Recycling household items into craft projects for the kids is one of the best ways to reduce waste while keeping them happy, creating and entertained. This little twinkling village made from paper rolls and only a few other items is the perfect example of how something so simple can become so much more, encouraging creativity and imaginative play for our children.
Whether it is a little set that is decorated in the Christmas theme for some fun Christmas craft like this one, or perhaps a fairy or knights theme, your kids will spend hours with this little village.
What you will need
- Paper rolls
- Scissors
- Hot Glue Gun / Glue Stick
- Coloured markers
- White paint
- Colour card
- Yellow paper
- Decorative items
Step 1
Cut the paper rolls in half horizontally. You can cut them up to different sizes so that some are shorter and others are taller.
Step 2
Paint the paper rolls white (or whatever colour you would like the houses to be).
NOTE: This may take a few coats to get the desired cover you are after. The above image is after three coats of white paint.
Step 3
Mark out with a pencil a couple of small squares on each roll, indicating where you would like some windows to be. With a Stanley knife (or scissors) cut out the squares on each one.
NOTE: I actually cut out the two side and bottom of each square and then just folded it up inside the roll so that I didn’t need to cut the whole thing out. This works fine and doesn’t affect the end look / result.
Step 4
Cut out two small squares from the yellow paper, making sure they will cover the holes. With a pen, go around the outside of each square and do a cross through the middle (like windows). Cut out a small rectangle from the coloured card and also go around the outside with a similar coloured pen. Add a small black dot for a handle.
Step 5
Glue the two square windows over the holes you have cut out on the toilet roll. Also glue on the door (as per image above).
Step 6
This step is creating the roof cone for the house. To do this, cut a circle with an 10cm diameter out of coloured card (I like to use the same colour as the door). Cut a line in the middle of it to the centre point. You should then be able to curl the paper around to form a cone. Secure together with glue.
Step 7
Using the hot glue gun, secure the roof onto the house.
Step 8
To get the windows to glow, simply pop a battery-operated led light candle underneath. The ones you buy from Kmart are the perfect fit!
Step 9
Once you have completed one house, you can then continue on and create others using the other sections of paper roll you have painted. You can make trees out of green card the same way you have made the roofs, by cutting out circles (different sizes to make different heights) and then curling them in more so that they are thinner than the roofs. Decorate the houses and trees however you like and voila! – your twinkling village is complete.
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