DIY Cardboard Cactus Construction Set

Full crafty admission:  Yesterday I was taking Chuck to the park and saw a lovely clean box in the back of our building.  Not sure how this happened, but suddenly I found myself mumbling, "It's mine, my precious, my own" repeatedly until Chuck reminded me that he wanted to go play.  Then, of course, I snapped out of my gollum state.  But you can bet your sweet Aunt Petunia that when we came back home, I grabbed that box and skedaddled back to our apartment.  Why?  Well, I wanted to make a Cardboard Cactus Construction Set, of course.  Why? (You might ask again.)  Well, because cardboard is cool and cacti are cool... which makes this cardboard construction set cool to the uber cool power.

DIY Cardboard Cactus Construction Set

In all seriousness, I've seen so many lovely cardboard construction sets created by moms on internet and I've wanted to make one for the longest time.  Since I love the way cacti look, I thought it would be fun to make mine look like a cactus.  (Fortunately for me Chuck also dug the cactus theme because it reminded him of a funny scene from Cars.  Bonus car points to the person who can describe what's happening in that scene!  Ooof... you can totally tell that I'm a mom.... I know my kids' movies.) 

Let's make a DIY Cardboard Cactus Construction Set!

1.  Cut out your different cacti pieces.  (Most of mine are the shape shape.  I also made one long piece to act as the base and a couple of smaller white flowers to make the cactus pretty.)  Cut slits out to help the pieces attach to each other.

2.  Cut out two long rectangular pieces to hold up your cacti.  Again, cut slits in them.

3.  Cover your work area.

4.  Paint both sides of your cardboard pieces.

5.  Let the pieces dry overnight.  (Optional:  Cover the cardboard in Mod Podge to protect your paint.  I didn't do this, but if your kid really likes the game then you might want to do that.)

6.  Have fun constructing a cactus with your kid. 

This cactus construction set is fun because you can remove and add the pieces to create a whole different array of cacti.  Plus, you have to figure out balancing issues too.  You gotta make sure the pieces are added so that the cactus doesn't fall over! 

And, yes.  I do have a cardboard addiction.  I've also rescued boxes to create toys like this  cardboard mountain bridge  and this cardboard bean bag toss.

Happy taking cardboard boxes from your building's recycling upcycling!