Ways to Use a Paper Towel Roll
- When the paper towels are gone, use the roll for a craft project.toilet paper image by martini from Fotolia.com
Paper towel rolls or cores often get thrown away without a second thought after the towels are all used. Keep children busy on rainy days by stocking up on paper towel rolls and having the appropriate supplies on hand to create all kinds of things. In addition to a fun activity, you're also being green by recycling your paper towel rolls versus throwing them in the trash. - Take a paper towel roll and cut it in half to form the two eye holes of the binoculars. Use tape to hold them together and use a hole punch to put holes in the ends. Tie ribbon or string through the holes to make a neck strap. The paper towel rolls can also be decorated with tissue paper, wrapping paper or stickers.
- Make Lincoln's hat out of a paper towel tube. Cut the tube into three smaller tubes and trace one end of the tube on black construction paper. Cut out this piece which is the top of the hat. Draw a larger circle on the black construction paper for the hat's brim. Use glue or tape to attach the pieces to the hat. Attach black paper around the side of the roll and trim to complete the project.
- A rainstick is a traditional Chilean musical instrument. Make your own with a towel tube, cardboard, dried beans, rice or pasta and aluminum foil. Cover one end of your tube with a piece of cardboard to block off the opening. Twist a piece of aluminum foil into a spring shape and insert into the tube. Then pour the dry beans, rice or small pasta into the tube. Cover the other end with a piece of cardboard and finish the project off by decorating the outside.
- Use your paper towel tube to make a model rocket. Decorate the outside as you wish to resemble a rocket. At one end, cut four slits into the end of the tube roughly 2.5 inches long. The slits should be opposite one another. Cut two triangles out of construction paper to serve as the rocket's base. You'll have to cut slits into each triangle before sliding them on to the slits on the paper towel tube. A circle cut out of cardboard that is folded into a cone is used as the top of the rocket.
- The totem pole is a traditional symbolic structure of Native Americans. You can make your own out of a paper towel tube and some imagination. Draw different animal heads on a piece of paper that will be wrapped around the tube. The wings of the totem pole are made out of construction paper and can be glued or taped to the back of the paper towel tube. Use popsicles sticks, glued to the bottom of the paper towel roll, to serve as a base.
- Turn you paper towel roll into a Thanksgiving decoration. Cut your paper towel in half to form two tubes. You'll only need one to make a turkey. Paint the tube dark brown and cut out different colored feathers from construction paper. These are glued to the back of the tube to form a tail. Use pieces of yellow and white construction paper to make a beak and beard. Wiggle eyes from the craft store serve as eyes.
- With a few cuts and decoration, make an octopus out of your paper towel roll. To make the legs, cut strips down the side of the paper towel tube and curl them around a marker towards the top of the tube. Glue on some wiggly eyes from the craft store and decorate with stickers, glitter or construction paper.
