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Paper Roll Jack-O-Lanterns

Oct 25, 201219,182 views
Crafts
Halloween Crafts using Toilet Paper Rolls Save
halloween activities for kids Save
Paper Roll Jack-O-Lanterns Save
halloween craft Save
Paper Roll Jack-O-Lanterns Save
Jacko lantern designs Save

by TurkeyMom in Crafts

Ages3–7 yrs
Prep20 min
Activity30 min
Leveleasy
MessLow
Works for1:1 · Small group · Class

Cut spooky jack-o-lantern faces into toilet paper rolls, add cotton-ball hair or coffee-filter head pieces and red 'glowing' eyes, then light them from inside with mini LED lights. A simple, frugal upcycled Halloween craft.

⚠️ Safety first

  • Use battery-operated LED lights only. Never put a real candle inside a paper roll.
  • LED tea lights often contain button batteries, which are very dangerous if swallowed. Check that battery covers are secure and supervise young children.
  • Cotton balls and small paper pieces can be a choking hazard for kids who still mouth things. Supervise closely.
  • An adult should cut the face holes in the cardboard rolls or closely supervise scissor use.
  • Hanging lanterns use thread. Hang them out of reach of young children and never leave thread around their necks.

Before the kids arrive

  • Collect empty toilet paper rolls.
  • Optionally, an adult cuts the eyes, nose and mouth into the rolls ahead of time for younger kids.
  • Check that the LED lights work and the battery covers are secure.

Steps

  1. Cut a jack-o-lantern face (eyes, nose and mouth) into a paper roll.

  2. Pull apart cotton balls and glue them on top of the roll for hair.

  3. Or fan out a coffee filter and glue it on as a head piece.

  4. Cut small squares of red paper.

  5. Glue the red paper inside the roll behind the eyes for scary glowing red eyes.

  6. For a hanging lantern, punch holes on both sides near the top and run a thread through.

  7. Trace the roll's width onto thick paper, cut out the circle and glue it to the bottom to hold the light in.

  8. Switch on an LED light and put it inside the lantern.

  9. Turn off the room lights and enjoy your spooky jack-o-lanterns!

Tips

  • The only real work is cutting out the facial features. That's pretty much all there is to it. Simple right?from the author
  • If simple is not enough, jazz things up a bit with what you have on hand.from the author
  • Attach the red paper from the inside to create a glowing effect.from the author
  • Kids get a huge sense of accomplishment seeing their work, and paper roll crafts are so frugal.from the author
  • Readers loved how amazing they look all lit up.from readers

Make it your own

  • Keep it simple: just cut the faces and light them up.
  • Make hanging lanterns with a thread handle and a paper bottom.
  • Mix head pieces: cotton-ball hair on some, coffee-filter heads on others.
  • Line up a whole row of lanterns for a spooky display.

The story behind it

By TurkeyMom · October 2012
Halloween Crafts using Toilet Paper Rolls
Halloween crafts using paper rolls are all over Pinterest, and there is a good reason: they are so simple for kids. Today we made paper roll Jack-O-Lanterns.
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Paper Roll Jack-O-Lanterns: the original post

Halloween crafts using paper rolls are all over Pinterest. There is a good reason though- they are so simple for kids and the children get a huge sense of accomplishment to see their work. Another reason is ofcourse is that kids crafts using paper rolls are so frugal. Today we share one more simple Halloween craft for kids using the same material. We made Jack-0-lanterns, paper roll Jack-O-Lanterns. A Jack-O-Lantern is typically a carved pumpkin where the top is cut , the flesh is then scooped out; an image, usually a frightful face is carved, and is then lit from within by a candle and the top replaced. With kids, we took a more kid-friendly approach and had fun with making these paper roll lanterns.

  • Paper rolls
  • Cotton
  • Coffee filters
  • Glue
  • Red wax paper
  • Scissors
  • Mini LED lights

Halloween craft: Paper roll Jack-O-Lanterns

The only real work here is to cut out facial features, Jack-o-lantern designs and that’s pretty much all there is to this Halloween craft. Simple right? If simple is not enough, like us, you can jazz things up a bit with what you have on hand. Big S needs all figures to be complete - she expects a head, hair eyes, nose, ears and all the peripherals intact ! Since we were making only a monstrous face, she decided to stick with just creating a head and red scary eyes .

Cotton balls and coffee filters

To give our paper roll Halloween craft a visual appeal, Big S wanted a head for them. So we chose to make some head piece with coffee filters and cotton balls to make hair.

halloween craft

halloween crafts

Red tissue paper

To create a red-eyed-scary effect, we used red paper to mask the eyes. Attach it from the inside to create a glowing effect.

Hanging Lanterns

To create a few hanging lanterns , we punched holes on the sides and ran a thread through it. Big S traced width of the roll onto a thick paper; cut and attached it on to the bottom of the roll, to hold the LED lights in.

Jacko lantern designs Once you are ready, keep the LED’s on the inside to create the illumination.

halloween activities for kids Are you ready for a fun season of Halloween Crafts?

Stick around and check out all our Halloween Crafts on our category page

Happy Halloween All !

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What readers say

💬 4 comments

🎉 Worked for us

Looks amazing all lit up

A reader who had never thought of using toilet paper rolls loved how the finished lanterns look once they glow.

“I had never thought to use toilet paper rolls, but they look amazing - especially all lit up”
Beth, Oct 2012

🎉 Worked for us

Easy for preschoolers

A reader called it a creative and easy activity for preschool-aged kids.

“Very creative and easy to do activity for preschoolers.”
Priya, Oct 2012

🎉 Worked for us

A go-to TP roll craft

A parent who is always hunting for toilet paper roll crafts found this one very cute.

“Very very cute. We are always looking for TP roll crafts.”
Julie, Oct 2012

Tried it?

Reviewed before it appears. No links, and please no children's names.

Read all 4 comments

  1. Julie · Oct 2012

    Very very cute. We are always looking for TP roll crafts. I would love for you to add this to my weekly Mom's Library Link-Up. Thanks and be blessed, Julie

  2. Beth · Oct 2012

    What a CLEVER idea!! I had never thought to use toilet paper rolls, but they look amazing - especially all lit up =-) Thanks for linking up to TGIF! Have a GREAT weekend, Beth =-)

  3. Priya · Oct 2012

    Very creative and easy to do activity for preschoolers.

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