A cactus as a gift? Even for kids? We must be kidding! But we don’t, cause this one is perfectly safe. Our cactus gift box comes with a soft touch (from the pipe cleaner) that you constantly want to feel. Filled with lots of sweets and some tiny toys, it’ll make a great giveaway at your next BBQ! Here is how it’s done…

Materials needed: colorful cardstock, x-acto knife, scissors, ruler, hot glue gun, pencil, pipe cleaners in multiple colors, favors as treats

Step 1: Fold a sheet of cardstock in half. Draw the outline of a cactus.

Step 2: Cut along the outline so that you have two identical cacti. Cut several strips of cardstock with a width of 4 centimeters.

Step 3: Fold the long edge of the strip in about 1 centimeter and then fringe cut evenly about 1 centimeter up to the crease.

Step 4: Put some hot glue on the fringe edge and place it along the edge of the cactus until the whole form is completely surrounded. Repeat this on the other cactus but this time leave some room to the edge. This way, you can slide both pieces of the box together easily.

Extra tip: It helps to bend the paper over a finger before gluing it on the cactus, so that it adapts to the curves more easily.

Step 5: Decorate the cactus with colorful pipe cleaners to give it a fun texture. Finish it with a paper flower and fill it with lots of small goodies.

Crafting, styling and photography by Julia Tramm.