Basket made from Christmas Cards

One of the things I remember from my childhood Christmases was a basket my mother had that my grandmother had made out of Christmas cards.  I don't know what became of the basket, but when my sister was visiting last month and we were trying to figure out what to do with a box of old Christmas cards, both of us thought of the basket.  Unfortunately, neither of us had any idea how to make one so that's where the conversation ended.

A few days later, I found this link to a basket that was similar, but it wasn't quite the same as the one I remembered: http://www.allfreecrafts.com/christmas/card-basket.shtml

As I recall, the basket my grandmother made was crocheted together, not stitched and the sides were curved, not straight.  So, I decided to try to make a pattern of my own.  Here is my first attempt.

 

I think it's pretty close to the one I remember.  I think Grandma's had a little more curve to the sides, though.  I'll have to show it to my mom and my sister and see what they think.

Here's a view from the top:

And another view from the front:

If you'd like to make one, you can find the pattern and instructions here:

http://www.handcraftedgreetings.com/miscprojects.php

Be warned, though, I have never written crochet instructions before so they might be a little hard to follow.