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Fall is known for having delicious drink options, like pumpkin spice lattes, apple cider, hot chocolate, etc. We wanted to make some fun stir sticks, and toadstools in a unique color palette make the best toppers! Last Christmas, we got the cutest book for my son called The Mushroom Fan Club, by Elise Gravel, and we learned so much about all different kinds of mushrooms that I didn’t even know existed. It kind of made me want to start my own club and go mushroom hunting, or become a mycologist! …Buuuuut, we were inspired to craft them instead! You could serve some fun drinks after school, and curl up with a good book and a toadstool stir stick, or use the toadstools to create some fun present toppers or ornaments for the upcoming holidays. They would be darling cake or cupcake toppers as well, but we wanted to stir things up a bit with something different!
If you need a couple more toadstool ideas, try these paper plate toadstools, or these darling DIY toadstool invitations. You can throw an adorable party, or start that mushroom club, and celebrate at the first meeting!
what you need:
- 1” Unfinished wood bead (1/8” hole)
- 1/8” x 6” wood round dowel
- FolkArt Acrylic Craft Paint in parchment, white, and various colors
- Sponge brush
- Small paintbrush
- 1.3” Styrofoam ball cut in half (We used a miter hand saw!)
- Tacky glue
- Streamers
- Scissors
- Toothpick
- Extra-long toothpick
Small Toadstool - ¾” Unfinished wood bead (1/8” hole)
- 0.8” Styrofoam ball cut in half
how-to:
Paint your Styrofoam ball halves in various colors. Allow to dry, and set aside. Paint your unfinished wood beads in the color “parchment” and allow to dry.
Place a dab of tacky glue on the end of a dowel, and slide the dowel into your painted wood bead until it is secure. Do not push the dowel beyond the opposite end of the bead.
Cut a 13” piece of streamer, and fold it in half to make it skinnier. Accordion fold the streamer into a circle until the ends overlap. Glue the end that overlaps on top down in the middle, and glue the other end to the back of your circle. Make sure the pieces are glued down very well, as the stem of the mushroom will be glued to this circle. Glue the accordion-folded circle to the bottom of your Styrofoam ball, and allow to dry.
Cut the excess streamer off so that it fits perfectly on the Styrofoam ball.
Place a dab of glue on the top of your wooden bead on a dowel, and attach it to the bottom and center of your Styrofoam ball half. Allow to dry.
Use your small paintbrush to paint white circles on the top of your Styrofoam ball. You may also use a toothpick for smaller dots, or the end of an extra-long toothpick to stamp tiny circles on the mushroom. Allow to dry.
