Make an adorable paper plate cactus craft with your kids or students! You can create all types of cactus and make an entire collection. You’ll just need a few common craft materials, and you’re ready to go.

Paper Plate Cactus Craft for Kids

This cactus art project is super simple, and I love how kids can really make it their own- creating various cactus shapes, making different shades of greens for the cactus and giving each cactus its own personality by creating all kinds of faces on each one!

These cactus are cute on their own as decoration, would make a fun extension craft when studying desert landscapes or plants, and also would look super cute glued onto the front of a homemade thank you card or gift card for any holiday.

This post contains affiliate links.

Materials for Paper Plate Cactus Craft

Paper plate
Green paint (This is our favorite tempera paint.)
Paint brush
Pipe cleaners: black or black yarn, assorted colors for optional flower
Hole punch (This hole punch is a lifesaver! It will save your hands on all your future hole punching.)
Scissors
Black marker (We always prefer Sharpies.)
Optional: Googly eyes

Directions for Paper Plate Cactus Craft

1. Paint one side of your entire paper plate green and let dry. (This is a fun time to mix and create all kinds of various shades of green or to make light and dark green stripes or patterns on your plate.) You could also use a green paper plate if trying to save time.

2. Now it’s time to make your cactus shape. If you want your cactus symmetrical, you can fold your plate in half and draw your shape along the folded edge like we did in our photo. Or you can simple draw any cactus shape.

3. Cut our your cactus.

4. Use a single hole punch and make a few holes around the edge of your cactus.

5. Draw a face on your cactus using the Sharpie. You can also use googly eyes.

6. Make the spines (or needles) of the cactus.
– If using pipe cleaners, cut some black pipe cleaners into 3-inch pieces. Take one piece and put it through the hole. Twist the two ends together like a twist tie. You can also do this same process using black yarn. Knot small pieces of yearn through each hole in your cactus.
– If you plan on adding a flower to your cactus, leave a hole at the top empty for the next step.

7. Optional Flower: To make the flower, take half of a colored pipe cleaner and twist the ends together to create a circle. Bend the circle in half, this time with the twisted ends in the middle. Twist to form a figure eight. Repeat so you have two. Secure together with another piece of pipe cleaner.

Attach your flower to the plate the same way you attached the black pipe cleaner pieces.

You’re all done! Use your cactus to decorate a wall or bulletin board. You can even create multiple cactus and glue them to a large piece of paper and create desert scenery!