Making potted cactus plants

Saguaro & Barrel Cactus for

home decor

by:

Meri Wiley of ImagiMeri's Creations

Supplies:

Creative PaperClay

Floral foam

Aluminum foil

Bamboo skewers

Twisted wire

Sandpaper

Craft flowers

Plastic pots (Hobby Lobby)

Toothpicks

Crafting moss

Craft glue

FOR SAGUARO CACTUS
One bamboo skewer, one double-twist
length of wire for the arms of the saguaro.
Wrap wire around the skewer twice and
loop the ends of the arms.

For each type of cactus you'll be using foil
to create the bulk of the cactus shape.  For
the saguaro you'll be creating bulk on three
stems.  For the other cactus you only need
to create bulk on the bamboo skewer.

Adding bulk to one of the saguaro arms.

Once you have completely covered the 3-armed
saguaro you can use anything with a sharp tip
(i.e. pencil, awl, knife, ect.) to score lines down
the length of the cactus.  This creates the look of
the ridges that are actually on a saguaro.

For the barrel cactus you can roll out
eight "snakes/coils" of clay for the
ridges.

Add the ridges one at a time,
smoothing them into the body
of the cactus.

At this point I have four ridges on the cactus.
I still need to add four more.

I have let this barrel cactus dry, only partially,
 in an upright position.  Then using the awl
I poked holes, about every half inch, down
each ridge for the insertion of the toothpicks.

I'm using just a dab of craft glue on the ends
of each toothpick before inserting them.
After I have all the toothpicks inserted I
then "snip" them down to shorten them
using either craft scissors or wire cutters.

Let the cactus continue to dry fully and then paint as you wish.
I poked additional holes in the tops and inserted craft flowers
to mimic the look of blooming cactus.  When your cactus is
painted and dry, cut floral foam down to fit inside your pots.
Stick your cactus into the floral foam and decorate around
the base of the cactus, in the pot, with moss decor.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and maybe you'll

try creating your very own "easy care"succulent garden.  You are only limited by your imagination.

Hugs,

Meri