Using shrink plastic is a great way to make your own charms. They do not have to be 2D either!  Watch this adorable 3D mushroom earrings tutorial by crafter, Binc Bonc.

The pattern for this particular charm is available by clicking on the title in the crafter's free pattern section here. You will see other fun shrink plastic ideas there too.

She uses colored pencils. Notice how lightly she colors the mushroom cap?  That is because the colors darken when the plastic is shrunk. 

I like how she uses a pin to hold the shrink plastic while using the heat gun. The other way is to use the in to hold down the plastic bits.  Other people prefer to use the oven.  

You do need to wear heat resistant gloves to manipulate the molding steps because the plastic is very hot. 


Amanita Mushrooms

The familiar red and white cap of the Amanita muscaria mushroom crops up time and again in popular culture for e.g. in the Super Mario game, the dancing mushrooms in Disney's Fantasia, in Renaissance paintings and in children's books about gnomes and fairies.  The visual appeal is obvious.

The amanitas were originally native to temperate and boreal regions of the Northern Hemisphere but they are now found in other places. There are a number of Amanita species, some of which are very toxic because they contain potentially deadly poisons called amatoxins. These toxins are thermostable so their toxic effects remain after cooking. 

Two toxic amanitas which are very common in eastern and western North American forests  are death cap mushrooms, A. phalloides and the closely related destroying angel mushrooms - A. bisporigea and A. oreata in North America and A. virosa in Europe. 

We found some destroying angel mushrooms in the forest next to our northern Ontario campsite last year. 

photographing a destroying angel mushroom

Fatalities such as this one occur when people forage for wild mushrooms and mistake young poisonous amanita mushrooms for the button mushrooms we buy from the supermarket.

young amanita mushrooms - Picture source : William Rafti

Amanita muscaria mushrooms do not contain amatoxins but other kinds of toxins. They are poisonous but fatalities are rare today with modern medical supportive care. 

The common name for these mushrooms is Fly Agaric. People used to put these mushrooms in a cup of milk to kill flies! Yet, these mushrooms have been used for their psychoactive effects by humans for thousands of years. The mushrooms have been used in ritual drinks in ancient times. 

Amanita muscaria mushrooms Picture source : Onderwijsgek 

Watch this fascinating video by Rob Nelson of StoneAgeMan about these red and white mushrooms.



There is now a renewed scientific and medical interest in fungi. See my past post, Tiny Real Mushroom Jewelry by GloriBeeJewelry | How Mushrooms Can Save the World

Before You Go:

Disclosure 

This blog may contain affiliate links. I do receive a small fee for any products purchased through affiliate links. This goes towards the support of this blog and to provide resource information to readers. The opinions expressed are solely my own. They would be the same whether or not I receive any compensation. 
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Original Post by THE BEADING GEM