I decided to keep it interesting this week by using a different set of textures on my latest berry basket. This one uses a cherry blossom texture on the outside, a mandala pattern on the inside, and of course, my signature “tiny hearts” feet on the bottom. I’m really liking how adding just a simple little touch like cookie-cutter feet can make such a huge difference. Ordinarily, you can’t glaze the bottom of most pottery as the glaze will stick to the kiln shelf. But if you add feet or a foot ring and use a stable glaze, you can glaze everything but the bottom of the feet/foot ring itself.

That was a great start, but I wanted to try taking it up a notch. So I dug through my fondant mold stash and found a cute cherry blossom border to apply to the rim. Bonus: I also found a large cherry blossom cutter to use in the corners, between the rim border sections.

Finally, when all was said and done, I realized the that petals on the corner cherry blossoms hung down in such a way that it make the corner openings look like hearts. I wish I could say that I planned it that way, but it’s just how it came together. 

I liked this design so much, I’m going to go back and make an underplate for it, even though I’m still on the fence about them. The way I use these baskets at home is to put the berries in the basket, rinse them, and let it sit on the counter for a few minutes to drain. Then I either serve them or put them in the fridge for later. To my mind, I don’t want another dish I’ll have to wash simply to catch the water dripping off the fruit. But I realize some people like having a drip plate so they can put it out on the table immediately. 

Next time, I’d like to try adding handles on the basket itself. I’m still thinking about how best to do it, though. Any way you slice it, handles add more height/width/weight — and fridge space can be tight. What I like about my basket design is that it’s compact and goes easily from sink to counter, to table, to refrigerator, to dishwasher. It’s easy to stack, too. Whether I’m buying berries at a farm stand or the supermarket, I like to get them out of their original packaging, give them a good rinse, and let them chill before eating them. These baskets do the trick as-is, and I’m not really sure that handles would be an improvement. But you never know until you try. Enjoy the photo gallery!