"Bioluminescent" Mushrooms

After getting some luminescent (glow) tape, I had the idea that it could be used to make some "bioluminescent mushroom" decorations.

In fact the project turned out not only quite easy, but also full of potential for creative modifications and artistic touches!

I will show the simplest + most basic design, with some tips to take things up a notch.

The only materials you need are:

1. paper
2. glow-in-the-dark tape (or paint)

Optionally you might also want:

1. scissors
2. tape (scotch tape works great)
3. watercolor paints / colored pencils / etc.

(This step is optional)

Color the mushroom's top side.

Using watercolors or something similar, paint one side of the paper. This will be the top of the mushroom. (The center line in this photo will be the center "spine" of the mushroom -- the pivot from which it unfurls from.)

Fold the paper like an accordion.

This creates the fan shape and gives the appearance of mushroom gills. Each gill will have some glow-in-the-dark medium inside. (I used 8 folds in most of the ones I made.)

(TIP: A longer strip of paper, with more folds, will open up to a larger angle. Cutting a piece of paper into 3 strips length-wise with 8 accordion folds each will allow it to open up to a full 360° circle.)

Lay out the paper upside-down, and apply the glow tape/paint at the valley of each fold.

First, pre-folded the paper in half hotdog style to mark the centerline. This will be the spine in the next step. Next, apply the glow-in-the-dark medium.

In the first few images I put thin strips of glow tape just on one side of each valley and it worked great. Go ahead and do both sides if you want extra luminescence.

In the following images I applied glow-in-the-dark paint to each valley fold, and then folded it all up flat to squish the paint. This created a really cool, veiny, organic-looking effect which I really like. (If you do this make sure to open it and lay it flat, and let dry for a few hours... otherwise the paper will be stuck together.)

The spine is the center that the whole fan will unfurl from. There are a couple options:

OPTION 1 -- Simply fold the accordion in half

1. If you haven't cut the paper, you can just fold up the accordion and then pinch it in half at the center. You then need to tape together the gills that come together in the middle.
2. This works well and is the least work. However it can only be used to put a mushroom into a corner of two walls (a 90° bend). If you try to fan it out to 180° it will start falling out, and you'd need to staple, glue, or fasten the spine in some way.

OPTION 2 -- Cut the accordion into 2 or 3 long strips (across the folds), and tape the spine

1. To do this, I would tape each adjacent pair of folds together. Then repeat this until all folds are joined by tape.
2. This is more work, but has the best outcome because it allows the mushroom to unfold to 180° or even more without falling apart, and will unfold very evenly.
3. You can put this mushroom on a flat wall (180° unfurl), or wrap around a corner (270° unfurl).
4. With 3 strips taped like this the mushroom can unfurl a full 360° and become a full circle. This way you could make a more typical mushroom shape and add a stalk.

OPTION 3 -- Staple at the spine

1. Crude, but hey it gets the job done. It has the benefit that it allows a 180° unfurl onto a flat wall, without the mushroom spilling.

You can tape the mushrooms to the wall so they appear like bracket, shelf, or conch mushrooms like you'd find growing on the side of a tree or log. Depending on how far the mushroom can unfurl, you can place it on a flat wall (180°), in a corner (90°), or wrapped around a corner (270°).

You could also attach it to a tree or log, or lots of things! Make some buddies for your mushroom so she isn't lonely.

There are so many ways you can customize each mushroom, including things like:

Color appearance

1. Paint the top or bottom with watercolor
2. Apply glow paint in the valley folds, and squish the paint by folding the paper - This creates a veiny, organic effect
3. Use different colors of glow-in-the-dark medium - You can also get red, orange, yellow, blue, ...

Shape appearance

1. Cut the edges to give them a scalloped shape
2. Make asymmetric shapes (e.g., by cutting an accordion-folded sheet into slanted, uneven strips)
3. Try different accordion folds (e.g., many small folds, or making each fold wider than the previous fold, etc.)
4. Try 90°, 180°, 270°, and 360° unfurls
5. Try More complicated folds that create gills on the bottom, but a more solid/flat top

Clustered appearance

1. Make them big or small
2. Make collections of them clustered together in artistic arrangements

Try even recreating the form and color of real mushroom varieties!

1. for example: Turkey Tail, Red-belted conch, etc.

Please post photos of your own glowing mushroom creations in the comments!