How to Make a Giant Yard Mushroom

Cut a piece of Styrofoam into a circle as large as you want the diameter of your mushroom's base to be. Cut three broom handles or dowel rods to the height you want for the mushroom. Push the three rods into the Styrofoam near the outside perimeter of the circle to stand upright.

Wrap a section of chicken wire around the Styrofoam base and support rods to form a cylinder. Attach the wire to the supports using zip ties. Secure the end of the chicken wire using zip ties as needed to hold the cylinder shape.

Place an opened umbrella over the cylinder so the handle and stem go into the cylinder. Secure the framing along the underside of the umbrella to the chicken wire with zip ties.

Mix together 1 cup of flour for every 3 cups of water to form a runny paste similar to pancake batter. Rip a newspaper into strips approximately 3 to 4 inches wide. One at a time, dip a newspaper strip into the paste mixture and apply it to the outside of the cylinder and umbrella. Continue until the entire outer surface is covered.

Leave the paste to dry for a day and repeat Step 4 two to three more times, until the outer surface has a smooth texture and no holes are showing through. Let dry for two to three days.

Spray over the entire surface of the mushroom with primer and allow to dry for two hours. Paint over the mushroom stem and cap as desired using acrylic or latex paints in any colors you choose.