LYNDALU! THOSE ARE AWESOME! yes I'm shouting! TOO AWESOME! wowowow!

Lyndalu,

TOO MUCH!! Those are really neat!! DH just saw them and wants to know how you made the form. We saw (maybe on this forum) somewhere where someone made them by digging a hole in the ground, lining the hole with a sheet of plastic, then pouring cement in the hole - this would become the top of the mushroom. Then, for the stem, they inserted a piece PVC pipe or a stump of wood in the middle. A couple of days later they returned and the cement was dry so they just removed their mushroom. VOILA!

But he wants to know how you made yours. Can you tell??

Ooooh, I really like them. Gotta get DH involved and these might do it. :O)

Lyndalu! Very cute!!! I just bought the wire mesh to try and make some stuff from the technique I learned a couple of weeks ago. Wire mesh and cement then mosaic and grout. I want to make a group of large pshycodelic shrooms 3ft tall!!! I like the shapes you have! Jane

Just absolutely darlin'. Oh, how I LOVE those. Waiting for your instructions - might try about three of them for a first grouping.

How cute! Love the shapes and colors. I think that will be my first outdoor project if I can't find a birdbath cheap. Same ? as tiffy, did you use the directions on this forum? If so, they were wonderfully successful!

Lyndalu, these are just adorable! What an inspiration! I can't wait to do some! I, too, would like to hear how you did them. I like Tiffy's idea.

WOW!!! Ilove them too .I want to make some of those.

What fun! I love these! Would be awesome to know how you made the base for the mosaic, if you don't mind sharing. ~: )

I love them! I won't show my hubby, he'll be cracking the whip and making me get some done pronto!

GGG

Thanks so much...I'm glad you guys like them.

Of course I'll share how I made them. I've got some that are in progress, so I'll take a few pictures to help explain, and I'll write something up and post it tomorrow.

Tiffy and DIY - I know the post you were talking about - that sounded very interesting to me, too - and I saved that information for future use. But I already had these made at that time (but not mosaic'd), so that's not the method I used.

Thanks again, it's so much fun sharing stuff with you all!

How very cute these are...they look like they would work well in some of the fairy gardens I have seen..

chickeemama

I'm loving these. They are awesome!

Be Safe, Rach

Love your mushrooms! I made one, haven't grouted the bottom yet. I made mine from a bowl and a vase. Wanted to try the cement method but the weather isn't cooperating....but the thrift stores are always open!
{{!gwi}}

squirrley - I love your mushroom, too! Love the way you used the long pieces to mosaic the stem - looks great!

Mine were made from a concrete mix over various objectsÂI used a recipe from a book by Sherri Warner Hunter  a Basic Sand Mix, which is 1 part Portland cement, 3 parts sand and approximately 1 part water. IÂm still very much a beginner at making concrete structures, but IÂve got both of Sherri Warner HunterÂs books, and they have been very helpful to me.

On the 4 that look kind of like "button" mushrooms - I put the mix over a regular sized light bulb (light bulb covered in plastic wrap).

{{gwi:134621}}

On the more elongated ones, I used a 6 oz yogurt container  and put the mix over it, putting enough mix on the "top" (which of course is the bottom of the container), so that the top is more rounded, rather than flat. Oh, and I didnÂt try to "unmold" itÂthe plastic container is still in there.

For the stems on those 2 types, I took a piece of Styrofoam, and whittled it into the desired shape, stuck a long nail into the bottom, and then covered it with the mix. After a couple of days curing time for the cap and stem, I attached the stems to the caps by inserting the stem into the cap and pushing the mix all around it. After the concrete had fully cured, I painted the stems.
{{gwi:134622}}

The taller lavender one was made over a glass bowl (covered in plastic wrap), with the mix over it.

The stem on the lavender one is a bud vase with the concrete mix over it. And the cap just sits on top of the bud vase  itÂs not attached.
{{gwi:134623}}

And here's another type I'm working on. As a base, I used this metal thing - it's something from some type of light fixture. Thought the result might look a little like a portobello mushroom.
{{gwi:134624}}

Thank-you ever so much!! Those are great and easy to make. I might even get the neighbourhood kids to come over one day and make some since it's a simple process. They'd love that!

I want mushrooms!

They are darling...

Those are adorable!!
Thanks for explaining how you made them. They are just too cute!!

Hazie

Thank you!

Hazie - I was making my stems from styrofoam...until you mentioned in a post that you had used a wine bottle. I thought that was a GREAT idea...but a wine bottle was too big for these particular mushrooms...but it made me think of bud vases...and of course they come in different heights...which is perfect...so thank you for that inspiration!

Wonderful!!!!!!!!!!!Someday I'll try but got to use up whats sitting around first.........Annie

Many thanks, LYNDALU: I have one of Sherri Warner's books, but haven't used it yet - lots of recipes in there. The recipe we used in PV was two parts sand to one part cement over the wire mesh, but your molds sound easier for small items. Sounds sooooo easy. Hope to try your method soon. Thanks again for instructions.

This is something I want to try this summer. Thanks for the directions!!

Maria

Beautiful! And great directions! Thanks so much. And the TBM list grows...

I found this site about hypertufa. According to the author, "The finished products are lighter in weight than concrete." All you garderners will love the fact that it uses stuff right out of your garden shed, sand or perlite combined with cement and peat moss.

Crystal....gardenweb has a hypertufa forum.......very interesting stuff - very helpful people - you should check it out. I've experimented some with it. Very cool.

In fact, I found THIS forum while lurking on the hypertufa forum.

lyndalou - got a quick question about the mushrooms made on the bud vases. How did you (or did you) stabilize them so they won't fall over in the wind? I noticed the base is pretty wide, does that keep them upright?

Pat

Hi Pat! I haven't had any problems with them falling over in the wind....and we've had some pretty good wind recently. You're right - I did choose bud vases that were pretty wide on the bottom, so I'm sure that helps. Also, when I placed them in the flower beds, I pushed the mulch aside and set them solidly in the dirt, then pushed the mulch up to them again. Maybe that helped, too? I'll be anxious to see pictures of yours!!

This cool little project deserves a bump. I need to make my 'grocery list' for it today to get materials for the 1/2-dozen vases I procured recently at the thrift to do this.

I love the mushrooms. I have a question if anyone would share advice. I see some of these that put nails in the bottom and others don't. I see where that would be helpful and would use on my own but I want to display them to sell and wondered if there was something else to help stabilize them or if it's really even needed for any other than the small ones with Styrofoam? Otherwise I can't set them up to display. Any suggestions?

Are you always able to insert the bottom in the top or do you sometimes have to glue the two together? Thanks!!!