Living in Arizona, I have chunks of this sitting all over my yard. If fresh from the outdoors, you'll want to boil it for 10 minutes to get all the little critters out of it, then dry it. I've not turned it directly, but I've embedded it in resin and then turned a dragon egg out of it. I don't have the means of stabilizing myself, but it's something I want to try and cholla is certainly a good candidate.