DIY Chonky Velvet Mushrooms: The Cheaper, Dollar Tree Way!

There's an excellent mushroom DIY by Emma of ystreetstudio over on Instagram, and as soon as my Craft Night crew saw it, they put in requests to make our own.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Emma (@ystreetstudio)

So good, right? And a fairly simply process, so of course I was onboard.

That is, until John and I went to JoAnns and saw the price of those large Styrofoam balls. o.0

Aw HECK no. Even with one ball making two 'shrooms, this drives the material cost up to about $15 each! If you're a lone crafter that might be doable, but our Craft Night averages 4 to 6 people, so... nuh-uh.

(Smaller foam balls cost less, of course, but I wanted nice chonky 'shrooms like Emma's.)

(Also "Chonky 'Shrooms" is my new favorite phrase. It's so fun to say! Seriously, try it.)

(See?)

So off to Dollar Tree we went, because I was determined to DIY these fun guys on a DT budget.

It took a few days and some trial and error, but y'all, we did it.

Behold mah big mushy babies!

Hang on, that's not the best photo - it's more for size reference. Here are some better angles:

My fairy ring is a-growing.

I love the pleated undersides:

Though you have to get real low to see the yellow one's:

I made each one a little different, so you can see a variety of styles and heights.

My total cost per 'shroom was about $4, and could be even less, depending on what's in your craft stash. (I had the white velvet, so we only needed to buy the base pieces & top fabric.) These are great for group crafts, or for amassing your own magical mushy forest.

Ready to see how?

Excellent.

ROLL THE TAPE, JOHN!

Ta-daaaaa.

Here are some handy templates for ya:

Right-click each to embiggen, then save to your desktop.

Now a quick PSA: don't use puff paint for the dots. I bought and tested two different brands - including the Tulip one in the inspiration video - and both dried with a lumpy texture and VERY shiny. Plain white craft paint, on the other hand, dried perfectly smooth and slightly domed, in a more matte finish:

Puff paint versus craft paint

If your craft paint is too thin let it thicken slightly on a plate before you goop it on, so it won't run. Since you probably already have white craft paint, that's one less thing to buy.

 In the video I showed you how to make a contrasting white under-frill, like this:

(Technically called gills, but I like "under frills.")

However, you can save a step if you want the underside to match the top. Just make the top fabric circle a little bigger, and draw-string it closed like this:

(I just realized this angle in this color is a little... er... you know what, never mind. MOVING ON.)

That's the underside of my friend Arielle's 'shroom, which turned out like this:

(@Rasldazl)

So pretty! I like her bigger spots, too.

This drawstring method is a little more fidgety, since you're depending on thread instead of glue to stretch the fabric taut across the top. It saves you making the separate cardboard piece, though, so your call.

I dry-brushed some white paint on the underside of my pleats to give them a little contrast, that's another option for you:

I also left the stem ruffle off, made this one shorter, and skipped the aging for a cuter, more classic toadstool look.

I like both styles, really. How about you? Which do you like better?

I left the spots off the pink one, both so you can see one plain and because I'm tired of painting random dots, heh. I struggle SO HARD with "random" placement, y'all; I overthink it, it takes forever, and, and...

Pretty much.

Now let's see a couple more variations, because my friends are stinkin' creative and I think you'll love these. :D

Karen cut her bowl & stem in half lengthwise to make two flat mushrooms for this incredible wall display:

We broke out my box o' butterflies for the finishing touches, and I love this SO MUCH, I can't even. Just...gah. So magical. (Would also be great for wreaths!)

Bianca skipped the velvet top and went with FUR from our fabric stash instead, which was hilarious:

She also did a double ruffle, 'cuz why not.

At the end of the night we did some googling and discovered there's a "lion's mane" mushroom that actually kind of looks like this?!

Whaaaaat are the odds, y'all.  Nature is WILD.

I think it's safe to say that John's mushroom creation, however, will never be found in nature. At least, let's hope not.

Ded.

(Those are leftover eyeballs from my Labyrinth moss; I still have a bag lying around for emergencies.)

Yep, somehow John turned this sweet DIY into the horror version of the McDonald's Fry Guys.

Remember these?

 Omigosh. Wait. WAIT. I just realized: 

It's the Fry Guy Fungi.

Ok, the pun makes it better.

And on that ridiculous note, I hope you have an amazing week! Let me know if you plan to make any of these cuties (or horrors), and how else you'd display them, since mine, uh, seem to be multiplying.

*****

Pssst. If you like this craft then I bet you'll also like my Crescent Wreath DIY:

It's made entirely from Dollar Tree materials, and only cost about $10!

Or how about my furry monster Christmas tree?

Sure it's the wrong season, but leave the Santa hat off and it could easily be a furry monster Easter tree. Eh? EH?

Drat, now I want to make furry monster Easter eggs. Talk me out of this. Or into it. Cast your vote below.