I've made these today as a little after school suprise/treat for my little girl. Like most girls of her age, Gorgeous Girl has a fascination for fairies and toadstools.
During the summer holidays we watched the tv programme [Art Attack] together. One of the projects made was a toadstool, the top of it lifted up so that you could stash pens and things inside.
The Little Lady asked me to make her one, so I did. Which was easier said than done.
A plastic pint tumbler was attached to a round of cardboard,then covered over with paper mache. The lid was a plastic plate turned upside down, and then covered in cotton wool balls and paper mache (on the TV they used a wodge of newspaper to shape the top of the toadstool, but I decided cotton wool would be easier).
This was the first stage, when it was sopping wet with watery glue. The top was painted red originally.
When the toadstool had dried - A WEEK LATER! - I painted the top pink. 
It's a container to stash things in. The top can be lifted and things hidden in the centre. 
I thought the red was a little bright, the pink looks much nicer. 
An idea kept popping into mind about making toadstool shaped cakes. Today I finally got around to making them. Last week I shared my total shock at how nicely the rose cake turned out, as I am very challenged when it comes to cake decorating. I think the toadstools prove that! 
I made basic vanilla [Fairy Cakes] Once cooled I removed them from the paper cases and turned upside down, then coated with red and pink icing and dolloped on dots of white icing. The grass is just coloured caster sugar, the bases of the toadstools are big squishy marshmallows. Which was a bit of a silly thing to use really. The marshmallows were too squishy and struggled to support the weight of the cake on top. I skewered them with cocktail sticks until the icing holding them together set, but they still fell over.
I must admit to rushing too. I should not have made these today, I was in too much of a hurry. The icing is blobbed on and looks a mess when it should be smooth, my fingerprints are all over them, and they are falling over! They don't even look particularly like toadstools either.
But you know what? It doesn't matter. When I get Girly Girl from school in a little while and she sees what I've made for her, she's going to be delighted. Children don't care about things being perfect, they just love that someone cares enough to do something for them.
Which is very lucky for me!