Sisal Rope Magazine Basket

Hello all! Fall is finally getting into swing (hopefully no more 80 degree days! I want to wear my sweaters and boots! You hear that, mother nature?) and one of my fave things to do on a blustery day is cozy up inside with a cuppa and a good book, catalog, or magazine. I have a monthly subscription to Better Homes and Gardens magazine (Love my BHG!) and wanted to have a place to stash all my copies in case I want peruse them again one of these chilly autumn days. I also had a cheap country-style apple basket that I got a while back as part of a gift and some thick sisal jute-type rope from a garage sale for $1. I had no idea what I wanted to do with the rope at the time I bought it, but I knew it would come in handy! The light bulb clicked and I decided to make sisal rope magazine basket which would use only materials I had on hand but would make a great place to store my old copies of BHG!

Here’s what I did to make this awesome magazine basket:

Magazine Basket Materials

– Old or dollar store basket

– Sisal rope

– Glue gun and glue sticks

– Painter’s tape

– Spray paint in color of choice

Step 1

First I taped off the top edge of the basket. I knew I wouldn’t be putting the sisal rope on that part, but didn’t want to leave it in it’s plain state, so I decided to spray paint it! Make sure it’s nice and flush against the edge and pressed down tight so there isn’t any bleed-through!

Step 2

I just gave the top of my basket a few quick coats of Krylon metallic spray paint and it already was looking so much better! I also decided to remove the apple basket’s handle after this picture as I didn’t really like the style and thought it would get in the way of holding my magazines.

Step 3

I took my handy dandy hot glue gun (literally my BFF) and started laying thing strips of hot glue and quickly pressing the sisal rope onto it. I worked in small 3-4 inch sections so the glue wouldn’t dry out too fast. Press and hold for a few seconds to ensure a good stick.

Step 4

Continue going round your basket and gluing down the sisal rope as you go. The rope I got at the garage sale was in sections, so there were times that I had to add a new length of rope to the basket. To do this I just lined up the ends where I left off, applied a liberal amount of glue and pushed hard to make the transition as seamless as possible. Continue all the way down until you reach the bottom of your basket!

Et voilà here is my finished magazine basket! A quick and easy project using only things I had on hand. I love it!

I decided to roll up my Better Homes and Gardens magazines and tie a bit of twine around them so more would fit in my magazine basket. I think the end result is quite neat!

I’m still working on dressing up the corner in my bedroom where my Gold-Dipped Chair is, so I thought this was a nice little addition to the space. Great for taking a break and catching up on the latest issues!

What is your favorite magazine? I love my BHG of course and one of my all time favorites is HGTV magazine!