Cemetery Cone Upcycled May Day Basket DIY

May Day is an old fashioned holiday to celebrate the arrival of Spring. The tradition is to hang a basket of flowers or treats on a neighbor or friend’s door anonymously, May 1. I love this sweet, old idea, which inspired this project, although this fun basket could be used all through the year. Here’s a Cemetery Cone Upcycled May Day Basket DIY to inspire your creativity!

Cemetery Cone Upcycled May Day Basket DIY

What’s a Cemetery Cone?

Green metal cemetery cones are the traditional way to adorn a gravesite. They originally held fresh flowers and were often pushed into the soil with a spike on the bottom. You can find rusty ones at flea markets and vintage shops quite inexpensively (they’re the perfect green). No one else knows what to do with them, but you will now!

Steps to DIY an Upcycled May Day Basket with a Cemetery Cone

Here are the visual steps to making your own upcycled May Day basket from a cemetery cone. It’s easy if you have a drill, some polyurethane and some kind of handle. I used a piece of crimped wire that also came from fencing at a cemetery. But use what you have and use your imagination!

1. When you find cemetery cones, they’ll probably be good and rusty. Scrub them with a soapy steel wool pad, like an S.O.S pad. Rinse and let dry thoroughly in the sun.
2. Next, brush on a couple coats (inside and out) of water-based polyurethane. It will seal and bring out the beautiful vintage patina.
3. Drill holes on either side of the cemetery cone, large enough for your handle. You can also smoosh your cone flatter if it’s the triangular kind, similar to a wall pocket.
4. Pound down any metal flashing around your drilled holes so they’re not sharp.
5. Cut your handle to the length you desire. You want it long enough to go over a doorknob and leave enough space for flowers to stick out the top. Bend in an arch.
6. Bend last couple of inches of handle to go into holes. Using a bench vice works great for this.
7. Place handle ends in holes on either side and close with pliers.
8. Now your repurposed cemetery cones are ready to be turned into upcycled May Day baskets!

What Do You Put in a May Day Basket?

May Day baskets can be filled with flowers or treats, or both! I made one each to show you.

To fill with flowers, place a plastic bag inside the cemetery cone. Soak a piece of Oasis foam in water and place inside. Arrange fresh flowers and cuttings from your yard to make a pretty bouquet.

To fill with treats, simply line the cemetery cup with a paper doily or pretty fabric. Fill with homemade baked goods or store-bought treats.

Wouldn’t you squeal with excitement if one of these pretty, upcycled May Day baskets arrived at your door?

Finish Off Your Upcycled May Day Basket with a Printable

To encourage you to continue this old tradition, I created some FREE “Happy May Day” printables. They can be found in my Insider’s Resource Library, along with all kinds of other helpful and fun goodies for my faithful readers.

You can find out more about my Free Printables HERE.

Are you inspired to make your own May Day baskets? I hope so! It’s such a sweet, old-fashioned way to celebrate Spring and share beauty and kindness with someone else!

If you love these repurposed cemetery cones, I hope you can scrounge some up at a local flea market or vintage shop (or maybe from the cemetery gardener?). I’m already thinking of other fun ways to use them throughout the year.

For more repurposing and DIY projects with a vintage vibe, see HERE.

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