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Quilling Paper Cactus

April 25, 2017

Quilling Paper Cactus ~ Satisfy your green thumb with a mini paper cactus! || www.thepaperycraftery.com

 

Quilling Paper Cactus ~ Satisfy your green thumb with a mini paper cactus! || www.thepaperycraftery.com

My husband, Mr. Craftery, has been working hard the last couple of weekends getting the gardens in our yard full of flowers for the spring and summer.

He’s been doing such an amazing job! Our yard has never looked better!

Thank goodness for him, because I have absolutely no green thumb. A nice, sturdy cactus more my speed.

Even better than that, is a paper version!

So I was inspired to whip up a quilling paper cactus and share it with my fellow crafters!

This post contains affiliate links. If you click on the links below and make a purchase, I may receive a small compensation to help me finance this site and keep coming up with awesome tutorials and tips! There’s no cost to you and I only ever include links to companies and products that I trust and work with on a regular basis. 




Quilling Paper Cactus ~ Satisfy your green thumb with a mini paper cactus! || www.thepaperycraftery.com

First, find green strips the shade of your choice. Cacti do grow in a few different shades.

Grab some brown and white strips, glue, and a quilling tool, too.

My cacti are all pretty small, about 1 1/2″ tall. You can absolutely make these as large as you like by adding more paper strips to each roll.

But you know I love my minis! I think it’s partially because I have so many ideas but so little time. If I work on a small scale, I can finish more projects!

Quilling Paper Cactus ~ Satisfy your green thumb with a mini paper cactus! || www.thepaperycraftery.com

I started with the main body of each cactus.

Roll a tight coil from 3 connected strips, each 22″ long. Repeat to make a second coil.

Quilling Paper Cactus ~ Satisfy your green thumb with a mini paper cactus! || www.thepaperycraftery.com

Quilling Paper Cactus ~ Satisfy your green thumb with a mini paper cactus! || www.thepaperycraftery.com

Mold by pushing the center of each coil until a dome is formed.

Your fingertips or the rounded end of your quilling tool work just fine for this. But,  I’ve recently gotten a quilling mold and I’m really loving it for my 3-d projects. The domes are a lot more even.

Quilling Paper Cactus ~ Satisfy your green thumb with a mini paper cactus! || www.thepaperycraftery.com




I did find that the cacti looked a bit more natural if one of the domes was pushed a little further than the other.

Quilling Paper Cactus ~ Satisfy your green thumb with a mini paper cactus! || www.thepaperycraftery.com

To set your dome, apply a small amount of glue to the underside, and brush so the entire surface is covered.

Quilling Paper Cactus ~ Satisfy your green thumb with a mini paper cactus! || www.thepaperycraftery.comGlue the two halves together.

Quilling Paper Cactus ~ Satisfy your green thumb with a mini paper cactus! || www.thepaperycraftery.comI also like to add a short strip of green right to the center of the dome to cover the seam where the two halves meet.

Quilling Paper Cactus ~ Satisfy your green thumb with a mini paper cactus! || www.thepaperycraftery.comOf course, your quilling paper cactus needs a pot to grow in!

Start with a tight coil of 3 22″ brown paper strips, made the same way as the green.

This time instead of molding a full dome shape, gently push only the center of the coil. The very outer edge should stay together, so it looks like the lip of a terracotta flower pot.

Lightly press the bottom of your pot against a level surface to allow your pot to sit flat.

Quilling Paper Cactus ~ Satisfy your green thumb with a mini paper cactus! || www.thepaperycraftery.comI wanted my cactus to sit up a bit in the pot, as if it was really planted. A balled-up bit of brown Kraft paper did the trick. 

Quilling Paper Cactus ~ Satisfy your green thumb with a mini paper cactus! || www.thepaperycraftery.com

The Kraft paper sort of gives the illusion of soil in the pot, too!

Add some glue to secure the cactus in the pot.

Quilling Paper Cactus ~ Satisfy your green thumb with a mini paper cactus! || www.thepaperycraftery.com

craft

Let’s make this quilling paper cactus spiky!

Now, because my cacti are teeny, these spikes are super-teeny!

Cut 1″ strips of white quilling paper in half (watch those fingers!) and roll into a tight coil.

Quilling Paper Cactus ~ Satisfy your green thumb with a mini paper cactus! || www.thepaperycraftery.com

Once they’re rolled, press firmly to flatten.

Quilling Paper Cactus ~ Satisfy your green thumb with a mini paper cactus! || www.thepaperycraftery.com

Add your spikes to your cactus!

I highly recommend getting some Tacky Glue for projects like this. Tacky Glue sticks paper together almost instantly, but still moves a bit. Trust me, you don’t want to have to wait 10 minutes holding each spike as it dries.

Quilling Paper Cactus ~ Satisfy your green thumb with a mini paper cactus! || www.thepaperycraftery.com

I had so much fun figuring out different ways to make cacti!

Some have random spikes; others have spikes in rows.

I made a few with simple flowers on top, too!

Quilling Paper Cactus ~ Satisfy your green thumb with a mini paper cactus! || www.thepaperycraftery.com

I did make one with arms on the sides that I made from long, bent 3D coils.

I only recommend this to those quillers with lots of supplies and patience! It’s a little tricky to get the tubes to bend without completely unraveling.

Quilling Paper Cactus ~ Satisfy your green thumb with a mini paper cactus! || www.thepaperycraftery.com

My favorite cactus is one with lots of little buds growing from the top.

I made them exactly the same way I made the first part of the cactus, but just with shorter strips.

Quilling Paper Cactus ~ Satisfy your green thumb with a mini paper cactus! || www.thepaperycraftery.com

Have fun making your quilling paper cactus!

Experiment! Make an entire desert!

And while you’re quilling mini’s check out my tutorials on mini mushrooms and citrus slices!




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in Quilling, Tutorials # 3D Quilling, Quilling Paper Cactus, Quilling Paper Plants

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Comments

  1. Gerri DiSalvio Ruppert says

    April 25, 2017 at 10:24 am

    Just adorable!!! My husband is also the “brains’ behind our garden…tomatoes, zucchini squash, spaghetti squash and eggplant are our standards, we’ve tried carrots but failed miserably! There’s nothing like going into your backyard and picking your own vegetables! As far as flowers go, the only ones we’ve had success with year after year are mini roses.

    I always enjoy seeing your creative ideas!!

    Reply
    • Meredith says

      April 25, 2017 at 12:52 pm

      Thanks so much, Gerri! It’s good to hear from you! My husband has some goals for veggies this year too. We’ll see how it goes!

      Reply
      • Gerri DiSalvio Ruppert says

        April 25, 2017 at 10:18 pm

        Good luck with your veggies…it’s so cool to plan a meal knowing you can just go out to your garden and pick your own fresh vegetables! I have a great recipe for ratatouille and almost everything I need to make it is growing right outside my back door!
        Hope all is well with you and your family, and keep the great quilling ideas coming!

        Reply
  2. Cathy says

    April 25, 2017 at 1:06 pm

    I really thought your pots were terra cotta. So realistic.

    Reply
    • Meredith says

      April 25, 2017 at 1:23 pm

      Thanks a bunch!

      Reply
  3. D L says

    October 4, 2019 at 12:40 am

    Hello, Just saying thank you for this project, I have to do a quilling project for class and stumbled upon this amazing link. Thanks again!!!

    Reply
    • Meredith says

      October 4, 2019 at 8:46 am

      Awesome! 🌵 This project holds a special place in my heart. Let me know how it turns out!

      Reply
  4. Amanda says

    April 19, 2021 at 1:47 pm

    So cool! I just found your blog, and I’m loving it! I’ve quilled for about 5 years, and I’m enjoying learning new techniques. Your instructions are so easy to follow. Thank you!

    Reply
    • Meredith says

      May 20, 2021 at 2:46 pm

      Thanks so much for finding me. If you have any questions, let me know!

      Reply

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