How to create your own toad stools
Habitat bright ideas with Fleur Thorpe – DIY projects
Brighten up your backyard with colourful toad stools. They can act as useful markers for plants or just a spot of bright colour to enjoy all year round.
You will need
- 3 large stainless steel bowls
- Electric drill
- Coarse grit sandpaper
- Resene Waterborne Smooth Surface Sealer
- Paintbrush
- Resene Lustacryl semi-gloss waterborne enamel in your choice of colours, Fleur used:
- 3 branches or posts
- 3 strews
Instructions
Step 1
Start with 3 large stainless steel kitchen bowls.
Step 2
Drill a hole in the bottom of each one and give the outside a good sand with coarse grit sandpaper. Wipe off sanding dusts.
Step 3
Use a paintbrush to apply one layer of Resene Waterborne Smooth Surface Sealer.
Step 4
Once the sealer is dry, apply two layers of Resene Lustacryl paint in Resene Guardsman Red, allowing the paint to dry between each coat.
Step 5
When the Resene Guardsman Red paint is dry, paint on large white spots with Resene Half Rice Cake.
Step 6
Tip the contents of a Resene testpot of Resene Sauvignon into a glass jar/plastic container and add about 100mls of water to make a thin whitewash (filling the empty testpot twice with water is enough). Use a paintbrush to apply one layer of the whitewash to the branches.
Step 7
Make sure that your branches have a smooth cut edge at the top so that the bowls can easily be screwed to them. Dig a hole for each branch and ‘plant’ them in your garden. Screw the bowl to the top of the branch.
Top tip: Create different combinations of toadstools to complement your garden flowers using Resene testpots.
Styling and images by Fleur Thorpe. Dec 2020.