Fall Into Season With This Fantasy Mushroom Basket & Wreath

By: Kathleen George for Styrofoam Brand Foam

Make your door look fabulous by decorating it with this Fall fantacy mushroom basket and wreath. It looks great when you welcome your company or it makes a great gift.

Materials:

STYROFOAM™ Brand Foam:
- Balls: 2-1/2", four; 2", five; 1-1/2", six
- Cones, 3" x 2", four
- Eggs, 3", three
- Rods, 36" x 1", two
Grapevine bases: 18" wreath; 11" x 14" basket
Assorted luxury fabrics, 1/8-1/4 yd. each: velvet; suede knit; taffeta; lamé; knit; rayon; etc.
Metallic gold spray finishes: paint; glitter
Artificial florals: fern leaves, 6", 13; assorted small leaves; plumosus fern bush; Spanish moss
Copper ribbon, 1-1/2" x 5 yds.
Wooden floral picks, 2-1/2", 40
Cloth-covered floral wire
Beeswax
Serrated knife
Candle stub or paraffin
Fine-line black permanent marker
Pencil
Ruler
Wooden skewer or awl
Compass or circle templates (3", 4-1/2", 5-1/2", 6")
Scissors
Sewing needle and matching threads
Straight pins
Wire cutters
Low-temp glue gun and glue sticks
Thick, white craft glue

Steps:

Wax serrated knife with candle stub or paraffin; cut foam balls and eggs in half. Remove 1/2" from tip of each foam cone. Cut mushroom stems from foam rod of following lengths: four 2-1/2"; nine 2"; nine 1-1/2"; eighteen 1".
Use glue gun to glue several layers of Spanish moss into bottom of basket and to front bottom edge of wreath.
Working in well-ventilated area and following manufacturer's instructions, lightly spray basket and wreath with gold paint; let dry. Lightly spray artificial leaves with gold paint, leaving some areas and some leaves unpainted; let dry. Lightly spray leaves with gold glitter; let dry.
Cut fabric circles to cover mushroom caps as follows: twelve 3" to cover 1-1/2" half-balls; ten 4-1/2" to cover 2" half-balls; eight 5-1/2" to cover 2-1/2" half-balls; ten 6" to cover six half-eggs and four cones. To cover stems, cut fabric 3-1/4" wide and 3/4" longer than stem length; for a 2" stem, cut 2-3/4" x 3-1/4" piece from fabric.
Pass doubled thread through beeswax for ease of gathering; thread needle. To cover mushroom cap, sew gathering stitch around corresponding fabric circle, 1/4" from edge. Place foam mushroom rounded side down in center of circle and pull threads tight, arranging gathers evenly. Stitch back and forth across opening several times; knot and clip threads.
To cover stems, center foam stem on corresponding fabric piece with 3/8" of fabric extending beyond each end. Glue one end of fabric to foam, wrap fabric around, and glue opposite end. Clip excess fabric every 1/4" to create tabs; glue tabs to top and bottom of stem. Glue stems to caps; let dry.
Use skewer or awl to poke hole in center bottom of each stem. Glue one floral pick halfway into each hole; let dry. Refer to photo to arrange mushrooms in wreath and basket as desired. When pleased with arrangements, remove mushrooms one by one and glue back into place.
Cut 3 yd. length from ribbon; tie center into multi-loop bow. Wire bow to top of wreath and curl tails around wreath. Tie center of remaining ribbon length into bow; wire to basket handle.
Refer to photo to glue leaves into arrangement as desired. Cut 6" length from wire; twist ends together around top center back of wreath for hanger.