This is a great way to easily capture your fresh fruit or other small items in an inexpensive throwaway container that looks great. These are perfect for barbeques and kids’ parties because you can incorporate your decorating into the throwaway containers.

You need:

  • White paper plates
  • Washi tape (a Japanese patterned tape) or other decorative tape. Duct tape comes in all sorts of fun colors now, too.
  • Scissors, both traditional and craft
  • 4 Paperclips

Directions:

  1. Take a clean white paper plate and cut around the edges using a fun shaped scissor. I used a scalloped edge, but pinking shears would work also if you don’t have craft scissors. Cut as close to the edge as possible to give your basket a large circumference.
  2. Now trace a square on one side of your paper plate. I found that a coaster worked well for me, but you could measure with a ruler. It should be approximately 5″ x 5″. This will be the size of the inside of your bowl, but the size of the square also depends on the size of the paper plate you start with, so adjust accordingly.
  3. Take a pair of regular scissors and cut a line from one side of your paper plate to the corner of your square. Holding your plate, turn it 90 degrees and repeat this so you have four lines cut, one connecting each corner of your square to the edge of your plate.
  4. Fold each side of the plate up and paperclip the corners together. This keeps the bowl shape intact while you tape the outside.
  5. Now for the finishing step, and the most important for creating your unique throwaway containers: Using your decorative tape, create a circle around the outside of your container about halfway up. When you remove your paperclips, you will have the perfect bowl to accompany your next feast!