A Connie Crystal Basket

It is time for my second Connie Crystal Design Team post.  I found this basket at the Salvation Army near my home.  It was very simple to modify.  In fact, you could dress up just about any home decor project this way, as long as it meets this simple criteria:  it has to have holes large enough for the crystals.  You could even make your own holes in your project, but you have to make sure that they won't take away from the structure of the item.  (Kind of like not removing the "load bearing" walls when doing extensive home remodelling.) 
This one was easy, because, as you can see, it started with a wire frame.  Once you have the frame, it is a cinch!

For the bottom row, I created two  very large"S" shapes with 20 guage wire for each square Connie Crystal.  I placed one in the top hole and one in the bottom.  I made sure that the openings were in opposite directions.  Then, I hooked each crystal into a square, with the top wire facing me and looping over the support before it closes.  The bottom "S" looped in front of the wire and closed behind it.  For this project, I used twelve square crystals. You can see them the best in this picture.

For the beautiful red crystals, I created a loop on one side of the wire.  I then cut off a pice of wire about 1 1/2" long.  I strung the bead on the wire, and then made a loop on the other end.  I made a very large open loop on one end of an about 1" wire.  I put it through the loop on the bead and around the support on the top.  Then, I closed it and wrapped the rest of the wire around it and the support.  I did this on the top and the bottom.

Finally, I wove a 1 1/2" sheer ribbon through the bottom section of the basket.  I used both the support and the crystals as posts to weave through.  I made sure that the ribbon was always in front of the support beams and behind the crystal pieces.  I left the loose ends in the front of the basket.  I made a bow, and was finished!

This may not be the type of project for the perfectionist.  The loops are large and imperfect and crystals sometimes shift around a little, but the feel is consistent with the original basket.  It is casual and airy, yet with the addition of beautiful and inexpensive Connie Crystals, it is dressed up.  A project like this is satisfying and easy without breaking the bank.  Give it a try--and I will see you next time!