How to make a cactus? DIY paper cactus

How to easily and quickly make cacti from paper in pots, which can be used as props for children’s games, interior decor, props for creative photo shoots, and even as decorative boxes for storing useful little things - you will learn about this in detail from this master class .

I would like to note right away that it is quite possible to make such cacti together with children.
It’s not difficult at all, especially since ready-made templates simplify the work as much as possible. Although, having mastered the principle, you can come up with and implement your own cactus designs. Necessary materials and tools:
office paper (for printing templates);

thick colored paper or colored cardboard;

corrugated cardboard (3 mm thick) and micro-corrugated cardboard (1.5 mm thick);

standard (or stationery) knife or scissors;

scoring tool (for example, a compass, a non-writing ballpoint pen, etc.);

ruler;

glue stick;

hot glue gun.

Download templates for making paper cacti (4 options) and flower pots below.

Hand cut templates:

Cacti in pots

141.1 KiB

Downloads: 1476

Templates for plotter (DXF, SVG, Studio3):

Cacti in pots

621.3 KiB

Downloads: 588

Knitted pincushion

To do this, take yarn of the intended color, knitting needles, knit with an elastic band to the required size, take a needle and sew. We stuff it with padding polyester, shape it into a circle and sew up the bottom. We take a flower pot, pour expanded clay or pebbles for weight, cut out a circle from polystyrene foam the size of the upper diameter of the pot and cut out a circle in the center for attaching a tied cactus.

Note!

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Pincushion made of felt or fabric

These needle beds are suitable for those who cannot knit or want to try a new way of making. Felt is a very easy material to use, it does not crumble and is pleasant to work with. Fabric is more whimsical, but each needlewoman chooses the material she likes.

When using any materials, the craft will always be unique and made with love. We decide on the material. We make a template and use it to make samples. We sew them together, you can leave the seams on the outside, or you can turn the sample inside out.

We fill the cactus with padding polyester. You can prepare a pot for a pincushion or sew on a ribbon to hang. Decorate the cactus beautifully by making a flower, eyes, mouth, nose, inserting pins - everything is at your discretion and taste.

Note!

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Cactus

Good afternoon. Today I want to invite you to make an ever-blooming cactus with your own hands from salt dough and scrap materials. For this we will need: - Flour. - Water. - Salt. — Dyes or gouache (brown, red, black, green). - Potty. — A glass of yogurt. - Rolling pin. - A tablet. - Knife or stack. - Brush. - Toothpicks.

First you need to knead the dough. There are many recipes for salt dough, I took the simplest one. 2 cups flour, 1 cup salt (fine) and ¾ cup cold water. Based on this calculation, knead the dough. It should be thick, like dumplings. Take salt, add water, add dye of the desired color. Mix everything, add flour and knead the dough. You can add a little vegetable oil to the dough. I immediately mixed the dough in brown, red, green, black, white and put it in the refrigerator for 3 hours.

After the dough is ready, take the brown dough and roll it out to 0.5 centimeters thick.

Take a pot and wrap it with dough. We bend the edges inward at the top. The bottom also needs to be covered with dough.

Now take the red dough and roll it out. Using a knife or cutting glass, cut out 5 petals. This will be a flower. Take a brush, lightly moisten it with water, lubricate one side of the petal, and press it to the pot. We do the same with the rest of the leaves. Roll a ball of white dough and press it to the center of the flower.

Roll out two ropes from the green dough and make branches for our flower.

Again, take the green dough, roll it out and cut out 4 leaves. We press them to the branches.

The pot is ready. Now let's take care of the cactus. Roll out the green dough and wrap it around a yogurt cup. The principle of operation is the same as with a pot.

Now we need to make small protrusions from which needles will then “grow”. They are very easy to make. Pinch the dough from top to bottom with your fingers. As a result, we should have a vertical relief. You don't have to make it straight, you can make it slightly spiral. We make protrusions at the same distance throughout the cactus.

We plant the cactus in a pot. My cactus fit perfectly into the pot. If your pot turns out to be much larger than the cactus, then simply put the remaining dough into it and feel free to plant your plant in the pot.

Roll out a flagellum from black dough and cover the distance between the cactus and the pot. Thus imitating the earth.

Materials, tools and preparation for work

Speaking about the list of materials from which you can make a cactus with your own hands, it is worth noting that the list can be endless, since both special blanks from craft stores and improvised means will be used:

Paper;
Beads;
Textile;
Felt;
Yarn;
Pebbles.

The options don’t end there, because a true master can make a masterpiece out of nothing, and a beginner will only need to draw a plant or repeat one from lessons.

For work, you may need different tools: it all depends on the type of product, but the standard set remains unchanged - scissors, glue, thread - something that can be used to cut and attach.

A prerequisite for starting work will be familiarization with the theoretical material and the gallery of ready-made crafts, since they will become a source of inspiration or an example of a fun craft.

After all, doing handicrafts always carries a specific goal: for some it is a hobby, for others it is a way to earn money, and for some, the real challenge is the inevitable homework of their beloved child.

River pebble decoration

If you want something more unusual, we offer instructions for making a cactus using ordinary river pebbles. Be sure to invite your child, it will be a very interesting and exciting activity for him.

All you need is:

Smooth river pebbles of large and small sizes;
Acrylic paint with different brushes;
Toothpicks and cotton swabs;
Acrylic lacquer;
Small flowerpot;
Sand.

Stages of work:

Choose larger pebbles with a shape suitable for creating a cactus. Rinse it and dry it thoroughly.
Paint the stones dark green. Then apply a few light green lines from top to bottom on this layer.
Create needles of white paint using a thin brush, toothpicks or cotton swabs. The shape of the needles can be different, according to your taste.
Now take smaller pebbles to create ladybugs.
Make the back red, the head black, and the eyes white. Add some black dots to the red.
All that remains is to plant the plants in a flowerpot and place the ladybugs nearby.
The composition will be more interesting if you use small buttons and beads.

Just look at the photo of the cactus craft to see how beautiful it looks.

Selecting a landing site

Despite the fact that a variety of succulents are considered beautiful and unpretentious plants, most still require appropriate soil and sunlight.

Oily soils can even harm such succulents, so experts recommend creating compositions in places and in pots where the soil is dry. A large number of stones is welcome, and drainage is also important.

Make sure that a variety of plants within the decorative space of one composition are planted at a sufficient distance from each other. With moderate watering, this will allow the succulents to grow well. But if you want the cacti to bloom, place stones between the succulents or place figurines or plastic pots. This will create the appearance of tightness in space, which is necessary for succulents to bloom.

DIY tabletop paper cacti

This version of paper cacti will look very organic on your desktop or bookshelves.

An ordinary cardboard box is used as a stand.

Make paper cacti and glue them to cardboard stand boxes.

Landing

There are no difficulties in planting a succulent composition. When it comes to horizontal gardening in the garden, plant tall plants at the back. Try not to leave them at the edges of the flower arrangement, as the succulents in the middle will not be visible.

If you combine trees and cacti, consider the lighting. Plant aloe and other shade-loving plants closer to the trees. Place flowering cacti further away.

Whatever succulents you have, keep them spaced apart. Tangles of roots in the ground or flowerpots will not lead to anything good. But you shouldn’t plant it too far and leave it, as the flower arrangement will look unfinished, and the soil used and the objects in it will turn sour.

Model

Modules for an origami cactus do not necessarily have to be triangular. You can use the classic Venus kusudama, consisting of flowers reminiscent of lilies or bindweed. Each of them is assembled according to the following scheme:

For kusudama you will need 45 flowers, made of green squares with a side of 9 cm. After all the modules are made, they are assembled into a ball, gluing them together with “legs”.

Let's start assembling the flower pot. It will require 231 light orange modules. You can dilute the monochrome with yellow inserts by laying out any geometric pattern. There are a total of 11 rows in the pot, each of which consists of 21 modular elements. The connection is made on the long sides.

Glue both parts together. Let's start decorating the cactus. We assemble a composition from kusudama flowers of different shades, as in the picture. We string the elements onto a toothpick, placing the cups inside each other. We cover several wooden skewers with green corrugated paper. They will imitate thorns. We insert all the decorative parts into the kusudama, securing with glue.

The modular cactus ball looks stylish and original, and its assembly does not take much time.

Plant selection

It is also important to choose the right variety of plants so that they fit together in the space. Decide what composition it will be. After all, succulents are not only cacti and small bushes. These can be beautiful vines and trees. In order for a complex garden composition to look harmonious and for the succulents to be comfortable, craftsmen are guided by the rules for choosing succulents.

If you decide to plant and grow a beautiful club moss, it is better not to plant the plant in ceramic pots. Give preference to open ground or plastic pots. This succulent's strong roots spread out, so it's ideal to leave plenty of room in the pot for propagation;
One plant that looks great and goes with all the succulents is the hathiora. It is undemanding about space and reproduces well;
Large containers and space are needed for growing and propagating pachyphytums and ground covers. It is better not to plant other flowers next to these original succulents;
For vertical gardening of the florarium, place a variety of beautiful hanging succulents. The popular sedums, lemon grass, Decembrist, epiphyllum and repsalis are perfectly combined in the garden. If you want to see a stone vertical composition in bloom, decorate it with tradescantia. And for rich landscaping, use the popular ivy;
If the place for decorating the composition is arid, it is always exposed to the sun's rays, give preference to plants with dense leaves. It is desirable that they have a brownish tint;
Mixes of aloe, haworthia, sansevieria, slipway, and green crassula are suitable for decorating semi-shaded stone mini compositions and containers.

You can use a variety of plants in glass pots with different requirements on one composition, just try to create comfort for each succulent, taking into account the characteristics of the flowers.

Making a cactus from a bushing and matches

Here's another fairly simple technique for making a toy and decorative cactus using a toilet paper roll and matches. The craft will be fun and any child will love it.

Prepare the following materials:

Toilet sleeve;
Matches or toothpicks;
A needle;
Orange double-sided colored paper;
Scissors;
Glue;
Gouache.

Paint the sleeve green with gouache and let dry.

Use a needle to create numerous holes on the sleeve. They should not be too large so that the matches can stick better.
Let's start creating the flower. Cut the paper into a rectangle so that its length is slightly longer than the diameter of the sleeve.
Cut the fringe on the rectangle and twist it onto the pencil.
Hold it in this condition for a while until the fringe becomes slightly bendable.
Glue the fringed rectangle on the inside of the sleeve with glue. All excess needs to be trimmed off.
At the final stage, insert matches or toothpicks into the pre-prepared holes on the sleeve.

They can also be painted to match the color of the cactus or simply left as is.

Composition

The main advantage of decorative compositions made from succulents for the garden is that they will delight the eye all year round, regardless of the space. Such plants feel good both in winter and in summer when certain conditions for decoration are created.

Creating a mini-composition from cacti has many advantages:

a beautiful and original look, where both simply green and flowering plants look;
the ability to decorate plants;
creating, if desired, several similar mini compositions for decoration.

Also keep in mind that a composition created by yourself or by a master will require a minimum of costs.

As for the decor and lighting for the compositions, you can create a glass mini florarium in an aquarium, a similar mosaic of cacti and ground cover, decorate topiary, a sunny flowerbed, or leave vertical compositions in pots made of ampelous succulents and cacti.

How to make a cactus out of paper?

In the next option, we propose to make real interior cacti, which can become worthy decorative elements of an apartment, house, store or storefront.

To make such large cacti, you will need double-sided green thick paper or soft cardboard. From paper material you need to cut out the silhouette of a cactus, the appearance of which would suit you most. A cactus can be round, oblong, or oval.

Then use the resulting part as a template for the next ones. Cut out as many identical paper pieces as possible. Then fold each piece in half lengthwise and glue it together. This way you will get a voluminous paper cactus.

Then decorate the flower pot if necessary.

Place the finished paper cactus in a flower pot and fill it with pebbles.

Compositions from succulents - step-by-step instructions

Step 1: Make a stand for the composition

Initially, you need to make a stand for your miniature garden. To do this, use a glue gun to glue a small terracotta pot to the bottom of a terracotta plate. It turned out very cute, don't you think? This design looks like a cake stand. You can also make another one to use in the summer for serving meals.

Tip: You can choose any plant container you want. If you have live succulents, consider using a larger terracotta pot to allow the plants to continue to grow. The saucer will probably be too small for the plants to live in it for long.

Step 2: Fill the stand with soil

Place enough soil in the terracotta plate so that you have a small mound. Since we don't use real plants, the amount of soil is not critical for us. However, if you are using live succulents, fill the dish with enough soil to allow the plants to root as they grow.

Step 3: Place the Plants in the Soil

We couldn't find good live plants for our arrangement, so we settled on artificial succulents.

So, place taller plants in the background to create a backdrop. Rearrange and rearrange the remaining succulents in different corners of the dish until you have the right setting for your figurines.

The main rule of care is to try to loosen the soil in the garden less often in the place where succulents grow. With this care, the roots will not be disturbed.

Spray the plants during the care process, but do it in the morning or evening. Succulents with furry leaves do not like to be sprayed, while cacti and succulents with smooth leaves need frequent watering and moisture from the air. The composition should be watered as needed when the soil dries out.

When designing a beautiful glass florarium or other flowers and succulents and when caring for it, it is important to leave a balance and not overpopulate the place with ground cover plants. You can plant plants in the ground, in an aquarium, in pots - the mix used will look good in the garden.

DIY paper cactus craft

This funny children's craft - a three-dimensional applique with the main character - a charming cactus - will definitely please your child.

To make this craft, you will need the following materials: a sheet of colored cardboard, a cardboard toilet paper roll, colored double-sided paper, a black marker, scissors and glue.

Cut a third piece from the cardboard sleeve and glue it to a piece of colored cardstock at the bottom.

Cut wide strips of green paper and form them into loops. The loops should be different in length and width; they will be the constituent parts of the paper cactus itself.

Glue the green loops to a piece of cardboard to create a cactus shape.

Cut out circles from red or pink paper and form miniature flowers out of them. Glue them to the cactus.

Now use a black marker to add needles, eyes and a smile.

Choosing pots for succulents based on materials

On sale you can find a wide range of pots for succulents.
Their main difference is the material from which they are made. The most popular are clay and plastic products. Natural materials are always preferable to artificial ones. Clay pots occupy the leading position. Their main advantages include:

A porous structure that allows oxygen to reach the roots and helps excess moisture evaporate faster.
Sustainability. Such pots are quite heavy, so they will not tilt even if tall succulents are planted in them.
The material does not deform, does not mold and does not fade in the sun.

Source

Cactus keychains

The keychains are very functional and will serve as toy and decorative cacti. They will attract attention with their unusualness, prickliness and functionality.

To make it, you need a small amount of yarn of various colors and stocking needles. We knit the intended shape of the cactus (circle, oval), stuff the inside with padding poly and set it aside for a while. Let's take plastic of brown or other tones and mold a pot of the required size and fire it in the oven.

We generously coat the tip of the cactus with PVA glue and attach it to the pot, waiting for it to dry completely. We carefully attach the iron ring to the top of the cactus. You can crochet a flower in bright colors and attach it to the side. It will turn out very beautiful and functional!

Sea Pebble Cactus

This version of the craft is very unusual, but most importantly it will warm you with memories of summer, the sea, sunny days and bright events.

It is necessary to take pebbles of various sizes, wash and dry. Use acrylic paints to paint the pebbles, apply the background, sides, needles, you can also paint all kinds of flowers of different colors and shapes. Wait until completely dry.

At this time, take a flower pot of the required size and fill it with stone chips, leaving a third of the pot empty. We insert the painted pebbles tightly into the pot into the crumbs.

DIY cactus painting

An excellent homemade piece of furniture will become not only a decoration for the walls of your apartment, but also a worthy souvenir.

Cut out pieces from thick double-sided green paper, fold them in half and glue them together, and then glue them to a canvas or wooden board. If necessary, pre-paint the canvas in a color that is pleasing to the eye.

Make lush flowers from red paper and glue them to the craft.

Cardboard: fast, affordable, beautiful

One of the simple and quick options would be a paper composition. To make it you will need cardboard, glue, scissors and a pencil.

Two identical templates are drawn on paper, then they need to be cut out, making slits (one at the top, the second at the bottom) and connected. The pot can be a cup, a jar or a homemade cardboard pot.

In addition, you can use others, for example, those in which several templates are prepared, and then they need to be folded and glued.

Paper cacti

There are many options for making a cactus out of paper. Our template kit will help you make 4 varieties of cute cacti.

Let's take a closer look at the manufacturing principle using one of the options as an example.

Cut out all the details of the cactus from thick colored paper (or colored cardboard).

When cutting by hand, first punch the pieces along the fold lines.

When using a plotter, the fold lines will already be cut.

We bend all the spines outward, and also bend the parts along the fold lines.

Glue the cactus parts together in pairs (use a glue stick), as shown in the photo. We do not glue the lower valves and spines together.

And then we glue all the blanks, aligning the edges. We insert the cactus shoot part into the corresponding slot.

By the way, if you use only parts without a shoot, you will get an additional version of a paper cactus.

From thick black, gray or brown paper, cut out 2 circles of the base of the cactus.

We insert the cactus valves into the holes of the circle.

We bend and glue the valves.

Glue the second circle of the base.

Place the cactus in the pot. The base will lie on the edge of the wall of the pot and lock into place.

As you can see, the “earth” base and the cactus itself form a kind of lid, and it’s removable. And the rather spacious space of the pot can be used to store all sorts of necessary little things: toys and “secrets” or some materials for creativity, for example.

The versatility of our paper cacti is obvious!

Choosing a pot for succulents

Point No. 1 in choosing a pot: answer the question, what do you want? For the plant to grow happily ever after or do you need it in a loft style for Instagram? Based on the answer, we select options.

General rules

The size of the pot should be selected based on the size of the plant and its root system. The container must be suitable in size, and the soil in it must be breathable. Haworthia, gasteria, and aloe have thick roots that go deep; tall but narrow pots are suitable for them. Crassulas, sedums, echeverias are the owners of thin roots, spread out in the upper layer of the earth. Shallow pots or bowls are suitable for them.

And for the love of God, don't plant your plants in sour cream or yogurt jars! Such containers are suitable as a temporary place before transplanting and growing seedlings, but for a permanent place of growth this is not the case - after all, your plants deserve the best. My IMHO is that used food grade plastic is very ugly.

In general, succulents can be planted in concrete and wooden pots, in coconut shells, and in cans - even without drainage holes. Such options are very beautiful, this is exactly what we see in picturesque photographs on Pinterest and Instagram. True, then you will have to more carefully select the conditions of detention, light, soil, watering. And somehow you will have to ensure breathability. You can plant it in glass or in a florarium. But it is worth remembering that such compositions are less durable: in some places the soil will turn sour faster, in others there will be insufficient light, and something is simply bulky and will get in the way.

Volumetric model

A three-dimensional origami cactus can be made from paper without the “participation” of modules. There is a less labor-intensive, but still effective model in the Scandinavian style. It is assembled on the basis of the “Double Square”. You will need two green leaves, 15x15 cm in size, preferably with a deep texture. It will not only add expressiveness to the paper product, but also improve the adhesion of the parts to each other.

We place the finished succulent in a square craft pot, filling the free space with sawdust or crumpled pieces of packaging cardboard that imitate gravel.

The full size of the model without container is 8x4.5 cm.

You can make it using video instructions:

Postcard option

A succulent using the origami technique does not have to be voluminous. For a postcard, especially for children, you need a more affordable and easy-to-make model. One of them is presented below. It is based on the basic form “Fish”.

You will need 2 square sheets of green and brown paper, measuring 21x21 (15x15) cm.

Scheme for assembling an origami cactus in a pot:

Step-by-step instruction:

Place the square with the top down. We outline the vertical diagonal.
We fold the outer corners towards it. We get the basic form “Kite”.
Fold the outer corners again to the central axis.
We open the resulting “pockets”.
Let's move on to the "Fish" shape.
We bend the lower part of the workpiece back.
Straighten the right side
Fold as shown in the picture. Turn the workpiece over.
Make two folds along the dotted lines.
Fold the bottom corner.
Open the left side of the product forward.
We bend all the corners so that the cactus with its “children” becomes more rounded.
Let's turn the model over again. The flower is ready, all that remains is to make a suitable “pot” for it.