Saguaro Bloom Crafts

Cactus Centerpiece

• Create a saguaro cactus centerpiece for your next western theme party using fresh cucumbers, toothpicks and silk saguaro blooms. Slice the ends off of three cucumbers to make three different lengths. Insert toothpicks into each of the cucumbers, around all of the sides. The toothpicks should protrude from the cucumbers to resemble a cactus. Stand the cucumbers flat-side down in a grouping on a pie plate. Fill the pie plate with sand to resemble the desert and to hold the cucumbers in place. Glue a saguaro bloom on top of each cucumber with hot glue to complete the centerpiece.

Party Favors

• Send your western-themed party guests home with a party favor celebrating the saguaro bloom. Cut a section of dry, green floral foam to fit inside a small terracotta pot. Make the foam long enough to extend at least five inches above the planter. Insert toothpicks around the sides of the exposed foam to mimic a cactus. Glue a silk or tissue-paper saguaro bloom on top of the floral foam. Tie a strand of raffia or ribbon around the terracotta pot to complete the favor.

Paper Bloom

• Make your own paper saguaro bloom with yellow and white tissue paper. Cut four sheets of yellow and four sheets of white tissue paper into eight-inch-long by 10-inch-wide squares. Stack the four yellow sheets on top of the four white sheets and fold the entire stack like an accordion. Wrap a twist tie or a green pipe cleaner around the center of the accordion strip. Pull each separate sheet of paper up on the sides toward the center and fluff it open. The yellow paper will be in the center and the white paper on the outside perimeter to resemble the saguaro bloom.

Pressed Art

• Press real saguaro blooms between coffee filters in the back of a large book for at least two weeks. After the blooms are pressed, arrange and glue them to a sheet of card stock with clear-drying craft glue. Place a small amount of glue only on the back of the blooms. Frame the arrangement to create wall art. The glass front of the picture frame, along with the glue, will hold the blooms in place.