DIY An Adorable Mushroom Garden Ornament For Extra Home Security

Whether you have flower beds filled with fun garden decor repurposed from household items or a more minimalist yard, adding colorful mushrooms can bring a smile to your face while providing a little extra security for your family. No, we're not talking about turning mushrooms into hidden camera spies. Instead, we'd like to share a DIY project we found that lets you create a fun hide-a-key spot, so no one gets locked out of the house again. It might also inspire you to create a full fairy garden, bringing a little more whimsy to your outdoor space with DIY mushroom stools.

Before you get started on this faux fungal journey, you need a few essential supplies. This includes an empty pill bottle, crafting cement, a grocery bag or similar thin plastic, a thick chunk of tree branch (size depends on how big you want your mushroom to be, but it also needs to be thick enough to stash a pill bottle), a saw, acrylic paints in the colors of your choice, some acrylic sealer, a drill with a spade drill bit the size of your pill bottle, and a box cutter. Once you have all of this, you can get started. In terms of DIY difficulty, this one is easy to moderate, employing a few specific skills.

The first step is to dig a shallow hole in your yard or garden (don't worry, you can fill it back in when you're done) to use as your mushroom cap mold. Dig it to a suitable size to sit as the top of your mushroom on your tree stump — roughly six inches across and a couple inches deep in a bowl shape. Mix your concrete in a bucket you don't mind sacrificing. Line the hole with plastic cut from the bag to act as your mold. Pour in the concrete, and push the cap for the pill bottle into the center deep enough that it will embed but not get any concrete inside it. Follow the instructions on your concrete package for dry time (probably a couple of days at least), then remove your mushroom cap.

While your concrete is drying, cut the bottom of your stump at an angle to ensure it can be easily poked into the ground for stability. Then drill a hole in the stump deep enough to fully place the pill bottle inside. Use the box cutter to remove the child safety lock so you can easily twist the cap off. Do not glue the bottle into the stump — you'll want to be able to remove it freely. Embed the stump several inches into the ground.

Paint your mushroom cap however you like and seal it. Insert your key into the bottle and twist the bottom onto the cap that you inserted into the cement, and place the whole thing onto its base. Now, nobody will have to worry about locking themselves out of the house again. You can even to the aesthetic by DIYing a genius fake rock or three.