It has been way too long since I have made something for me.  So long, in fact, that I cannot remember what the last thing was. I have been looking for ideas for a super cute pin cushion now that I have started sewing again and when I came across some felt cacti, I knew I had a winner. Cacti and needles just go together perfectly, plus it is super cute and something you would not mind to keep out as decor.

Disclaimer: I apologize for not always putting my supplies in the photo but a lot of what I come up with are last minute light bulb moments. 🙂

You will need:

• Green felt for cactus
• Pink felt for flower
• Glitter canvas for flower (I am obsessed with this stuff)
• Mini yellow pom poms
• Mini pearl beads (not pictured)
• Embroidery floss or sewing machine
• Fiberfill
• Small clay pot
• Styrofoam for inside pot (not pictured)
• Rocks to cover styrofoam (not pictured)
• Hot glue

p.s. Check out these amazing iridescent colored scissors! I have been looking for some fun, unique craft scissors, especially for all the craft photos I take and I could not resist these.

Cut out 6 pieces of green felt into oval like shapes but with a flat bottom.  The length could be as tall as you want it, just make sure the width is about as wide as your pot. Using your sewing machine or by hand, sew together two pieces at a time around the arc leaving the bottom flat side open. Repeat with the other 4 pieces to make 2 more pairs. Take all 3 pairs of sewn green felt, layer them on top of each other and sew them together with a line right down the middle. For thinner wool felt, I was able to use my machine, but for craft felt, I had to sew it by hand as it was too thick.

Using a chopstick or pencil, stuff your cactus sections with the fiberfill.  You should have 6 sections to stuff.  Make them nice and full to give your pins something to hold on to.

To make the flower, I used 3 different types of flower shapes to layer on to each other. (It is not necessary to have the hole in the light pink flower. I made it thinking I was going to do some things differently but ended up not needing it.) Hot glue them together and stick the little pom poms on top. Take your little pearl beads and glue them onto the spines of each section.  You could use the ball pins for this part of the decor as well, but I wanted mine to be a more permanent feature of the cactus.

For the pot, an old styrofoam ball happened to fit inside perfectly. I used some decorative rocks to cover the sides of the ball and hot glued them on: hot glue, rocks, let cool, shake off, repeat. This required quite a few layers to get the height and coverage I wanted.When you are satisfied with your rock coverage, add a generous amount of hot glue to the center of the styrofoam and put your cactus on top.  Hold it down for a few seconds in order to make sure it sticks. It was so easy, that I made a darker, circular shaped cacti for my mom as a thank you for re-teaching me how to sew. Instead of oval shaped felt, cut out circular ones with flat bottoms for this type of cactus.

Add your pins and you’re done!