When it comes to décor, mushrooms are really having a MOMENT these days. From Fall décor, to Halloween, and now to Christmas- they’re everywhere. So, I decided to hop onto the trend by making some mushroom Christmas ornaments.
And what, pray tell, would I use to make them? Well, champagne corks, of course!
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
I’ve certainly seen lots of wine cork ornaments in my day- and even some wine cork mushrooms. But once I decided that champagne corks were a better option for a mushroom shape, I couldn’t see them any other way.
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
These mushroom ornaments are super easy to make and turn out just delightfully when you’re all done- let me show you how I made them!
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Painting the Champagne Corks
Now, I know what you might be thinking- “Just how much champagne does Sadie drink??”. And the answer to that is very little, which meant I had to buy my corks on Etsy.
To turn them into mushrooms for ornaments, I needed to paint them.
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
First, I painted the “stems” of the champagne corks, as well as the underside of the “cap”. I used a warm white craft paint and a small square paint brush to do it.
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
Ultimately, I did two coats of warm white on each of my corks. And I didn’t spend a lot of time trying to get straight or hidden brush strokes, either. I figured the brush strokes gave the “stems” a fibrous look, like real mushrooms.
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
Next, I painted the mushroom caps in a Tuscan red craft paint.
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
Again, I brushed two coats of red paint onto the “mushroom caps”. Then, I dabbed on a little extra paint here and there where printing on the cork showed through the red paint. Depending on your corks, though, you may not need to worry about that.
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
For spots, I simply dipped a small round paint brush in the same warm white paint and dabbed my mushroom caps. This created random, but carefully placed, mushroom cap spot.
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
I let everything dry and opted not to do a topcoat since cork is porous and won’t “chip” easily. Besides, I didn’t want them to look weirdly glossy or anything.
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
Making Mushroom Christmas Ornaments
Now that the champagne corks were painted, it was time to assemble the mushroom Christmas ornaments. And to do so, I needed small eye hooks, two-inch wood slices, and green reindeer moss.
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
First, I screwed an eye hook into the very top of the mushroom ornament. No tools needed- I just twisted the cork and eye screw in opposite directions to get the hole started. Then it just screwed right in without much effort.
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
Next, I hot glued the mushroom to a small wood slice. I found that a 2” to 2.5” round worked best for champagne corks; and I found the wood slices on Etsy.
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
And while I could have stopped there, of course, I decided to add some moss around the mushroom stem base. I continued to use hot glue, as well as craft tweezers to tuck the moss around the base.
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
When all was said and done, I had a VERY cute mushroom Christmas ornament- ready to hang on my tree.
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
I did decide to make a small alteration on some of the other mushroom ornaments I made, though. Before hot gluing the corks to the wood slices, I painted the wood slices white- like snow.
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
I used a white paint pen for that because it was super easy and dried immediately. But regular white craft paint would be fine, as well.
Mushroom Christmas Ornaments from Champagne Corks
And that was it- I simply placed an ornament hook through the eye hook and hung my newly-upcycled ornament on my Christmas tree.
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
They really are charming and perfect for a woodland-themed Christmas tree. I also tried dabbing some white paint on the moss to look like snow, but didn’t care for how it looked.
But if you make a bunch of these mushroom ornaments, you could certainly experiment with them! Maybe even incorporating some fake snow for texture- or glitter for sparkle.
Either way, the champagne corks worked perfectly as little mushrooms. And I love how my cute little toadstool ornaments turned out.
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
If woodland or mountain cabin style is your Christmas theme this year, I’ve got a couple of other DIY ornament ideas for you. Such as these mini Hudson’s Bay blankets for your tree…
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
And these faux vintage Skotch cooler ornaments, too!
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
Craft on!
S
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Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
Sarah Ramberg is the owner of Sadie Seasongoods, a website that celebrates all things secondhand. From upcycling ideas and thrifted decor to vintage-centric travel itineraries, Sadie Seasongoods is a one-stop shop for anyone who loves thrifting and approachable repurposing ideas. Sarah is also the author of “Crafting with Flannel” and has been featured in numerous media outlets and magazines.
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