Making mushroom ornaments from my childhood bedspread

12 years ago

I wrote last month for suggestions on what to do a strip I saved off with my childhood bedspread which I was finally throwing (most of) away. Well I still might make a scarf as suggested BUT I was trying to make mushroom ornaments with a cork stem for an upcoming craft fair. I didn't have batting for stuffing but I remembered that quilt which I had in a garbage bag but not yet taken away. I cut small pieces of it for the stuffing. Well that mushroom wasn't cute enough, but while I was handling the bedspread (100% cotton, from the Sears Roebuck catalog) I realized that I could use it to make the whole mushroom cap, not the stuffing.

So here are 15 caps ready for stems.

And here they are with the corks hot glued on.

And here are some all painted up and with a little raggedy edged piece of fabric on the bottom of the stem.

My thought is to attach each mushroom to a clothes pin with a tiny pine cone and a piece of birch bark.

I'm thinking of trying out keeping a few with the roses quilt fabric unpainted, and putting lace on the stem instead of torn fabric, for a shabby shroom look. Not sure if that will sell, but you never know!

What think?

Again I'm stymied on price. Any suggestions? I'm waffling between $5 and $9.

Thanks for looking

Kathy

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Comments (8)

kim546
12 years ago
Hi Kathy-What a great idea! I think the pink rose ones are sweet :) Probably you'll be asked if they're pin cushions. price wise...hmmmm, how abou $7 (it's between 5-9) I can't wait to hear how the craft show goes..good luck :) Kim
concretenprimroses
Original Author
12 years ago
Yes, thank you, I think $7. I feel nervous asking so much, but its hard to know until I try. I'm in a "use what I have" mode and I ran out of white paint. So I think I'll make more, but a different color. I'd like to have around 20 of each of 3 colors: natural bedspread; red spotted amanita; and the third I'm not sure. I'll have to look at my mushroom book for a good looking/ ornamentsl one that I have the right colors for! I'm going to have to really pick and choose to get 17 more from parts of the bedspread that still look good. I realized that I have some other saved quilts that I could use int his way too.

Kathy
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kim546
12 years ago
Kathy-I always price my stuff low-but boyfriend says its too low most times.It's easier to price other crafters things I guess. Blessings, Kim:)
toomuchglass
12 years ago
Really cute & clever !!! Did you notice the newspaper article headline at the lower right ?

"Sanity Prevails At Last " ........ ROFL ....

That's a good omen :) I think $6 is a good price. I always think - what would I pay for it ... and for $6 , I'd think I bought a treasure !
birdgardner
12 years ago
I really like the rose ones. They have a soft and natural look to them. They would be so cute with a lace "veil" - that is a ring around the stem as shown in the link below.

The other thing is that some people prefer whites or pastels instead of brights for their ornaments - so you cold appeal to different tastes.

Also very cute would be a little mushroom next to the big one, but a pine cone is faster for sure. You could charge more for a two-mushroom clip.

Look up bolete mushrooms - instead of gills, they have pores on the underside - velvet would do for small pores, lace over fabric for large pores.

Here is a link that might be useful: mushroom veil.
concretenprimroses
Original Author
12 years ago
Thanks birdgardener!
I'm very familiar with mushrooms, having gathered them to eat all my life starting with my grandfather when I was a child.
I too thought of a lace veil for the pink ones, and found some at a thrift store that I think will work.
I think for this time I'm going to stick to my one piece mushroom cap. Saturday is coming up quick and I want to make a bunch more!
I think you are right about some people preferring more subtle. I'll try to think of something else quieter! Around here the amanita muscarias are yellow to orange, instead of red. Much more subtle. I ran out of white paint so I may make some of those with a kind of beigy stalk tills and spots instead of white. I'll make as many pink flower ones as I can given the state of the spread.
I appreciate your comments.
Kathy
concretenprimroses
Original Author
12 years ago
Well I thought about what bird gardener said, and making another smaller mushroom just wasn't going to happen, too labor intensive. Then I remembered I had bought supplies 2 Christmasses ago to make gnomes who would have little german spun cotton mushrooms with them. I dug them out and they are the exact same red that I painted mine. So here is my first completed ornament.

I have 22 red and white homemade and 2 doz of the little ones!
I have 12 or 13 not yet completely painted AND I discovered what i had forgotten: a doz PINK little spun cotton mushrooms. They are not the right color pink to go with the 12 roses mushrooms, but I think I have the right color pink that I can make the unpainted ones.

My friend Linda had this old wreath that looks like grass which I will use for the red and white at least.

Back to $7.

I have so much to do today.

Kathy
birdgardner
12 years ago
Kathy, that looks wonderful. The fly agarics here are red like that. And under the pines.

You are so lucky to have had your grandfather teach you mushroom hunting. Since I have had to learn from books, I really limit it - no gilled mushrooms until I'm much better at it. And when I was pregnant or nursing, none.

On my visits to states with better mushroom territory, the envy! the mountains of North Carolina, Alaska's boreal forests, even the Seattle farmer's market - oh, mushrooms, mushrooms, mushrooms.

Making mushroom ornaments from my childhood bedspread

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Making mushroom ornaments from my childhood bedspread

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