3 adorable toilet roll animals to make with kids

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You might think that finishing a toilet roll leaves you with a boring cardboard tube to pop in the recycling – but wait! There’s an opportunity for some crafting fun hidden in there. Let us show you how to make three toilet roll animals out of cardboard tubes. We’ll explain what materials you need for owl, dinosaur and butterfly toilet roll craft activities, with a step-by-step guide for each one.

Toilet roll owl 

We’re kicking off with an owl toilet paper roll craft tutorial. This is a popular design to start with, as it’s nice and simple.

Materials for making a toilet roll owl:

• Toilet roll tube
• Coloured paper 
• Glue
• Scissors
• Pens
• Paint and paintbrush (optional)
• Googly eyes (optional)
• Foam (optional)

Now onto the method for this owl toilet paper roll craft:

1. Cover the toilet roll tube with a sheet of coloured paper, or paint it and leave to dry (acrylic paint works best).

   
   

2. Make the owl head shape by pushing the top of the roll inwards, to create two pointed edge ‘ears’ on each side.

   
   

3. Stick on some googly eyes and a piece of yellow card for the beak. You could draw them if you don’t have the materials. 

   
   

4. Stick on some coloured card or foam wings. Feel free to add some feet too!

   
   

5. Decorate its belly however you like. You could try drawing patterns on paper, or adding circles of paper to look like ‘feathers’. 

   
   

Toilet roll butterfly 

A beautiful butterfly is next up in our trio of toilet roll animal crafts – another easy one for all ages to enjoy.

Here’s what you need to make a toilet roll butterfly:

• Toilet roll tube
• Paint and brushes (or coloured paper and glue)
• Card (plain or coloured)
• Pipe cleaners
• Scissors
• Glue
• Pen
• Googly eyes (optional)
• Decorations for the wings: buttons, stickers, sequins, tissue paper, gems, etc.

Here’s how to make this butterfly toilet roll craft:

1. Either paint the toilet roll tube, or stick coloured paper around it. Leave to dry.

   
   

2. Create the wings by folding a piece of card in half and drawing one wing, with the middle of the wing against the folded line. 

   
   

3. Cut out and open up the card to reveal your symmetrical pair of wings. 

   
   

4. Decorate the wings with whatever you like – just bear in mind that the front central section won’t show, as it’ll be stuck to the tube.

   
   

5. Stick the wings onto the back of the toilet roll.

   
   

6. Create the antennae by bending a pipe cleaner into a V shape, and curling the tips around. Stick them to the inside of the top of the tube. 

   
   

7. Create the face by adding googly eyes (or drawing them) and drawing a mouth. You can add stripes or patterns to the tube body, or leave it plain.

   
   

Toilet roll dinosaur 

We’re finishing with a diplodocus dinosaur toilet roll tutorial, which is the most complex of the three. This means it’s most suitable for older kids, but younger ones can get involved with a little help from the grown-ups.

List of materials for a toilet roll dinosaur:

• Toilet roll tube
• Paint and brush
• Pen
• Scissors
• Template (optional)

Follow our diplodocus dinosaur toilet roll craft step-by-step guide: 

1. Flatten your tube and draw the outline of your dinosaur’s profile onto one side. You should have the long neck and head on one side, with the tail on the other (you can find free templates online to make this easier). 

   
   

2. Cut it out.

   
   

3. Unflatten the tube, and then bend down the ‘head’ and the ‘tail’, so that they point towards the floor.

   
   

4. Paint and decorate your dino – green is the typical choice, but you can get creative here with your favourite colours and patterns.

   
   

5. Draw on some eyes, and maybe some ferocious teeth.

   
   

With these three toilet roll animals under your belt you can try your hand at some toilet roll Christmas crafts next, or maybe even some toilet roll origami? Check out our full list of craft ideas for further inspiration.