Okay, so I wanted to share what I did the other afternoon. Had a bunch of these empty toilet paper rolls piling up, you know how it goes. Felt kinda bad just chucking them all in the recycling bin. I remembered seeing some ideas floating around for making stuff out of them, like quick little crafts.
So, I thought, why not give it a try? Didn’t seem too hard. First thing, I gathered up the rolls. Had maybe five or six saved up. Then I rummaged around for the basic craft stuff. You don’t need much, really.
Gathering the Supplies
I grabbed:
- The toilet paper rolls, obviously.
- Some kid-safe paint – just basic colors, nothing fancy.
- A couple of paintbrushes, the ones that were mostly clean.
- Scissors – the regular kitchen ones worked fine.
- Glue – I used a simple white glue stick mostly, had some liquid glue too just in case.
- Some googly eyes because they make everything funnier.
- A marker pen for drawing details.
- A few scraps of colored paper I had lying around.
That was pretty much it. Didn’t want to make it complicated. The whole point was ‘quick and easy’, right?
Making the First Thing: An Owl
I decided to start with something simple, like an owl. Seemed doable.
First, I took one roll. Didn’t flatten it completely, just squeezed it a bit. Then, I folded the top edge down inwards on both sides. This made two points, kinda like owl ears or tufts. Super easy step.
Next, paint. I just grabbed some brown paint and covered the whole roll. Had to let that dry for a bit. Probably the slowest part of the whole process, waiting for paint to dry. Set it aside near a window.
Once it was dry, I stuck on two big googly eyes right on the front. Used the glue stick for that. Then I cut a tiny triangle shape out of some yellow scrap paper for the beak and glued that on right below the eyes. Finally, I used the marker to draw some simple feather patterns, just little ‘v’ shapes down the front.
And that was it! My first toilet paper roll owl. Looked pretty decent for a few minutes’ work, honestly.
Trying Out More Ideas
Got a bit carried away after the owl worked out. It was kinda fun, just messing around.
So I made a few other things:
- A little monster: Painted a roll bright green. While the paint was still wet, I stuck on like five googly eyes, all different sizes. Let it dry. Drew a funny jagged mouth with the marker. Quick, easy, looked goofy.
- Binoculars: Took two rolls. Painted them black. Once dry, I glued them side-by-side. Punched a hole on the outer side of each roll near the top. Then I just threaded a piece of yarn through the holes to make a neck strap. Kids would probably love these.
- A Tiny Octopus: Painted a roll blue. Let it dry. Then, I cut slits up from the bottom, maybe about halfway up the roll, all the way around. Made about eight strips. Gently curled each strip outwards to make tentacles. Stuck on two googly eyes. Done.
Final Thoughts on the Process
Honestly, it was a pretty relaxing way to spend maybe an hour. Just cutting, painting, gluing. Nothing high-pressure. It’s nice to make something with your hands, even if it’s just from old toilet paper rolls.
The best part? It uses up stuff you’d normally just throw away. And it costs basically nothing if you already have some basic craft supplies. Cleanup wasn’t too bad either, just rinsed the brushes and wiped down the table.
It’s not about making perfect art. It’s just about having a bit of simple fun and being a little creative with everyday junk. Definitely quick, definitely easy, just like the title suggested in my head. If you’ve got rolls stacking up, give it a whirl. You might surprise yourself.