We live in the southeast, so it’s rare that we get to make an actual snowman. (Although it has happened!) But matter what the weather is like, snowmen are an icon of winter and the Christmas season. So if you can’t make one outside (and […]
Do you ever use store-bought pasta sauce? How about salsa? Jelly? Olives? Pickles? Applesauce? If so, I bet you’re throwing away all those jar lids when you and your kids could be making a cute winter snowman out of them. After reading this post, you’ll […]
Toilet paper rolls: We all have them. We’re constantly getting more of them.
You might as well put them to good use, right?
Here are 12 fun and easy crafts using toilet paper rolls that are perfect for toddlers and preschoolers, either at home or in the classroom.
Some of them are as easy as printing, cutting out, and gluing on templates. Others involve things like coloring, painting, or gluing on googly eyes or pipe cleaners.
By the way, some people are grossed out by using toilet paper rolls for crafts, and in fact some preschools don’t even allow it, for sanitary reasons.
If for whatever reason you don’t want to use a bona fide TP roll, then you can buy a pack of craft tubes for making any of the these projects.
Have fun!
This little black cat is super-easy to make. Just print the templates out using colored cardstock, then cut out the pieces and glue them on.
We made a black cat, but of course you can make your kitty look however you want.
Attract some feather friends (and maybe some squirrels?) to your yard with this DIY bird feeder.
We made ours with peanut butter, but non-nut butter alternatives are also available in the instructions.
Here's an easy hanging Halloween decoration for your home, classroom, front porch, or even the trees in your front yard on Halloween night.
We painted our rolls white, but you could also wrap them in white cardstock if you prefer.
Learning or reading about panda bears with your kids? Why not make a simple panda bear as well?
Like the cat above, all you need to do is print out the free templates on colored cardstock, cut them out, and glue them on.
This cute turkey with colorful feathers and googly eyes makes a nice centerpiece or side table decoration.
Here's a fun and easy summer beach craft for preschoolers.
The legs are made of red pipe cleaners and toothpicks are used to make the crab's eyes stick up out of their head. I love it!
This is the only craft in this post that is horizontal, not vertical -- and it's also the only one made from a paper towel roll, as opposed to a toilet paper roll. Pinking shears are used to make the alligator's teeth.
This is a good craft for kids who enjoy painting and coloring.
Simply paint the tube black, color the free templates, and then glue them on.
This bee -- complete with googly eyes -- makes a nice springtime craft.
This is another great craft for spring or summer.
The great thing about these butterflies is that there are a ton of ways to be creative with the wings, using different color combinations and even patterned paper.
Got 4 toilet paper rolls?
If so, you can make three pigs and a wolf and have toddlers create their own characters and re-tell this familiar tale.
This unicorn craft is made with rainbow yarn, pink paint, and gold glitter glue.
It's a great activity to make at the home, a fantastic unicorn preschool activity and a great idea for a unicorn party.
Related Post:
This snowflake sensory is both beautiful and easy to make — plus it kind of doubles as DIY winter home decor. So what’s a sensory bottle? If you’re not familiar with sensory bottles (also known as discovery bottles or calm down jars), they’re basically […]
This is an easy Christmas craft that perschoolers could do (probably with a little assistance), but that looks nice enough that it doesn’t scream “a little kid made this!” It can obviously be used as a tree ornament … but you can also skip the […]
This dinosaur string art is a unique craft that has the benefit of teaching your kid the real-life skill of hammering (depending on their age.)
If you’ve never done string art before, this post has everything you need to know to get started. Not only that, but I’ve included some tips about string art in general so that you can continue making more projects on your own.
Now I don’t pretend to be a string art expert, but I did a little research to find the answers to common questions which may come in handy, especially if you want to continue doing more string art, and/or if you want to customize this project a little.
The website Nevaska.ca had some good tips about choosing your wood:
(What’s not a softwood, you may ask? Oak, maple and walnut are all hardwoods.)
I’ll also add that, if you’re considering your string art to be something you can set on a bookshelf, you’ll want to choose a thicker, more “chunky” piece of wood so that the finished project can stand up.
No, and you’ll see why when you scroll down and see the process photos. Nail guns are too big to get the nails as close together as they need to be.
A ball of cheap crochet yarn works just fine.
The Creative Folk says you can also use cotton embroidery flossif you want a thinner, more delicate look.
(NOTE: I included the link so you can see what it looks like, but do not buy it from Amazon because it is way overpriced. You could get that amount of DMC floss for under $5 at Michael’s.)
Other recommended strings include:
Of course, you can always save yourself the trouble of finding the right piece of wood and painting it — and just buy a string art kit instead. (Or, ideally, you can both!)
There are some really cute ones out there. Most, if not all, of these kits include 3 different canvases.
Craft-tastic – String Art Kit – Bird Edition
Craft-Tastic – String Art Kit – Peace Sign EditionCraft-tastic – String Art Kit – Unicorn EditionCraft-tastic – String Art Kit – Owl Edition
Okay … now that you’re officially a string art wizard, let’s go ahead and make this dinosaur!
First of all, you’re going to need the stegosaurs dinosaur template. (Unless, of course, you just want to draw your own freehand dinosaur, which is always an option.)
You can find the template (and a lot of other cool things, I might add) in my free printables library.)
If you don’t already have the super-secret password to access the library, just fill out the form below and I’ll send it to you within minutes:
(we used 86 nails to make our dinosaur, but your mileage may vary)
Now you’ve got a cool dinosaur you can give as a gift, display on a table or hang on your wall.
If you haven’t already discovered Command Picture Hanging Velcro Strips, I suggest you check them. It’s an easy way to hang art projects, and they won’t damage your wall.
When you’re going around the spikes on the back of the dinosaur, make you’re placing the nails close enough together to outline the shape of the spike; otherwise the shape of the spikes will be distorted.
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Whether you love the spooky, scary side of Halloween, the dressing up in costumes, or just the candy, you can get into the spirit of the season with these word searches. I made 3 word searches, with two of them being fairly easy and the […]
Penguins are sooo cute. I remember when our family went to the Gatlinburg Aquarium years ago, the penguin exhibit was our favorite part. Here are two penguin coloring pages, plus one with a penguicorn (penguin unicorn). I’ve also included some penguin books and […]
Here are 5 printable Christmas tree templates for can be used for all kinds of art projects.
What kinds of art projects, you might ask?
Well for starters, you could do something as simple as print out one of more of the templates, set them down on the table with a box of crayons, and let your kids decorate the trees.
Or you could cut them out on green construction paper or cardstock, then set up a little craft station with things like:
But you don’t have to stop there. (Although you certainly can if you want to.)
There are also tons of crafts you can make using these Christmas tree templates. Here are just a few to get your imagination going:
You know I always love to pair a craft, coloring page — or really anything! — with a great kids’ book.
Here a few highly-rated picture books with a Christmas tree theme.
Pick a Pine Tree
Why Christmas Trees Aren’t PerfectThe Biggest Christmas Tree EverMr. Willowby’s Christmas TreeTomie dePaola’s Christmas Tree BookThe Littlest Christmas Tree
Here are 6 different gingerbread man templates (well, actually 5 gingerbread men and 1 gingerbread woman) that you can use for all kinds of activities. The beauty of templates is that you can create activities that are as simple or as complex as you […]
