I ran across a website months ago that really piqued my interest. Any craft that repurposes things I already have at home (that usually just get thrown away anyway) is a winner in my book. I mean really — who doesn’t use toilet paper?
So I started saving my empty toilet paper and paper towel rolls. My husband gave me a slightly strange look when I asked him to save them, but he didn’t ask any questions. I guess he’s used to hearing weird requests from me? Anyway, I saved a medium box full because I had no idea how many I would need. Turns out I needed far fewer than I expected (I think I used about ten) so now I have loads left over. Since the one I made was for someone else, I’m thinking about making three or so more to hang in my bedroom since most of the walls are bare right now. (The hazzards of moving into a larger house. You don’t have enough to fill it!)
This is a really easy craft to complete. The main items you need to have is time, patience, and imagination… and a pencil, ruler, tacky glue, spray paint, balsa wood and toilet paper rolls as well, of course. I bought the same tacky glue she used in her tutorial but I had all of the other “ingredients” so this was a very frugal gift idea.
The most boring time consuming part is the measuring and cutting. I kind of got into an easy flow when I started actually putting it together. And it was fun!
I will admit that I did not use balsa wood as a base. Instead I used some extra thick and sturdy cardboard I had laying around and just cut it to size. It seems to work fine.
I love that this kind of took a shape of it’s own. I got some design ideas from the tutorial but mostly just put it together as I went along. It basically made itself. Well, no that’s not technically true. I still had to do all of the work. But you know what I mean. 🙂
And this is the (mostly) finished product. I had to wait a few days for the weather to warm up enough to take it outside to spray paint it.
The spray paint I used is a satin nickel and I must admit I like it better every time I look at it.
Be sure and spray it from every angle. And then go over it again. Even after I was sure there could not be anything I missed, after I let it dry I realized I’d missed a few spots here and there. So just keep that in mind while you’re working.
And there ya go! Easy peasy, right?
I would say this is a fairly easy craft for a person at any level of crafty-ness (I’m sure that’s a word, right?). And since scissors are the sharpest tool used I think it would be a great craft for older children as well. As long as they’re patient.
The great thing about crafts is that they don’t have to be perfect. The imperfections are what make them unique! So go to it — and have fun while you’re at it!
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This post is linked up at:
Happily A Homemaker 