Whether you’re celebrating Christmas time in the southwest or Christmas in July, these festive cactuses are an adorable home decor piece or party decoration! I just love how these 3D cactuses turned out, and I would love to show you how I made them! Let’s get started…
Supplies:
- Cardstock Warehouse cardstock paper:
- Adhesives
- Cricut cutting machine
- Cricut Design Space Project HERE!
Step one…Cut out all your pieces! I found these 3d cactuses and Christmas lights on Cricut Design Space, but if you don’t have a Cricut, you can search for similar files for your machine. I like to use a higher weight cardstock to make my 3d decor creations… 83lb and up! That way my pieces are super sturdy. I love this jewel tone color scheme for Christmas in July vibes!
I cut two sizes of the saguaro cactus and one size of the barrel cactus. You can resize these however you like for your project, or depending on your paper size. I used 12in x 12in cardstock so that I could make a taller one.
Let's glue the taller saguaro cactus first. Since I used 100lb Forest Green Colorplan to make these, I went back over the score lines my Cricut made with a bone folder, using the groove of my paper cutter to make sure my lines were straight. This makes it a lot easier to fold and ensures those folds are crisp!
Now we are going to glue the pieces together. I am using Bearly Art® glue to glue the side of one piece to the side of the next, which will create a circle when it’s done. Make sure you line them up carefully all the way around your pieces. As I went around the cactus, I alternated the pieces with arms and the straight pieces so my arms would stick out in different directions around the cactus.
Once your tall cactus is complete, repeat the same process for your shorter saguaro cactus.
Let’s make the cute little barrel cactus now. These are the same 100lb cardstock, so I went over my score lines on these as well.
We will use a similar alternating and gluing technique for these, but the Chartruese layer will be sandwiched between the two layers of green as you go around. This will make your end result look like it has small Chartruese spines coming out of the green cactus.
Now let’s make the flower for the top. Take the three Fuchsia pink flowers and bend the petals up. Glue them on top of each other, big to small, offsetting each layer to make the petals behind it stick out. Take the Candy Pink (light pink) centerpieces and bend the petals up and glue them in the center of the flower. I used a foam pop dot to adhere my flower to the top of the cactus. I angled it a bit so you wouldn’t see the pop dot.
At this point, you can decide whether to decorate your cactuses or leave them as-is. I am going to decorate mine with little paper Christmas lights!
Glue the top of each light piece to its bulb base using liquid glue. I used a variety of papers, including some glitter and mirror papers, to make these even more fun!
Now it's time to have fun decorating your cactuses! You can glue the lights on randomly like I did, or you can put them on a string and wrap them around the cactus. I wanted mine to stay in place and be able to be easily stored between uses, so I went with the foam dots.
Your adorable little cactuses are ready to display in your home decor, at a special event, or gifted to someone to brighten their day! These are so easy and make an adorable addition to your decor setup!
I'll be using my cactuses for a "Mistletoe and Margaritas" party that I'm hosting with some friends! I also made these adorable banners to hang at my party using the same papers. I'm not including a tutorial for these, but they are included in the Cricut file if you'd like to explore making them on your own.
What kind of party goods do you want to see me create next? Drop a comment below and let me know! Show us what you're paper crafting on Facebook or Instagram. You can tag your creations with #cardstockwarehouse to be featured in our stories.
Looking for more DIY party inspiration? Find more tutorials HERE!
Happy Crafting,
Melissa
Instagram: @diy_melissa and @sweetbuttercupdesigns
Etsy: Sweet Buttercup Designs