Paper Bag Mushrooms

Creating paper bag Mushrooms is a “hands on” art installation that honors the natural world by bringing awareness to the beauty in nature, healing properties, and

it recognizes lost and disappearing landscapes.

The paper bag mushrooms have been activated around museums, schools, music festivals, and community gatherings around South Florida. Have fun creating your mushroom!

instructional video 

materials

Mushroom instructions

You will need:

  • Brown paper bags, any size, used are the best :) The larger the bag the larger the mushroom.
  • Bamboo skewers/shish kabob skewers
  • Hot glue gun/glue sticks

How to:

  1. Open the brown paper bag, slide your hand inside and open it all the way, with your other hand grab the neck of the bag, slide your hand out and begin to squeeze the neck of the bag to form the mushroom stem.
  2. Once the stem is formed hold the stem close to the top of mushroom. With your other hand push the top part of the bag down over your fist to smash the top of the bag to form the round top of the mushroom cap.
  3. Shape the mushroom cap by folding over any corners.
  4. Open the bottom of the bag/stem and add a good amount of hot glue, place the skewer point side out inside the stem (pointed side out), push it all the way up till it reaches the mushroom cap. Squeeze the paper bag around the skewer, the hot glue will dry very fast.
  5. Have fun displaying your mushroom outdoors or in an indoor potted plant.