Happy Valentine’s Day loves! Today I want to share a really cute DIY with ya’ll. This DIY cactus ring holder is so easy to make and pretty cheap too! I’m a huge DIYer because I love making things myself. You get a sense of pride and accomplishment knowing you made it. 🙂
DIY CACTUS RING HOLDER
SUPPLIES:
- White Oven-Bake Clay– You can get it for under $10 at Amazon or if you have a Michael’s Coupon definitely use it on Polyform Sculpey Original Polymer Clay because it’s $28 full priced.
- Acrylic Paint Set– Getting a bunch of colors allows you to have more freedom in creating your own custom colors.
- Polyform Sculpey Satin Glaze– This adds a really nice finish.
- Sculpey Bake & Bond– This will help bond the two pieces together so they won’t fall apart when being baked. I didn’t use this and had trouble with my cactus arms falling off. So I had to fix it mid-bake and really blend it into the body. I’m definitely using this next time.
STEP 1
First you’ll want to grab they clay and roll into a ball really working it together.
STEP 2
Flatten the piece of clay out either with a rolling-pin or put a sheet of wax paper over it and flatten with your palm. You want it about 1/2″ thick. Then use a round cookie cutter to cut out a perfect circle. Your dish isn’t going to be perfectly round but this will help guide a circular form.
STEP 3
Mold your dish. This can be frustrating if you’re a perfectionist, like myself haha. But I just had to accept the fact that it’s a DIY and that my imperfections are going to add character to it. So don’t worry if it isn’t perfect, I promise the final product will be so cute you won’t even notice it. 🙂
STEP 4
Make your cactus. If you have smaller hands make you body slightly thinner. You can also use one of your rings to size up how wide you want your cactus to be. I made two smaller pieces for the arms.
If you have the Sculpy Bond & Bake, you can use it to bond the arms on. I placed the arms where I wanted them and used a small knife and my finger to blend it into the body piece (I’m sorry I didn’t take a photo). Once you get your cactus how you want it then set it center on the dish and blend it into the dish clay. Smooth out any harsh clumps with your finger or clay tools.
STEP 5
Bake your clay according to the directions on the box. I baked mine for about 30 mins.
STEP 6
Once your clay is done cooling it’s time to paint. This was my favorite part because you can use and make any colors. Make it your own. 🙂
MY FINISHED CACTUS RING HOLDER
Aren’t they so cute?? I nearly freaked at the finished product. I love the colors and the glaze really made it look nice. Next time I want to add some little pieces for flowers.
I really hope you enjoy this project and I hope ya’ll have a great Valentine’s Day with your loved ones and friends. 🙂
xx // christine
These are so cute! Such a great DIY!
| diaryofasouthernmillennial.com
Thank you Cameron!
This is SO adorable and such a cute diy idea!
Thank you! 🙂
Omg Christine these are so adorable, they look store-bought haha!
Thank you so much Jessica! 🙂
These are so cute! They’d make the perfect gifts.
Greta | http://www.gretahollar.com
That’s what I did! I gifted them. 🙂
the glaze adds the PERFECT touch from homemade to looks-like-store bought!
Awe thanks Hannah. I did my best to make them look nice. 🙂
This looks like a super fun DIY gift idea!! Love this!
I really enjoyed making these. Especially the painting part. 🙂
oh my goshh this is the cutest!!! i need to make one for my vanity hehe xo, sharon
http://www.stylelullaby.com/fashion/style-oversized-chambray-shirt/
Yes you do! And the color options are endless. 🙂
Those are so stinking cute and they totally look like you could buy them at urban or anthro!
La Belle Sirene
Awe thank you Courtney. 🙂
Need to try this ASAP!! This is too stinkin’ cute! I love catus anything!
xoxo,
Amy | Pastel N Pink
Thank you Amy! I’m obsessed with Cactus stuff too!
Oh my goodness how stinkin’ cute and creative is this idea?! I’m bookmarking this page! So crafty – I love it!
Thank you Jen! 🙂 I saw one that I wanted and it was sold out. That’s what led me to making my own. It came out way better than expected!
This is the cutest thing I have ever seen! I can’t believe it’s a DIY! SO cute! Adding this to my summer craft list!
xo Ashley
I hope you get to do it soon! 🙂
These are so cute! They would make great gifts! I love to make things with polymer clay. I have been making ornaments for almost twenty years.
Oh wow! That would be so fun to make a new ornament every year. 🙂 Maybe I’ll do one this winter.
I love all things cactus! I am definitely going to make this.
I’m seriously obsessed with cactus stuff haha! I hope you enjoy making this as much as I did. 🙂
These are so cute. Thank you for sharing. Is this good for beginners? I’m wondering if baking the clay will smell a lot. Thanks!
Thank you so much! 🙂 It is great for beginners. This was actually my first time working with this clay and it has no scent at all. Happy crafting and thanks for stopping by!
How many ring holders does one packet make?
I’m not sure but I made three and I had over 3/4 of the pack left. So I would say roughly about 9. 🙂 Hope this helps.
First, Thank you for the great instructions. I really appreciate that you show a picture of the product used as I can print it out and find it in the store.
Second, Me and my sister, niece are all going to do this.
I’m glad you liked it! I would love to see how it comes out! 🙂
We are going to make these for my daughter’s bday party activity. About how long does the clay take to dry before you can paint it?And about how long should we wait before packing the cactus up so that the girls can take home?
I just followed the instructions on the clay box. It took about 30 mins to bake and not too long to cool. The paint might take a while to dry. I let mine dry overnight but it just depends on how much paint they use. I would say at least let it dry for an hour before wrapping it. They only thing I can suggest is pre-make the cactus trays so they can just be painted. This will save time and give them more time to just paint it and get it dry before they leave to go home. Hope this helps.
Thank you very much! These are so cute!! I will let you know how we make out. Oh what paint colours did you use?
I used standard acrylic paint and mixed colors to make pastel colors. So adding white to the colors will make them lighter. Green and a little blue together then white to lighten is what I used for the cactus and then I used red and white to make pink for the base. I had silver to do the accents. 🙂