1. Start by using a ruler, or something with a straight edge, and lightly sketching horizontal lines onto your cactus.

2. Turn your wood burning tool on and let it heat up.

You can lightly sketch your designs on first, or just freestyle it with your wood burner. I started sketching some of mine, but after a little while I was comfortable enough to skip that part and just use the burner.

3. Continue burning patterns into the different sections of your cactus.

4. Once you’ve got the entire cactus burned, unplug your wood burning tool and use your eraser to erase your pencil lines.

5. Use a wood stain to stain your cactus. I used Krylon’s Exterior Wood Stain Spray. Yep, wood stain in a spray paint bottle, so awesome!

Let it dry completely.

Last year, Taylor and I shared our top 7 tips for wood burning. If you’re new to wood burning, I recommend reading those, here.

Always be sure to do you wood burning in a well ventilated space, because it does give off some fumes.

And remember….. CACTUS MAKES PERFECT.