Steps: 1. Place decorative slate or tile on table. Place bowl on slate or tile.

2. Place pump at bottom of bowl, taking care to see cord is draped to back of container. Use suction cups to make pump stick to bottom of container. Add tap water to more than cover intake value [2” minimum]. Plug pump into electric outlet. (It is advisable to test out pump in a bucket or sink before placing it in container.) Unplug pump to adjust water flow, if needed.

3. Cut tubing length to fit your container and design. Fit one end of tubing to pump spout. Place larger rocks to cover pump and fill bottom of container.

4. Arrange smaller rocks and tiles /slate /driftwood by stacking them so as to create a diverse and irregular path for water flow. You can reduce water flow from a geyser to a gurgle by covering open end of tube with tumbled glass.

5. Plug in pump, adjust water volume and stones as needed to produce sound that appeals most to your ears.

6. Suction excess water from container with a turkey baster.

7. Place figurines, plant cuttings, ivy, moss, shells or tiles to hide tubing and electric cord.

8. Place a candle in a candleholder beside fountain, light from candle will glisten on water and reflect its light onto fountain arrangement.

Maintenance tips:

Check water level daily for first week, adding fresh water as needed to keep pump completely covered. Add a small amount of bleach or petri oil to water to cleanse fountain and keep water shimmering. Clean fountain components every month to remove slime and algae. Every three months, take fountain apart and clean pump. Pull off front cover, remove debris from propeller and screen, and wipe bottom. Reassemble your fountain, experimenting with a different bowl and accents.

More Resources:

Tabletop Fountain: "Mountain Seep" http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/victorygarden/knowhow/pp/tabletopfountain/

Simple Rock Fountain: http://www.ivillage.com/home/howtoguide/garden/articles/0,,170784_209022,00.html?arrivalSA=1&cobrandRef=0&arrival_freqCap=2

Under $30 fountain: http://www.stylewiz.com/articles/index.cfm?fuseaction=article_page&id=115

Feng Shui Table-Top fountain: http://bellaonline.com/Article.asp?id=1033

Copper Frame Fountain: http://www.rebeccasgarden.com/howto/items/19foun01.html

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Now use bamboo skewers and tape to place “stakes” on back of each gift item. Make sure to leave about 1-1 ½” of stake hanging over edge of each item. This is how you will stake item into foam so that it won’t move around. Place taller gift items in back of basket, and smaller items toward front. Before you “stake” gift items, set them up in basket to see which items will fit best where. Design with an eye for an overall pleasing shape to your basket, distributing weight of gift items evenly. Tip: Layering items at different heights in container makes overall design more pleasing. To do this, simply leave more of bamboo skewer hanging over edge of particular items, so that they appear taller when you stake them into foam.

As an alternative to using bamboo skewer “stakes” to place your items, you can put pieces of wadded up newspaper in container, and then use your hands to smash down “pockets” in newspaper (or craft paper) where your items can be placed. You can then use GlueDots to hold items in place. You would put one or two GlueDots on each item, and then secure it to item next to or to container itself. Tip: make sure that you don’t put too many heavy items all in back of container, as it will make basket tip over.

After all of your items are secured in container, fill in empty spaces with shred (available at craft stores) or curling ribbon. Now you can really get creative! Use silk flowers, eucalyptus stems, or other items you bought as enhancement, and place them into foam around sides, and along back edge of basket. This is finishing touch for your beautiful gift!

Now it’s time to wrap basket in cellophane. Spread cellophane out on a flat surface, placing basket in center. To cut to desired length, hold up one end of cellophane, and other end that is still attached to roll, and bring them together above basket, making sure to leave at least 5-6” extra cellophane above top of basket. After you have cut cellophane from roll, bring both ends together above basket, then pull up other sides of cellophane so that all of it meets in middle above basket. Take a piece of curling ribbon, and tie gathered cellophane together with this. Now gather excess cellophane above curling ribbon into a bunch. Cut bunch straight across leaving 4-5” of cellophane above curling ribbon. Now you can fluff out remaining cellophane above curling ribbon. Finish basket with a beautiful hand-tied bow using wired ribbon!

Congratulations! You did it, and I bet it looks great!