days to claim the prize or it will be re-gifted, possibly to the Easter Bunny, even though it contains no actual food candy, though he probably has enough of that, but probably to another comment participant...  This drawing is held in happy spirits with good intentions, so please enter with the same...  Here ends the fine print. :)