Happy May Day! A DIY May Day Basket with Tulips is a pretty way to dress up your door for the month and I think we could all use a little bit of pretty right now.

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Create a May Day Basket for a lovely spring decor piece. May Day isn’t celebrated in the US as it once was. I’ll show my age and tell you that I remember having lots of fun May Day celebrations when I was in elementary school. Of course, that was back in the mid 1960s, so lots of celebrations have changed.
May Day has long rooted history in Roman mythology and the goddess of flowers, Flora. Festivals were held in her honor as flowers began to bloom. Those festivals evolved through history into May Day celebrations.
DIY May Day Basket

I’d love to see more May Day decor and celebrations. Traditionally, a May Day Basket was filled with not only flowers, but candy, cookies, and other small treats. Neighbors made them as gifts for each other as part of the festival of spring. The baskets were made and left on neighbors’ doorsteps after ringing a bell and dashing away.
When I was a child, we would often make paper cones to look like tussie mussies for May Day. We would fill the cones with construction paper flowers instead of small bouquets. I was sorting through some bins and found some round placemats that I haven’t used in a while. That’s when the idea for a May Day Basket hit.

Making a May Day Basket
from a Placemat
The texture is basket like, so it reminded me of May Day Baskets that I’ve seen.

Turning the round placemat into a cone is easy. Simply fold it over as shown below and add a few staples to hold it together.

For the bottom of the cone, I used hot glue to bring it to a point.

In two quick steps, I have a cone basket that is just the right size for some tulips that I purchased a couple of months ago at Michaels.

After the glue has dried, scrunch up a coupe of sheets of tissue paper and stuff the inside of the cone to help the bottom of the basket keep its shape.

Embellishing the basket can be as simple as attaching a bow to the front. I decided to add a rolled fabric flower with a beaded center. You can find a detailed tutorial for making rolled flowers in my Sweater Wreath with Flowers post.
Making Rolled Fabric Flowers
- Cut a fabric circle
- Cut the fabric into a spiral
- Fold the end of the spiral strip over and glue it together
- Starting with the glued end, roll the strip around itself, adding dots of glue along the way.
- Glue the end to the back.
- Glue a bead to the center.

Before adding the flower, I cut and glued a piece of wide cream ribbon and topped that with a thinner piece of green ribbon. The flower is then glued to the center point of the ribbons.

Hanging a cone basket can be a little tricky. You’ll want to secure a long strip of ribbon to the inside of the cone on each side. I use a combination of staples and glue to make sure the ribbon doesn’t come off.

Arrange the flowers into the cone. Make sure to push down through the tissue paper.

The orange tulips in the green basket is good color combination for spring. But it was missing something.

The middle of the basket in front was a little bare. I added sprigs of white flowers there.

Supply List for DIY May Day Basket with Tulips
- Round Placemat
- Ribbon
- Tulips
- Floral stems
- Tissue Paper
- Stapler
- Hot Glue
- Fabric
- Bead
- Scissors
Do you make May Day Baskets or do remember making them? It’s a fun tradition that needs to make a come back I think! What neighbor wouldn’t love to receive a basket of flowers and treats?
Pin Me, Please!
May Day Basket with Tulips

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Pamela @ DIY Vibes says
This is gorgeous!! I love the shade of orange against your door. Great idea using a placemat–you are always so creative!
Beverly says
Thanks, Pamela!That’s so kind of you! I’m enjoying the bright look, too.
angie says
love it very nice so all can see the beautiful display thanks for sharing
come see us.
Beverly says
Thanks, Angie!
Leanna Forsythe says
Beautiful and Different, Pinning to my wreath board, i want this cone shaped arrangement. lovely.
Beverly says
Thank you, Leanna. I like creating different looks for door decor other than traditional wreaths sometimes. I appreciate the pin.
Dee | Grammy's Grid says
How pretty and so easy! Thanks so much for linking up with me at my #UnlimitedMonthlyLinkParty 12, open May 1 to 26. All entries shared if social media buttons are installed.
Beverly says
Thanks, Dee! I appreciate the party and the shares.
Chas Greener says
Looks FANTASTIC and what an awesome idea! Thank you so much for SHARING.
Beverly says
Thanks, Chas! It’s amazing what we can come up with with trying to craft by using what’s on hand!
Ann says
This is so pretty and you see placemats in thrift stores all the time! Thank you for sharing at Party In Your PJ’s.
Beverly says
Yes, the thrift store would be a great place to find them. Thank you, Ann and thanks for the party!
Marilyn says
Thank you for sharing at #OverTheMoon. Pinned and shared. Have a lovely week. I hope to see you at next week’s party too! Please stay safe and healthy. Come party with us at Over The Moon! Catapult your content Over The Moon! @marilyn_lesniak @EclecticRedBarn
Grandma's House DIY says
Love this! I’ll be featuring you this week on my blog, Facebook page and Instagram – thanks for sharing with us at the To Grandma’s house we go link party!
Beverly says
Thanks so much, Tarah! I appreciate the party and the feature!