How to Make a Butterfly out of a TP Roll

Empty toilet paper rolls serve as eco-friendly craft materials.

Recycled crafts pull materials from unexpected places in your home, making use of items you would normally throw away or toss into the recycling bin. Teach your kids about the importance of reusing items with a butterfly toilet paper roll craft activity. The cylindrical shape of the empty TP roll is the perfect material to make a butterfly's body.

Things You'll Need

• Empty toilet paper roll
• Construction paper
• Pencil
• Scissors
• Markers
• Pipe cleaner
• Masking tape
• Acrylic craft paint
• Paintbrush

Instructions

1. Lay an empty toilet paper roll on its side over a sheet of construction paper and trace it with a pencil.

2. Set the toilet paper roll aside and draw wings on either side of the traced rectangle. Draw the wings so that at least 2 inches of each connects to the rectangle.

3. Cut out the wings with scissors, ignore the traced rectangle and leave a 2-inch strip between the wings to connect them as one solid piece.

4. Cut a slit halfway down the side of the toilet paper roll with scissors. Do not cut all the way to the end.

5. Cut an identical slit exactly opposite to the first slit.

6. Decorate the paper wings with markers to add colorful designs to the butterfly.

7. Slide the 2-inch connecting strip between the wings into the slits in the toilet paper roll so a wing sticks out on either side.

8. Cut a pipe cleaner in half with scissors and tape one to either side of the top end of the butterfly, where the slits are cut.

9. Wrap the top of the butterfly with a strip of masking tape to smooth where the pipe cleaners attach and close the slits.

10. Paint the toilet paper roll with acrylic craft paint and a paintbrush. Add a face with a different color of paint. Allow the paint to dry completely.

11. Curl the ends of the pipe cleaner with your fingers to create antennae.