Just because an item has done its duty doesn't mean it's trash! These genius ways to reuse your refuse will save you big money. Check Out This Mom's Evil Plan to Get Her Daughter to Clean Her Room 10 Genius Trash-to-Treasure DIY Organization Ideas 8 Surprising Ways to Use Club Soda 10 Funny Ways to Deal With Your Household Dilemmas Please Don't Sit On My Bed In Your Outside Clothes 11 Gross Things We All Do at Home — But Won't Admit 10 Things You Can Clean Once and Then Forget About for a Year 20 Organizing Tricks That Are Guaranteed to Improve Your Home You Might Be Buying Counterfeit Laundry Detergent 11 Genius Ways to Declutter With Trays May 3, 2013 with Craft Projects , Crafts , Parties , Projects Here is a fun way to add a festive garland to a party that also adds some cool lighting when the sun goes down, Polka Dot Paper Lanterns. Even better, these will cost almost nothing to make because you use empty toilet paper rolls!

I painted the rolls white and then lined them with some tissue paper I had saved with my wrapping papers. The colors of the tissue paper really pop against the white. When they are lit up dots of colored light shine through the tissue. I have to say, it made me a little giddy the first time I plugged these in a dark room. Polka Dot Paper Lanterns empty toilet paper rolls acrylic or spray paint (optional) glue, school or tacky glue 1. Using the exacto knife, cut the toilet paper tubes in half, to make approximately 2″ tubes. 2. If you are going to paint your tubes, do it now. 3. Punch holes all over the tube. For fun I used two different size hole punches. 4. Cut a piece of tissue paper the height of the tube, approx 2″ and long enough to go around the inside of the tube. 5. Put glue on the inside of the tube, making sure to especially get the top and bottom. Glue the tissue paper inside the tube with the color facing out through the holes.

Do them all in one color or mix it up like I did. 6. Put a small hole in on either side of the tube about 1/8″ – 1/4″ from the top of the tube. A straight pin does this easily. 7. Cut a length of floral wire about 5″. Wrap it around the bottom of a bulb on your Christmas lights. Put the ends through the holes you created in step 6 from the inside out. Center the bulb inside the lantern and bend the ends of the wire in to secure it. Hang and create a fairy land. *A note about the lights I used. I experimented with some different Christmas lights for these. At first I used the newer led lights which have a small bulb. The bulb is so small on those it doesn’t light up the whole lantern as well as I would have liked. I switch to the more traditional lights with the longer bulb and you can see how nicely it lights the whole thing. Just make sure you are using modern lights that don’t heat up. 3 years ago by Kat in Craft Projects , Crafts , Parties , Projects |

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.Green minded families may look over the recycling bin and see one of the most simple of craft supplies; the toilet paper roll. It is also one of the most plentiful. Whether you create a garage of Grand Prix toilet paper roll race cars or a tangle of octopus, a project that reuses empty toilet paper rolls reduces the clutter in your home. Make a set of binoculars from two toilet paper rolls. Outdoor Furniture Repair OkcPaint each roll with tempera or acrylic paints and let them dry.Fuel Cell Vacuum Cleaner Glue the two rolls together with strong craft glue. Car Tire Pump AmazonWhen the glue is dry, punch a hole in each side near the top of the binoculars and tie a length of yarn or string from one side to the other so that the binoculars will fit comfortably over a child's head.

Paint the toilet paper roll any colour you choose. Flatten it, and then use scissors to cut up from the bottom of one the creases - stopping halfway. Make the same cut on the other side. You will be left with two flaps. Pick up and pinch open the roll to renew the cylinder shape. Make three evenly spaced cuts for the octopus legs. Cut straight up, again stopping at the halfway point. Fan out the "legs." Wind each cardboard leg around a pencil to curl it slightly upward. Glue on wiggle eyes (movable plastic eyes found in craft stores) and draw a mouth beneath them. Use some paper dots from the catch tray in your hole puncher to glue some suckers under each leg. Paint a toilet paper tube with acrylic paint to give a glossy effect for the finish of a toilet paper roll race car. Cut a 5cm long and 2cm wide oval, slightly forward of the centre of the tube, for a cockpit. Cut four 2cm circles from black craft paper, and attach the paper "tires" to the race car with brass fasteners (found where office supplies are sold).

Push the fasteners through the centres of each paper tire, and then push them through the race cars where the wheels belong and open both sides of each fastener to secure. Add number stickers and race-car-inspired touches like lightning bolts and racing stripes to the race cars. Old toilet paper roles can be used to make a beautiful sunflower craft. To create the stem of your sunflower, cut a piece of green craft paper the right size to cover the toilet paper roll and secure it with tape. Create the petals of the sunflower by tracing your child's handprints onto yellow craft paper. Repeat this until you have six sets of handprints and cut them out. Then arrange these handprints in a circle (fingers out), on a paper plate, and secure them with tape. Glue a small amount of the sunflower seeds in the middle of your flower, and tape the sunflower to the toilet paper roll stem. Create an amazing craft rocket out of a toilet paper roll. Completely cover a toilet paper tube with craft paper in a colour of your choice, and secure in place with glue.