Nature Art

Recently, I discovered that we had an abundance of mushrooms growing in our yard. They are everywhere. Now, being ever the opportunist, I remembered a craft I did as a child, involving mushrooms and hairspray. After some extensive searching on the internet, I managed to find one that seemed familiar.

Take your little white garden variety mushroom, and remove the stem. Place it gill side down on a piece of paper, and cover it with a glass. Allow it to sit over night, and voilà, you have spore art! Spray the paper with a non-aerosol hairspray, to preserve the spore art. Have the kid color the pages, or just put them on the fridge as is.


Be sure to pick mushrooms with a firm, round cap, and remove the skirt if necessary to reveal the gills. This will give you the best spore art. Also, be sure to avoid poisonous mushrooms, and I wouldn't let the kids eat them, just in case.

Alternatively, you can purchase store-bought mushrooms, with the same results.