Got TP Rolls? Check Out These Awesome Kids Craft Ideas!

By Kim Humphrey
Posted Mar 27, 2020 Parenting Just For Fun

If the Coronavirus pandemic has taught us anything, it's that people can never have enough toilet paper. ;-) And with all of that toilet paper comes a heck of a lot of TP rolls to recycle, or even better, UPcycle into amazing craft projects that will fill some of this monotonous downtime for your kiddos. Win-win! 

We've rounded up our top picks for the most useful, adorable and unique toilet paper roll projects around the Web for those lucky enough to have a stockpile of TP rolls on hand. Check them out and try them all!

Monsters

If Disney Pixar's "Monster's, Inc." is your kid's jam, then they will love this adorable toilet paper roll monster project from Crafts Unleashed. These monsters are so easy to make and are akin to carving a pumpkin; let their imaginations be their guide as they design the silliest or scariest of faces for their own unique creations. If you don't have easy access to acrylic paint, break out the crayons or markers. You can even fill these guys with treats!

Car Parking Garage

Photo Courtesy of Third Stop on the Right

When my boys were little, we had enough toy cars to open up our very own Hot Wheels and Matchbox used car lot. If your littles are car enthusiasts like mine were, then a TP car parking garage is just what they need to keep all of those cars organized and easy to find. You can go small and simple by using a shoe box as the shell like this one from Third Stop on the Right, or go a bit bigger, fancier and sturdier like this crate design.

Castle

Make a TP roll castle fit for a princess! While this project may look complicated, all you need are a variety of different sizes of cardboard boxes (think shoe boxes, tissue boxes, gift boxes or anything else you already have on hand), a bunch of toilet paper tubes - the more, the fancier!, and some standard craft supplies for decorating, like construction paper, markers, crayons, and glue sticks. Let your princes' and princesses' imaginations take flight as they create a royal castle like this one from Inna's Creations. 

Ninjas

Photo Courtesy of MooMoo Crafts

These toilet roll ninjas from MollyMoo Crafts are about as quick of a project as you can get, but the result is sensei-tional. Grab your TP rolls, some paint, straws and a black marker and get ready for battle. You can find the full, super easy-to-follow tutorial here.

Fairy Houses

Photo Courtesy of Red Ted Art

There is just something magical about fairy houses. My daughter has been obsessed with them for years and I don't see her pixie dust bug fading anytime soon. Fairy houses are, by design, often crafted from surplus, recycled or foraged materials. Start with a TP roll and gather up scrap felt, fabric, craft paper, buttons, stickers, gems, pebbles, twigs, and anything else you have laying around the house and let your creativity run wild! The quirkier, the better. Cut out windows and cover the inside with parchment or tissue paper and then stick a battery-operated tealight inside to illuminate. Check out this easy tutorial from Red Ted Art for tips on designing your own magical creations.

Space Rockets

Photo Courtesy of The Inspiration Edit

3...2...1 Blast Off! the fun with these adorable, but simple TP rockets that may just be the spark needed to ignite a solid round of pretend play for your kiddos and buy you some uninterrupted work-from-home time. This step-by-step tutorial with template from The Inspiration Edit is easy enough for even very young crafters to follow.

Race Cars

Start your engines and get ready for some free wheelin' fun with these race cars that really roll courtesy of their bottle top wheels! Make several in all different colors, experiment with different design additions, craft a ramp, and let them roll to see which model is the fastest. Check out Mama Jenn for a list of supplies and tutorial. 

Superheroes

Your superhero-loving kiddos can create their very own set of Avengers, Justice League, X-Men, Fantastic Four, Teen Titans, or other favorite dream team to take on the bad guys and save the world! Check out Sophie's World for a step-by-step tutorial complete with templates to make Superman, Batman, Spider Man, and Wonder Woman. nvinciblexie on YouTube has a whole series of (a bit more complicated) superhero TP Roll project ideas. If only there was a real-life virus-fighting superhero to call upon right now.

Princesses

Photo Courtesy of Mas & Pas

Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Belle, Ariel, Jasmin, Mulan, Tiana . . . customize this princess TP roll tutorial from Mas & Pas to make your favorite princess or a full set for hours of imaginative fairy tale fun! You can make them as simple or ornate as you'd like. If you don't have easy access to tulle for the skirts, substitute tissue paper, cupcake wrappers or scraps of fabric.

Cotton Ball Launcher STEM Activity

Launch into fun and learning with this STEM activity from Science Buddies. These cotton ball launchers are super simple to make and require just a pencil, rubber bands, two TP rolls, duct tape, scissors, hole punch and cotton ball to put together - all of which you likely have lying around the house. 

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Check out these 17 Fun Things to do With Kids at Home for more sanity-saving ideas!

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