How to Make Vessel Handles for Easter Centerpieces

Homemade Easter Basket Handles

Find out how to make these transformative handles using basket strips and ribbon, which mean you can turn anything into an Easter basket this year.

Eleni N. Gage

Published on March 22, 2022

flower basket table centerpiece — Photo: Dane Tashima

Why stick to traditional Easter baskets alone when decorating for the holiday? Instead, let the springtime staples inform your tabletop centerpieces by making a few vessels complete with basket-inspired handles. To get stated, fill a serving bowl, planter, or compote with soil, moss, and spring blooms. Then, grab a few flexible wooden strips used for basket-weaving. Cut them to length (ours measure 40 inches), cover one side with double-sided tape, and adhere a ribbon of the same width. Flip it over and repeat, then bend it into an arc and stick it into the moss, securing it to the container's sides with removable adhesive dots (which peel right off post-holiday). Knot extra ribbon on one side, and you've created a masterpiece of a centerpiece.

Created by Silke Stoddard and Tanya Graff; Styling by Tanya Graff

What You'll Need

Materials

Deep serving bowl, tureen, or compote
Potting soil
Spring blooms
Moss
Maple basket strip, 1⁄2 inch wide
Ribbons, in two colors, each 1⁄2 inch wide
Double-sided tape
Removable adhesive dots

Instructions

Fill the vessel loosely with potting soil to within an inch of the top. Move aside some of the soil in the center of the container, and position the blossoms in place. Pat the soil down firmly and add additional dirt as needed so the flowers remain upright.
Using scissors, cut the basket strip into a piece long enough to bend into an arching handle for the vessel. Cut a piece of ribbon from each color, each the same length as the strip.
Bend the strip into a U-shape, in the opposite direction from the way it naturally tends to curve. (This will help it hold its curvature.) Attach the tape to the underside of the handle and adhere one length of the ribbon over the tape. Flip the handle over and repeat with the other ribbon color.
Gently move aside some soil to place a few adhesive dots on the inside walls of the vessel where the handle will touch sides. Bend the strip back into the handle shape, and position inside the vessel so it sticks to dots. Reposition soil and cover with moss, mounding it generously.