Kid's Craft - DIY Cactus Rocks

Hello! Happy May to you! Do any of you out there consider yourselves a black thumb, yet you still love succulents? Hey, that’s okay! I have a really simple craft for you try that’s not only adorable, but is completely chore free. There’s no watering involved or sunlight necessary. All you need is some paint and a few rocks. We’re going to make rock cactuses!

SUPPLIES //

• Rocks of varying sizes
• Mini Clay Pot (I bought mine at Joann’s!)
• Acrylic Paint (green and white)
• Paintbrush
• Hot Glue Gun (optional)
• Sand or small pebbles

INSTRUCTIONS //

First thing’s first - paint your rocks! I decided to use a bright green and a forest green. I found the contrast lovely and made it look a little more modern. I found my rocks outside near our garage, and they took about two coats each to get a solid color. Did you paint rocks as a kid? I remember doing many rock-involved crafts at summer camp. This is a great project to do together with your kiddos! A little red or pink rock could be cute, too, just like red succulents. I decided to keep one of mine a natural red/brown color for variety.

Once they are painted green, give them a few little dashes of white. These will mimic their spines. I did crosses and dashes and horizontal lines. Have fun with it!

Once everything is painted and dry, it’s time to assemble the potted cactus. Admittedly, for the base inside my pot, I used leftover chicken grit. I know - that’s super weird and specific. I think sand would probably work best for this project, especially if you can find it outside! Or small pebbles or gravel. Basically, something that will hold your rocks up on their own.

With your hot glue gun, feel free to glue the rocks in place in the pot or to each other. I did not glue mine down to the pot, but I did glue a few of them together so that they would stand upright on their own. If you are using sand, you probably won’t need to glue them at all!

That’s it! Enjoy your little fake cactus. Place it near a window or on your kid’s dresser. I love it for some added green color on Tad’s bookshelf!

This is a really simple and easy craft that anyone can make. I loved woking on this project with Tad on the rainy days we’ve been having. He helped me paint the rocks, sort of, but mostly just pretended he was sword fighting with the paintbrushes. Either way, we chitchatted and had some fun together! That’s what’s really important (: Enjoy!!!

xoxo Kayla

You can find more herbal home remedies, recipes, and gardening tips at Kayla’s blog on underatinroof.com