Basket of Greek Love: DIY Instructions

When it comes to Greek paraphernalia, you can never have too much! There is always a hat, shirt, jacket that provides the opportunity to brandish letters proudly. Last year, I made this basket for my friend with all the basis Greek letter items to begin her journey.

When you are purchasing items, think of things that everyone else won't think of. Neophytes or newbies to a Greek organization usually receive t-shirts, paddles, and jackets. You can personalize your basket by including a compact mirror for divas, sweatshirts for casual members, or embossed portfolio folders for graduating members. You can get most of these items from Greek or Mason Paraphernalia stores or online.

You can do this with any organization, but for consistency, I will show you how to do an gift basket for a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. If you want to do one for your line sister, friend, or family here are step-by-step instructions:

You will need:

Scissors

Glue Gun

White beaded string (you can get a string from craft and fabric stores these come in 3-5 ft)

Pearl necklace (this is symbolic to this particular organization)

Basket

Shredded paper (I used pink and green)

Clear plastic wrap

Ribbon

Paraphernalia or "pari"(I will show what I used later in the post).

1. Cut the plastic wrap, I used a large basket so I cut mine about 2 ft. You will likely need to or three layers to cover the basket so I would cut three 2 ft strips. Lay the strips out to form a asterisk (*).

2. Place the basket in the center and begin filling with shredded paper.

3. Place items in the basket, try to place arbitrarily. The biggest item in the basket was this purse. Place items against this to give the basket some structure and provide backing. You can push it down a little further in the backing if its too big.

4. I also gave my best friend some towels and wrapped a strand of pearls around them.

5. Continue arranging your gifts in the basket. Below are the items that I used. I bought all of my items from a local Masonic store, but you can get them at these websites. (Not pictured, AKA Towel) 6. After adding all the items, you want to decorate your basket with pearls. I wanted to the basket look as if it were dripping with pearls. Take your beaded string and beginning hot gluing the string around the perimeter of the basket.

7. Don't unplug that glue gun yet! Now, you can pull the plastic wrap up. Make sure you secure the plastic at the top.

8. You can also glue the ribbon onto the plastic. I went down the middle with a pink and green polka dot ribbon.

If you want to purchase one for your loved one, contact me bwright [@] wrightfullysocial [dot] com.