Toilet Tube Stamp Art

Free and Easy Crafts for Kids

• What: Toilet tube stamp art
• When: 18 months and up
• Why: Easy, affordable, recyclable
• Where: At home

Whether you want to reinforce shapes for younger kids or provide novel art supplies for older kids, all without spending a dime, this easy craft project using toilet tube rolls works for a variety of ages and stages.

All you need to get started is an empty toilet paper tube, some paper, paint, and containers big enough to fit the end of the tube.

Put the paint into the containers. You can use any type of paint, though watercolor doesn’t work as well as other thicker paints. Make sure the tubes will fit into the container. Then simply have kids dip the ends into the paint. You may need to spin the tube around to get the entire end covered in color. Then stamp the ends onto paper. One toilet tube can do multiple colors, or you can use different tubes for each color to avoid mixing.

This simple decoration works great for homemade cards, wrapping paper, or even just for entertainment. Once kids finish, you can recycle the tubes as usual and rinse out the containers, and you’re all set. No brushes to clean, and next time they want to try it, grab more empty tubes. Paper towel tubes can work, too. I find them a little long for small hands, but you can easily cut them in half. Don’t have a lot of empty tubes on hand? Even empty toilet paper tubes can be cut into smaller pieces so you have a circle stamp for each color.

If you want to go one step further, kids can cut out bits of the toilet tube by flattening it, then trimming shapes from the inside. This symmetry practice can result in some interesting shapes and patterns. Kids can then dip the long side into the paint, and the cutouts will remain unpainted, so they get different shapes and patterns, as well as practice with negative spaces in art work.