Easter Basket!

As I was cleaning out Neil's room, purging some old toys and clothes that he's outgrown, I came across two Easter baskets he's used in the past. One shaped like Lightening McQueen, one shaped like a Firetruck. I'm sort of a traditionalist here, so I am not a big fan of the plush commercial Easter basket.So that spurred me to feature my mother in law for this week's Team Tuesday.WebmavenNJ, aka my Mother in Law, Pola. It occurred to me that I should ask her to make Neil an Easter Basket, after all - she's a basket maker. Don't know why this never occurred to me, I guess because I have different idea's of Easter baskets vs functional or decoration baskets so it just never came to mind. Between my mother in law and her best friend (and basket mentor) Mary from Pineland's Folk Music & Basketry Center I have been conditioned to appreciate and recognize quality handmade baskets. They've made me quite the basket snob!
So, within a few days I asked Pola to make one, and she came up with the design off the cuff & created it! She's still gotta sign it, but it's all done! It's great - Neil loves it! Extra strong bottom, to hold all that candy :). I asked for a yellow accent color on it. Before the bunny hops along and fills it up, it's going to sit on the center of the table as a centerpiece. I have an idea for some eggs I want to fill it with! I'm so excited to have this heirloom Easter basket for Neil. Handmade baskets last forever (We just bought one from the 1920's!) and Neil can pass this basket down to his children some day. Pola is taking custom orders for Easter Baskets if you are interested. The price is $75, which is not much for an heirloom quality basket like this. It's got a double bottom for extra sturdiness, and the handle is extra strong too. The basket is about 6" deep, 13" diameter, and from bottom to the tip of the handle it's roughly 16" tall. Act fast if you would like a custom Easter basket, because Easter is just around the corner! You can contact Pola through her etsy shop, or her facebook fan page.Of course I had to put our new little baby Gypsy Rose into the basket for the photo op! She's just too cute, and while I do not condone getting bunnies as Easter presents, she just happened to arrive around Easter time for us. She sure is a cutie pie!

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