step-by-steps EASY TO YOUR CRAFTY CACTUS

Gather your supplies

• 6mm foamcore board in white • Water-based paint in a shade of green • Marker pen in black • Small decorative pebbles in white • Terracotta pot

You’ll also need

Scissors; self-healing cutting mat; pencil; craft knife; metal ruler; small dish; paintbrush; newspaper; water-based gloss varnish; Chalk Paint by Annie Sloan in Lem Lem (or any green colour you love); tissue paper in colour of choice; dressmaker’s pins

For you to note

Foamcore board typically consists of three layers: polystyrene or polyurethane that is clad with paper on each side. It’s strong, lightweight and easily cut with a knife. Try Spotlight and Kmart for inexpensive

sheets of foamcore board.

Here’s how

STEP 1 Using a photocopier, enlarge Cactus diagrams to 400%, then 127%. Cut out shapes using scissors to make 2 templates.

STEP 2 Place cutting mat on work surface. Put foamcore board on top.

STEP 3 Place both templates on foamcore board. Lightly trace around each shape with pencil.

STEP 4 Use craft knife to carefully cut along marked lines. Use knife against edge of metal ruler to cut along straight lines. This is a job for an adult.

STEP 5 Pour a little green paint into small dish. Use paintbrush to coat both sides of cactus shapes. Apply 2-3 coats. Let dry after each coat.

STEP 6 Lay out newspaper in a well-ventilated area. Spray one side of each cactus shape with a thin coat of varnish. Let dry. Flip shapes over and spray other side. Let dry.

STEP 7 Use marker pen to draw an even spread of short lines on both faces of cactus shapes. These are to mimic the prickly spines of the cactus.

STEP 8 Using paintbrush, decorate pot with chalk paint. Here, only the rim of the pot is painted, but you may like to get creative and paint zigzags or any design you love. Let dry.

STEP 9 Slot cactus shapes together. Pour a thin layer of pebbles in pot. Place cactus in position and pour more pebbles around base of cactus to hold it in place.

STEP 10 Concertina-fold a 5 x 5cm piece of tissue paper (make folds about 3cm deep). Fold this in half, then cut a neat triangle shape extending from the fold. Push a pin through the inside of the fold, then push the pin into the edge of foamcore cactus to hold tissue-paper flower in place. Repeat to make as many flowers as desired.

STEP 11 Repeat Steps 1–10 to make and decorate a whole patch for your place.

Cactus diagrams (enlarge to 400%, then 127%)