Garden Mushrooms

Garden Mushrooms

This summer I got it stuck in my head that I wanted some decorative mushrooms in my garden. Don't ask me.......I don't know what it is about mushrooms, but I just love them.

It took me a long time to figure out how I was going to make these things. There wasn't much to google about them because not too many people have made these things.

I knew what I wanted them to look like, but wasn't sure how to actually go about making them. After much thought, I figured it out. Like everything else it was trial and error. The first one wasn't made the same as the second one, because I made changes along the way.

They have to go outside, last through rain and wind too, so cement seemed the best way to go. I researched that and decided on mortar. I was going to paint them, but decided on glass mosaic squares. My reasoning-color. I wanted color! They are going into a shade garden and that's where I need the color.

Here they are finished and I'll explain below how I made them.

I started with a very large, plastic bowl. Not the easiest thing to find, mind you. I landed up using an old halloween candy bowl. I sprayed the bowl with cooking oil, poured in the mixed mortar (morter + water according to the directions) and waited 2 days for it to set. Mortar dries smooth and this helps when you are glueing on the glass. The cooking oil allows easy release of the mortar. Mushroom caps-done.

The next step was to cut up the squares and circles out of glass. My years of stained glass experience helped a lot. You can buy these squares all ready cut out in the craft stores. You also can start breaking up old plates and use them. I glued all the squares and circles onto the mushroom cap and then mortared around the squares. I used white mortar as you can see.

I used an empty soda bottle for the smallest mushroom stem. This worked out, but I wanted taller shrooms too. I used 4 inch PVC pipe (home depot), cut it and glued the shroom to the top. This worked great. In the future I would stick to the PVC pipe and skip the soda bottle. It's easier and you can leave it white.

These mushrooms look just great in the yard and everyone loves them. So far they have lasted through all kinds of weather. I plan on planting some Mondo grass around them.

FYI-the red shroom is poisonous......

Christy

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Making a Mosaic Table

Mosaics are very easy to do, creative and fun. Few tools are necessary and for the most part the craft itself is pretty inexpensive. I warn you now.........it's addictive.

You can use:

• broken plates
  
• glass


• broken tiles
  
• beads
  
• pieces of metal, copper, silver or brass

You can make a completely random design or plan it out by drawing it out first. You basically need a surface to work on, usually something rigid and free of dirt or grime. Examples: clay pots, wood (seal it first), a cement slab, glass or even ceramic.

Tools and supplies:

• Welbond is a great adhesive that most professionals use. The craft stores also carry tile adhesive especially made for mosaics. I've also used Elmers white glue and that worked fine for me.
  
• Tile nippers. You can find these at Home Depot, Lowe's or craft stores like JoAnn's & Michael's.
  
• Your broken tile or glass. I'm lucky in that I have tons of glass at home that I cut myself into any shape. I checked on Ebay and many people sell little glass squares of glass by the pound. They seem to run about $10.00 and up for a pound or two. You can also get an old thrift store plate, a towel and a hammer. Place your towel over the plate and smash away. This technique can also be used with tiles.
  


• Grout- I buy in the home improvement store. It comes in many colors so take your pick.

The way that I create a mosaic is to place a drop of glue on my surface then place my glass or tile square onto it. When my entire piece is all dry I then grout my entire piece.


This piece I recently finished for my good friend for her birthday. I thought she would like this to put out on her porch. The design is totally random. I placed the flower pieces in the middle and just randomly placed the rest of the glass tile around until I came to the end where I placed a border.

I decided to make a table in this case so before applying any tile I sprayed the pine with a sealer first. I learned this lesson years ago after making a larger table mosaic. A few days after it was completed it warped like a potato chip. Apparently the water that was in the grout absorbed into the wood. You live and learn..............................

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