Cardboard Cactus

Well second graders, if you're looking for a cute springy sculpture, I've got you covered!  Today AND next week we will be working on these super cool cardboard cactus sculptures.  This is a TWO WEEK project (two art days) because it takes a while for your pieces to dry and for them to be cut, as they are cardboard (a little trickier to cut than paper).

Don't worry...they're worth it!

Ok, There's more than one order in which you could make this, but I recommend starting by painting your cardboard green for the cactus, because that will give your paint some time to dry.

You'll need both sides to be green, but if you're using thin cereal cardboard, you could just paint the whole brown side of the box (inside parts) green, and then fold it in on itself so that you cannot see the cereal box part anymore...if that makes sense.

Next, you can start work on your flower pot, or come back later to cut out your cactus parts.  For the sake of this tutorial, lets move on to the flower pot.  I used the side of a cereal box, and I cut right up the seams, to get nice, straight cuts.

To make the top ridge of the flower pot, I cut another, more narrow strip, just as long as this one was...

Place those pieces together, overlapping them, like so...

This is what it looks like from the back...and then I taped along the edges, though you could also use glue and let it dry.

Once the two pieces are attached, wrap it around into a circle, and tape together the overlap (or glue, hold, and count til they stick).

Then you can add a design.  Use lines or simple shapes for a nice pattern all the way around. 

 I did some colorful patterns that reminded me of  Aztec pottery, like this...

When you've finished the pot, you can come back to the green cardboard that was set aside earlier for the cactus.  Remember, you don't have to do this all in one day.

For the first one, I cut an oval shape about as wide as my little flower pot, so that I could cut slits in the sides of the oval AND the pot, where they touch. This helps them stay together.  You'll be cutting slits for all your cardboard pieces, wherever you want them to attach.

Cut a nice slit, about an inch long or a little longer, for where you'll rest your next oval.

Cut your next oval a little smaller than the first.  You'll need to cut a slit into that one, and piece the two cuts together...wedge them together so they stick on their own (we'll add some glue later, too).

Continue doing this until it looks how you want it.  Here's an example of the prickly pear cactus we are replicating.  See how it grows from the bottom up, just like we are building it?

You can design it however you think it looks cool, but I tried to balance mine a bit, so it would not topple over to one side.

If it's all assembled, add a dab of glue wherever the pieces are touching, and then add some little "V's" for your pickers.  If you want to get really fancy, you could even add some toothpicks.

Feel free to try some other kinds of cactus plants too!  They are cute and fun, and all we really need is some recycled boxes and something to color with.  Hope to see you and your creations soon!