I walk you through the process on how to make a DIY mushroom wreath with moss for spring that requires minimal supplies.

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With the arrival of every season, I like to have a wreath on the front door that reflects what is occurring in the natural world.  This spring, I wanted to do something a little different so rather than the typical tulip or floral spring wreath, I decided to make a wreath with handmade mushrooms and moss. 

A quick note, making your own mushrooms from air dry clay can be time consuming since it takes up to 3 days for the clay to dry.  However, you can also purchase pre-made mushrooms from any craft store and use them instead.  

So with that, let’s jump in on making this DIY wreath.

DIY Mushroom Wreath with Moss for Spring

This is a fun project if you have children who are interested in crafts and working with clay.  It can also be modified to reflect almost any season.  I used the pastel colors for the mushrooms because it seemed fitting for the season.   

All told, this wreath took about a week to make and assemble.  As noted, the majority of the time was devoted to making and waiting for the clay mushrooms to dry.  Once I had all the components, and the mushrooms were painted, the assembly of the wreath took less than 1 hour.  Here is a quick summary of the time involved.

• 1 day to make the mushroom caps and stems from air dry clay
• 3 days for the air dry clay caps and stems to dry
• 1 day for the E600 glue to dry (used to attach Mushroom caps and stems).
• 1 day to paint the mushrooms and apply Mod Podge
• The following day, assemble the wreath, which only takes an hour. 

If you prefer, to save time, you can buy wooden mushrooms and paint them as you see fit.  

Supplies

As with any project, the first thing we will need to do is gather our supplies.  Where possible, I have provided links to items that are available via Amazon.  However, you should be able to get these supplies at any local craft store such as Michaels, Hobby Lobby or even Walmart. 

• DAS Air Dry Clay
• E6000
• 220 grit sandpaper
• Craft paints in any array of colors you choose
  • I used brown, pink, yellow and white paints
• A craft paint brush for each mushroom color
• A few Q-tips
• Mod Podge, matte clear finish
• Painters tape (I use Frog Tape)
• Straw wreath form
• Scissors
• Natural Easter grass
• Reindeer moss
• Hot glue gun and glue sticks
• Ribbon or twine to hang the wreath

If you don’t want to make your mushrooms from air dry clay, then you can purchase some previously made wooden mushrooms which you can paint to your liking.

Once you have all your supplies, it’s time to start creating!

Make the Mushrooms

The first step is to make the mushrooms using the DAS air dry clay.  Determine how many mushrooms you will need for your wreath, as well as their size.  For this wreath, I made 5 mushrooms.  Each mushroom was 3 to 4 inches tall and the mushroom cap was 3 to 4 inches in diameter.

Also, determine how you want the mushrooms to look. For example, are you creating a large round mushroom? A tall skinny mushroom? This will determine how you shape your clay. For this project, I created round top mushrooms.

Simply roll a piece of clay into a ball and then flatten it into a disk.  Then using a ballpoint pen, etch lines radiating from the center of the disk out to the edges.  These lines are for the underside of the mushroom cap.  

Using a small round bowl, flipped upside down, I placed the mushroom cap on top and let it dry.  The rounded bowl helps the mushroom cap keep its shape as it dries and mimics how a mushroom cap would normally look. 

Important tip – at the center of each mushroom cap at the intersection of where the lines meet, make an indentation that will hold the mushroom stem.  

Then, roll out a small piece of clay into the shape of a small log for the mushroom stem.  Be sure that the stem of the mushroom will fit in the indentation you made in the mushroom cap. Also, make the mushroom stem longer than you think is necessary because approximately 1 inch of the stem will be inserted into the wreath form.  

I repeated this process, creating a mushroom cap and stem for every mushroom on the wreath.  Then I waited 3 days for the clay to dry.  It was a long three days because I have the patience of a gnat. 

Assemble Mushrooms

When the clay is completely dry, use your 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out your mushroom caps and stems.

Use E6000 glue to attach the mushroom stems and caps.  To keep the stems and caps in place while the glue dried, I used some painters tape.  I let them dry for 24 hours and sanded them one final time before applying the paint.

At this point, preheat your oven to its lowest setting, which on my oven is 185 degrees.

Lay out your craft paints and paint brushes.  Using a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil, paint the mushroom caps and stems.  Then put them in the oven for about 15 minutes.   Putting the mushrooms in the oven helps the paint to dry faster.

Apply a second and third coat of paint to each mushroom, as needed.  A quick note, the lighter colored (yellow and pink) mushrooms required more coats of paint.  I used a Q-tip to make the dots on the mushroom caps.

Finally, I brushed on Mod Podge to seal the paint on each mushroom cap and stem.  Then I put them in the oven for 15 minutes.  The Mod Podge acts as a sealant. 

Summary of Painting Mushrooms

To reiterate, this is the process:

• Preheat oven to lowest setting (185 degree Farenheit)
• Paint mushrooms with first coat of paint and put in oven for 15 minutes
• Paint mushrooms with second coat of paint and put in oven for 15 minutes
• Paint mushrooms with third coat of paint (if needed), add white dots on mushroom caps and put in oven for 15 minutes
• Apply Mod Podge to the painted mushrooms and put in oven for 15 minutes

You will notice that I also put some small holes in the tops of my mushrooms. I did this so in the future, if I decide to pull them off the wreath, I can hang them up or make a garland.

Assemble Mushroom Wreath

Once your mushrooms have been fully assembled and painted we can assemble the wreath!  First, plug in your hot glue gun so it can heat up. As an aside, I like to use a piece of aluminum foil under my hot glue gun. It catches any drips and protects my work surface.

Using a straw wreath form, determine the layout of your mushrooms.  

TIP, sometimes it helps to take photos of different layouts using your cell phone.  This allows you to compare the different options.  

Using the tip of some scissors, make a hole in the straw wreath for each mushroom.  Be sure the hole is at least 1 inch deep so the mushroom will fit securely onto the wreath.  Apply hot glue to the bottom of the mushroom stem so it will fit securely in the hole you made. 

Use the hot glue gun to attach the natural Easter grass to the straw wreath form and around the mushrooms.

Using any remaining natural Easter grass and the hot glue gun to fill in any holes on the wreath.  Pay particular attention to the edges of your wreath form. (For whatever reason, I always seem to miss large sections on the edge the wreath)

Finally, at the base of each mushroom, use your hot glue gun to attach some reindeer moss. 

The last step is to use some twine or ribbon to hang your wreath! I simply looped some twine around the wreath form. 

Enjoy your DIY Mushroom Wreath with Moss for Spring

Congratulations!  You have now made your mushroom wreath and it can be hung on your front door!

Thank you for stopping by the blog today. Below are some photos of the finished wreath. You can pin these images to any board on your Pinterest account for future reference.

Here are a few close ups of the mushrooms.

Conclusion

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I hope spring has made its way to your corner of the world. If you enjoyed this project, you might also like the following wreath projects.

DIY Moss Wreath

 

Antique Paper Leaf Wreath