Supplies:
- Plastic, wood, or other type of smooth surface egg. I used a plastic one from Easter you pop open and will with candy.
- Terra cotta clay pot I picked a very small pot for my project, but you can pick whatever size you like. You could even select a bigger terra cotta clay pot to fit several cactuses in. I got mine from Dollar Tree. It came in a 3 pack for $1.
- Tissue paper A pink color or other color of your choice for the flowery top piece. I also used a light green to cover my egg. If you also wish to cover your egg with tissue paper, then you will need mod podge.
- Stones These could be decorative ones you buy from a store, Dollar tree has some nice ones, or ones you find outside.
- A little Elmer’s glue
- Thin black marker. I used an ultra fine point sharpie.
Since it has been such a hot summer, I thought it was only fitting to make a cute little cactus. To start I filled a small terra cotta clay pot about a quarter of the way full with stones. If you have a bigger pot or a smaller egg, then you can fill the clay pot fuller depending on how your egg fits inside.
I did not like the bright green color of my egg. So, I decided to use some light green tissue paper to tone down the bright green color. To do this I started off by tearing pieces of tissues paper. You could cut nice pieces to make everything even, but it is not necessary.
I then applied a coat of mod podge to the plastic egg followed by my pieces of tissue paper I just tore off. Then apply another coat of mod podge on top of the tissue paper you just placed on the egg. I recommend working in sections, otherwise it becomes very messy and the mod podge may start to dry before you get to that section. It is okay if some of the tissue paper over laps some. I think the uneven distribution adds a nice touch to the piece. Since tissue paper is thin, I did a second coat of green tissue paper once the first coat was completely dry. There are a few small areas where I missed a second layer of tissue paper and a little darker green color shows through, but I like this look to it. Feel free to apply a third coat if you want everything to be completely covered.
After one coat
Once all the layers are completely dried, I waited over night to be sure, you can apply the needles. For my needles I made small “X” all the way around the egg long ways. The “X” can be a little sloppy to add a more realistic look to them. I have a total of 8 lines of “X” all around my egg. Do not worry the pink flower tissue paper will cover the weird spot at the top where all the “X” lines come together. Be careful not to smudge the permanent marker when doing this part.
Once you are happy with your design it is time to make the pink flower on top. To do this just tear a piece of pink tissue paper off. It is better to have the uneven lines of a tear than a clean cut line. Apply a small dot of Elmer’s glue to the top of your cactus. I made the fatter end of my cactus my top. Then crunch up the pink tissue paper and hold it in the glue until it dries. You can fluff it out a little once it is dried.
Now that the cactus if finished it is time to place it in the terra cotta clay pot. Since my cactus was pretty big compared to my clay pot, I only filled my clay pot about a quarter of the way full with rocks. I then placed my cactus into the clay pot and filled in the sides with smaller rocks. You could also glue the rocks in place with Elmer’s glue if you have trouble with them staying in place around the cactus.
This little cactus will look nice on my desk to add a little bit of color and plant like feel. After I finished my cactus, I thought it could be cute to add arms to the sides of the cactus especially if you make several of these cactuses, so they are all a little different. If anyone decides to do this then share with us what you used and how they turned out.
