Looking to add some color and design to your flower garden this year? If so, I’ve got the perfect FRUGAL garden yard art project for you! Today’s craft project was made with upcycling a glass vase and a glass bowl. Don’t have any? Head to Dollar Tree, they have plenty at $1.25 each. This toadstool toad stool mushroom took me a week to make. You need to allow for a lot of drying time when it comes to painting them.

In total I’m making 3 of them in varying heights and colors. When it comes to selecting the vases…go for chubbier and taller ones like what’s shown in my photo. Skinny bud vases don’t look as nice. When it comes to selecting the glass bowls I like ones that have a wavy or scalloped edge to them. Other than that…you need just a hanful of additional supplies to make them.

Glass Vase and Bowl Mushroom Garden Yard Art

Glass Flower Vase
Glass Bowl
Red and White Acrylic Craft Paint
Foam Brush and Paint Brush
Water Dish and Paper Towel
Modge Podge Clear Acrylic Sealer
Gorilla Glue
Sand or dirt

Paint the flower vase with 2-3 coats of white acrylic craft paint allowing for 30-45 minutes of drying time between coats. Paint the outside of the glass bowl with 2-3 coats of red acrylic craft paint allowing for 30-45 minutes of drying time between coats. The paint needs to be completely dry and no longer tacky. Next…add the white polka dots ontop of the red paint. I added them to the bottom and sides of the bowl and had to use 2 coats of white paint to get the coverage that I needed. Let thoroughly dry.

Fill the vase with sand or dirt. I personally used sand since I have a lot of sand around here. This will add weight to it. If you’re adding dirt it needs to be rock-free…just soft dirt. Leave a 1/2″ at the top free of dirt/sand…in other words, only fill it about 98% full…but make sure the sand and dirt is firmly packed in there.

Use a generous amount of Gorilla Glue around the entire opening of the vase. Add the bowl onto the top and let dry for several hours or overnight. Don’t use hot glue as it’s not permanent! You want to use Gorilla Glue or E6000 Adhesive. I like using Gorilla Glue in a fine tip nozzle bottle…easy to get it all up onto the rim of the vase.

Once everything is dry take it outside and spray it with 2-3 coats of Modge Podge Clear Acrylic Spray Sealer allowing for 30 minutes of drying time between coats. If you don’t have the spray sealer you can brush on 2-3 coats of regular Modge Podge in a glossy finish. Let Dry.

Additional Tip: These are seasonal decorations. I wouldn’t let out year round if you live in cold areas of the country or stormy areas. Every year when the season is over clean them up with a little bit of soapy water, towel or air dry. Then spray them with another coat of clear acrylic spray sealer. Let dry. Then pack them away for the next season. Every year they need to be resprayed with sealer to keep them looking nice.

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