Toilet Paper Roll Pumpkin
Are you in the mood to make an inexpensive fall pumpkin craft? What better project than a toilet paper roll pumpkin?
Today’s project uses toilet paper rolls, yes, toilet paper rolls to create a wrought-iron-look pumpkin.
Any kind of roll will work – toilet paper rolls, paper towel rolls, even some wrapping paper rolls. The consistency of the roll just needs to be fairly thin like a toilet paper roll. If it’s too thick it won’t curl properly, nor lay properly in the design.
Supplies
- Toilet paper rolls – quantity is dependent on the finished size of your project, the width the rolls are cut, and how many times you, meaning me, messed up. 🙂 I used 2 rolls and cut them into approximately 1/2″ widths
- Bark or cork for stem
- Spray paint, black
- Glue
- Scissors
- Canvas and scrapbook paper
Instructions
- Remove any extraneous items from the rolls (ie. Toilet paper that was glued on like it needed to make it through a war) so that they are clean.
- Cut strips, across the width of the roll. Cut more than you think you’ll need!
- You can paint the strips now, or wait until the pumpkin is assembled. I chose to wait.
- Draw a pumpkin design (or use an existing flat pumpkin from your fall décor) as a guide for the pumpkin outline.
- Curl strips using a scissors, similar to how you curl ribbon on a package. Be careful! And since this is a little thicker than ribbon, you can’t just zip through it. Sometimes you just move the scissor blade bit by bit down the strip. Once you have the strip pliable, roll the strip like you would a fruit roll-up. Let it uncoil and play around with it until you get it the way you want.
- Lay down cut strips to form the center ‘flower’. These need no rolling or pliableness training.
- Attach curled strips to the flower to create the outer part of the pumpkin.
- Cut a piece of bark or cork to the size of your pumpkin.
- Once you’ve laid out all the pieces, begin gluing them together, and allow them to dry. Do not attach them to the canvas yet. Just attach the pieces to one another. Once dry, do a once-over to see if there are any areas you may want to touch up.
- Spray paint the finished design, on both sides making sure to cover all of the interior curls.
- Cover the canvas with scrapbook paper (or not if you like the color of it).
- Using regular old Elmer’s glue, dip your finger in it and slide it across the back of the finished pumpkin and adhere it to the canvas.
- Adhere the stem.
Concluding Thoughts on Toilet Paper Roll Pumpkin
What a great way to recycle and reuse something as mundane as a toilet paper roll! How did yours turn out? Drop me a note in the comments. I’d love to hear from you.
Speaking of pumpkins, here is another one of my pumpkin projects:
Toilet Paper Roll Pumpkin
