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Here’s a list of supplies used to make this project-

–Tree Stump, I found mine at a local firewood lot and it was free! I don’t recommend using a chain saw it IS dangerous! This link will take you to a plastic stump made for pets to hide in, it’s only $14 dollars and could easily be re-vamped for this, it’s smaller but how cute!

–Thrift store sweaters– I need two each one was about $3

– White wool for needle felting

–Special needle felting needles, get a few extra as they are easy to break

– Upholstery foam

– Batting

-Casters four total… we put on three because thats all i had, BIG mistake, watch the video and see why!

 

Bobby and I have been working on this one since Christmas.

The is how my brain works… Debi, think of a simple but genius project to do quickly so you you can catch up on that giant to- do list, over there in the corner.

Me, (replying to myself) ok, how about a mushroom stump? easy and quick.

-find a stump

-hollow it out

-cut some scrap wood

-add a little foam

-throw a sweater over the top

-doll it up with polka dots

-Boom!

I run the design plan past Bobby, and he says, “no problem, I know where we can find a free stump”

We skip off to the wood pile, bring back the perfect specimen and fire up the chainsaw!

About 20 minutes in Bobby says,

” do you have a back up plan for this weeks video? because it’s going to take a few days just to hollow this thing out”

Bobby worked on the stump like a banshee  for a month, chainsaw blazing, chisel, router  repeat, the work yard looked like we were in the middle of a sawdust storm. While I was filming the snowman scarf video,  Bobby was a few feet away, man handling the stump as sawdust rained down all over my white fluffy pom poms.

I yell above the noise of the chainsaw,

“Bobby! I’m trying to film and the sawdust in all over the snowman!”

Bobby replies, “do you want this done or not?”

and so it went, from Dec into 2014…

At one point I asked on my Facebook page if anyone had tips for hollowing out a stump?

Some of you said,  “don’t do it with a chainsaw! it’s super dangerous and you could loose a limb !”

Yikes! I immediately walked outside and expressed my concerns to Bobby, he said, ” the chain saw I’m using is too small to be dangerous, it’s fine, don’t worry”

I went back to my craft room, muttering and saying a silent prayer for Bobby,

“God please don’t let Bobby die or worse loose a finger”

Here’s the video from my Youtube Channel. If you liked this one, I would love it if you would subscribe for weekly tutorials!

 

I posted this last night at 2AM…. editing is a long process it usually takes three days to edit one video, add to that 2 days of filming and two days for everything else =  I work a lot.

When the video was almost ready to publish I realized it was going to be too long, so I started cutting scenes, by mistake I cut the portion showing  the hinged lid and how it lifts up to provide storage inside … DUH, the whole point of spending a month hollowing the thing out.

Needless to say Bobby was disappointed, so was I.

We shot an entire scene with me pulling items out of the stump like I was a magican and the mushroom was a magic hat.

Here’s the stump, all of Bobby’s hard work, finally finished.

 

This is the hinged lid, there is a good amount of space to store items inside.

and finally a few tips to keep in mind that the video didn’t cover,

–  you can achieve this look without hollowing out a stump, you could keep it solid or make a  stepstool on a smaller scale.

– this is the first time I have ever tried needle felting, my friend Valerie Hebert of Val’s Art Studio, teaches needle felting and does incredible work, if you are interested in learning more about this process you will definitely want to check out her blog.

The main thing I discovered is to be very careful with the needles they are extremely sharp and very easy to break. ( I did break one, even though i was being careful).

-needle felting supplies, can be found at your local yarn shop, Michael’s doesn’t stock the needles or the wool at least not at my location. I bought my supplies at The Black Sheep, in Encinitas.

Upholstery foam is pricy, I purchased on thin sheet and made a dome shape by cutting and stacking, this save about $30

Then I covered the foam with batting to smooth out the  shape.

Next we stitched the sweaters on the tiny sewing machine and stapled them the the wood base

I have to say, this project is probably my favorite thing so far, the mushroom is in my craft room making me happy.

Have you ever made something that sent you down a rabbit hole? Please share your craft-tastrphies in the comments!

I’ll be linking up at Redoux this week, and Miss Mustard Seed be sure to come over to the party for a whole smorgasbord of delish DIY! <ahref=”http://www.redouxinteriors.com/” target=”_blank”>

Sincerely,

Debi