Handprint Saguaro Cactus

It's been awhile since I've shared a handprint craft. Did you recognize that the cactus is a handprint? 

Handprint Saguaro Cactus

Materials:

• construction paper
• scissors
• colored pencils
• craft glue

Steps: 

Position your hand on a piece of green construction paper with your three middle fingers together and your thumb and pinkie separate. Bend your thumb and pinkie slightly so they point upward like the arms of a cactus. Trace around your hand. 

With a pencil, lightly round off the top of your handprint so that you have one barrel-shaped cactus instead of three distinct fingers. Cut out the handprint. 

Use a green colored pencil to draw the ribs of the cactus. Then use a white colored pencil to draw little tick marks between the ribs for the needles. 

Cut a piece of tan construction paper into a pot that is slightly wider than your handprint. Then cut three wavy circles from bright pink and three small circles from yellow to make the flowers. 

Glue a strip of brown construction paper to white to make the background. Then glue the cactus into place. Add the pot and the flowers. 

You can stop there, but I wanted to see what I could do to turn this simple preschool craft into something more challenging for older kids. Here's what it looked like after I thickened the ribs, added shadows to the flowers, colored the pot to look more like terra cotta, and added a little bit of color to the background to mimic a textured wall.  

If you're going to enhance the craft with colored pencils, do so before you glue everything together. I felt limited in what I could do since everything was already glued down. Still, it was a fun challenge for me. 

The Latest Six Craft Roundups

Time to share another batch of craft roundups I've made for Fun Family Crafts! First, Barn Crafts for Kids. One is mine. Can you spot it?  

Cactus crafts are some of my favorites. One of the ones below is mine. As always, I made this graphic using PicMonkey. I've used it long enough that I'm developing some of my own hacks. For example, to make the sand for the title graphic, I started with a sand-colored rectangle, added a glitter texture, then faded the texture until it left just enough texture to mimic sand. Then I used the eraser tool to make an irregular edge. 

Next, Photo Crafts for Kids. Two of the ones below are mine, but neither one has photos of Trevor, Steve, or me. 

Next is Clown Crafts. Two of these are mine. 

Next, Pony Bead Crafts. None are mine. 

This roundup of Shark Crafts for Kids was my favorite to make. Two of the projects are mine. I really wish I'd thought up those socks. 

With the addition of these, we are up to more than 120 Craft Collections at Fun Family Crafts. It's fun seeing them all together. It also lets me see at a glance which graphics need updating (which remains my absolute favorite part of my job). Yea, PicMonkey!

Rice Krispie Treat Cactus

Summer is officially here! It's a great time to give this fun edible cactus craft a try. Affiliate links below. 

Rice Krispie Treat Cactus

Materials: 

• Rice Krispie Treat
• Wilton Candy Melts (green, yellow, and light cocoa)
• Parchment paper
• Graham cracker
• Starburst

Steps: 

Use a sharp knife to cut a rice krispie treat into three vertical strips. Then cut one of the strips in half horizontally. 

Attach one of the small pieces to the top of the middle strip, then bend the remaining two pieces to form the cactus arms. Round the edges of each piece, then make sure they fit together smoothly. Put the pieces on parchment paper, then coat them with green Candy Melts.  

Melt together eight yellow Candy Melts and one light cocoa. Spread this on the graham cracker. 

When the cactus pieces have set up, use green Candy Melts to 'glue' the pieces together. Let them set up.

Use a sharp knife to trim the bottom of the cactus so that it is completely flat. Use green Candy Melts to attach it to the graham cracker. 

Put an unwrapped pink Starburst in parchment paper and flatten it with a rolling pin.

Cut the flattened Starburst into thin strips. Roll a strip to make the center of a flower, then roll a second strip around the center. Bend the edges out slightly to make petals. One Starburst will make three flowers. Attach the flowers to the cactus with green Candy Melts. 

It's as yummy as it is cute! Any suggestions of what I should make next? I have a bunch of ideas, but I do take requests. 

Cactus Shadow Name Art

This cactus name art started with a random question: Could I stand magnetic letters on their end and do something artistic with the shadows they create? Yes, but it took me awhile to figure out what to do and how to do it! Affiliate links below. 

I had no idea where I was heading with this project when I started. I certainly didn't have cacti in mind as spelled out my name in magnetic letters. and tried to balance them on a piece of chipboard (painted black). I quickly discovered that some letters would balance and others wouldn't. I put a Glue Dot on the bottom of each letter (easily removed, so the letters could go back on the fridge when I was done), which worked like a charm. With my letters secured to the black chipboard, I put second piece of chipboard (painted white) next to it and set them both on the floor in front of a sunny window. I was hoping to cast long shadows onto the white paper, which I could then trace.

Nope. That's not right. Rotate!

After rotating my artwork and waiting for later in the afternoon so the shadows would be longer, I still wasn't getting what I wanted. Time for artificial light, in the form of a flashlight. There are the long shadows I wanted!

It took a bit of coordination to hold the flashlight steady and trace the shadows at the same time (without casting additional shadows that would cover the ones I was trying to trace). This would work much better with a partner. 

When I looked at my finished shadows, I saw cacti. I painted them green (using my favorite acrylic paints, of course)...

... then added darker green shadows. When that was dry, I watered down some blue to make the sky and a light brown to make the sand. When those were dry, I added flowers, spines, and a wash of yellow in the sky. 

This was a really fun experiment. I'm definitely going to play with shadows again and see what artwork it inspires. 

Plaid's Let's Paint Live - Sunset Cactus

Check out my cactus painting!

This painting was the third I've done from Plaid's Let's Paint Live events. (Click to see my starfish and my other cactus.) The cartoony style of the cactus is unlike anything I've ever painted before, which is exactly why I was so excited to jump in and try it. I always learn so much during these paint events and they always take me out of my comfort zone.

Plaid hosts Let's Paint Live nights on the first Thursday of each month at 7:30 pm Eastern. If that time doesn't work for you (it's only 4:30 pm here in California), just watch the recording whenever it's convenient. (As a plus, you can hit pause.) The next FREE Let's Paint Live is Chrysanthemum, by the fabulous Priscilla Hauser, on Thursday, October 3.

Quilled Cactus

This quilling project is inspired by the stuffed cactus I made last year. This post contains affiliate links. 

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Quilled Cactus

Materials:

• white cardstock
• copy paper (green, yellow, pink)
• microtip scissors
• 1" heart punch
• 3 mm quilling paper (green, yellow, pink)
• quilling tool
• fine-tip craft glue
• reverse tweezers
• mini easel

Steps: 

Cut the white cardstock to the desired size for the background (mine is 4.25" x 5.5"). Cut a trapezoid from the yellow copy paper to make the front of the pot. Cut a curved arc the same width as the top of the trapezoid to make the back of the pot. Use the green copy paper to cut out the cactus. I did one large oval and two smaller ovals. Glue these to the cardstock background. 

Punch a heart from pink copy paper and glue it to the pot. Now it's time to start quilling. Begin by outlining the main part of the cactus in green, then outline the arms. Add two vertical ribs. Outline the pot with yellow. 

Now fill in the cactus with a combination of loose circles and other shapes. If you look closely, you'll see I used some teardrops and a marquise. There's no right or wrong. I didn't glue anything in until I'd completely filled the area. Once I liked how it looked, I used reverse tweezers to remove one circle at a time so I could add glue and return it to the correct spot. 

Finally, use pink quilling paper to make 6 tight circles and a heart. Glue the circles next to the arms and the heart directly over the punched heart shape.  

Display your design on an easel.

Once you know the basics of quilling, you can apply them to literally any design you'd like to make. 

Coloring Book Cactus Gift Box

Awhile back, I posted 12 ideas for using completed coloring pages. Here's Idea #13: Turn plain packaging into a themed gift box! Affiliate links below.

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Coloring Book Cactus Gift Box

Materials:

• gift box
• Folk Art Licorice paint
• Folk Art Extreme Glitter
• Love Grows coloring book
• Prismacolor markers
• microtip scissors
• Mod Podge

Steps:

Paint the gift box with at least one coat of Licorice paint, allowing drying time between coats. Add a thin coat of Extreme Glitter in a matching color (black, hologram, etc) to give it some shine. 

Meanwhile, remove the "Every Day is a New Adventure" page from the coloring book. 

Color the image with alcohol-based markers. Use the microtip scissors to carefully cut out the image.

Use a foam brush to put a thin coat of Mod Podge onto the box lid. I used matte. Carefully press the cut-out image onto the box, then add a thin coat of Mod Podge on top (the colors won't run since they're alcohol-based). When it is dry, add at least one more coat of Mod Podge. 

Fill the box with a fun surprise. I used gold-foil Rolos for the photo, but when I actually send the gift, it will be filled with some cactus-themed goodies. Here are a few fun ideas:

 

Stuffed Cactus

This post contains affiliate links. 

I made a stuffed cactus and I love it!

It was one of the projects from Felt for the Home, which I received from Leisure Arts to review. 

I chose to make the prickly pear. The first step was cutting out two cactus-shaped pieces of green felt and some flower-shaped pieces of pink felt. 

I used white embroidery floss (3 strands) to cross stitch little x's randomly on one of the cactus pieces. 

Then I used green embroidery floss (also three strands) to backstitch the two cactus pieces together, sewing the flowers in place as I went. 

I left the bottom unstitched. 

I added stuffing, using a chopstick to push it up into the arms of the cactus. 

Finally, I sewed the bottom together. All done!

I love that the cacti from the book are displayed in clay pots with pebbles. I'm strongly considering the same, although my 'pebbles' would actually be these. Wouldn't that be a fun gift?!

Felt for the Home would be another great gift. There are ten project ideas, with detailed supply lists and steps, as well as patterns and a guide to embroidery stitches. I love the donut garland, the succulent garden, and the heart pillow in particular. Best of all, they're easy enough for a sewing novice like me. I see a lot of felt crafting in my future!