The last few years cacti everything has been trending. We love these succulents. They come in so many shapes, sizes and colors. They're also something a little different than your standard house plant. Let's face it though, they are not always the easiest to take care of; which makes these faux cactus plants a fun alternative. They make great crafts for the kids and even cuter decorations for bedrooms and nursery's. Here's how to craft your own faux cacti
DIY Mini Pasta Cacti
We can't stop looking at these! This is our favorite cactus craft and we made so many that everyone in the office now has one on their desk.
Materials
- Assorted Pasta (mini lasagna noodles, macaroni, ziti & more)
- Thimbles
- Craft paint (green, yellow, pink)
- Foam paint brush
- Spray varnish
- Hot glue gun and glue
Instructions
Use the craft paint and foam paint brush to paint your pasta different shades of green. Allow to dry and coat them again if necessary.
If you want to have different colored plant pots you'll need to paint your thimbles in craft paint as well. Coating them in the spray varnish when you're finished will help protect the paint from chipping off.
Use a glue gun to fill up the bottom of the thimble and glue your pasta noodles into place. You can also glue gravel or faux grass around the base of the cactus.
These mini pasta succulents make super sweet fridge magnets if you glue a strong but tiny one to the back of the thimble.
DIY Cactus Rock Garden
Materials
- smooth stones (river rocks work well)
- smaller stones (for a flower)
- small flower pots
- foam paint brushes
- toothpicks
- hot glue gun and glue
- acrylic craft paint
- gravel or sand
Instructions
Paint your rocks a solid green shade. Choosing a few different colors makes for an interesting cacti garden. Let your rocks dry and then paint a second coat. Depending on the craft paint that you use, you might need to do a third coat too. When your satisfied with the paint job, let the rocks dry completely.
Next use a small paintbrush and toothpicks to paint some designs onto each cactus. We like to create simple dots with darker and lighter shades of paint. You can create marks that look like spikes or lines to add texture.
If you want to create a flower for the top of your plants, simply paint a smaller stone yellow, pink or orange and you'll be able to glue this on top. You can also use small faux flowers from a craft store.
Now you're ready to arrange the garden. Fill the bottom of the planter with your sand or gravel and place a cactus rock upright. Pack the additional gravel around the top of the planter to keep the cactus in place.
If you're using a larger plant pot there's no need to fill the entire thing with gravel. You can easily cheat a full pot by adding a piece of cardboard or cotton batting to the bottom of it.
We used mini seedling pots for individual rocks so there was no need for the cardboard. Make sure you glue down the filler to stabilize it. If you use a harder surface like cardboard for filler you can also hot glue your stones to it to make sure that they stand upright.
Glue your rock flower to the top of your cactus and hold it while it cools.
Try grouping 4 or more rocks together to create a garden.
Pipe-Cleaner Cactus Centerpiece
Fiesta! These are SO simple to make and are perfect for a casual centerpiece or kids party.
Materials
- Green pipe-cleaners
- Scissors
- Colorful pom poms for flowers
- Hot glue gun and hot glue
Instructions
Take one pipe-cleaner, bend it into a circle and twist the ends around each other to secure them. This will form the base of your cactus.
Take another pipe-cleaner and secure an end to the base. Bend it to form and arc and secure the other end to the opposite side of the base.
Repeat this step, creating arcs with the remaining pipe-cleaners.
When your pipe cleaner arcs are done you can secure them in the center where they meet. Do this by cutting another small piece of pipe cleaner and bending it around the center of the star.
Next use the hot glue gun to glue down a pom-pom or create a flower at the top of your plant. When you have the hang of creating this basic craft, why not try a larger cactus using full size pipe-cleaners and twisting them together. Add arms and bend them for variety.