DIY Papier Mache Cacti

David Stark is the king of FUN. Whenever I want to feel inspired or get creative “outside of the box” ideas for my home or a get together, David’s site is the first place I look. From huge events that turn shoes into a tornado to parties that showcase colored pencils as centerpieces, David knows how to deliver a dose of humor and good fun with decorating and entertaining. Today he and his team are sharing a creative DIY Papier-Mâché Cacti project inspired by pieces that created for a recent event. They loved the stylized, hyper real quality and thought they would also double as great everyday dinner table decorations, entryway flowers or household plants that you’ll never (ever) have to water. Thanks so much to David, Chris and Corrie (who masterminded this project with David) for sharing this with us today! And good luck to the team as they plan the last gala that will take place in The Breuerr Building on the Upper East Side of Manhattan before the Whitney moves to its new home in the Meatpacking district- what a wonderful honor to work on such a special event. xo, grace

Photographs by Susie Montagna

Click through for the full how-to after the jump!

A Note From David: “The how-to directions/drawings focus on just one of the cacti shapes, but all of the varying forms in our photos are made with the same materials and methods, so when sitting down to work, everyone should use their imagination or look at reference photos of actual cacti for their inspiration and just go wild! It’s fun to make an entire cacti forest! They can be a glorious centerpieces for a dining table or a display on a side board or window sill.”

Materials:

Tools and Supplies:

-Pot of your choice
-knife
–Elmer’s Art Paste or homemade wheat paste
– Newspaper (hard edges torn off and torn into 1” strips)
-1.5” Foam board or insulation board
-2-3 ¼” dowel rods
-Flower clipper (to cut dowel rods and tooth picks)
– Acrylic paint
-Primer or gesso
-Various Paint brushes
-Tooth picks
-Marker

Steps:

You can download the full drawn-out how to right here, or view it below!