Weekend Holiday Project: Glowing Mini House Ornaments Made From Toilet Tubes!

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These mini house ornaments are a fun holiday craft to try with your kids, using items you most likely have around the house, like toilet paper tubes, cupcake papers, and straws (for the tiny chimney)! They’re from my book, Toilet Tube Treasury!

SUPPLIES

  • Toilet paper tubes (paper towel tubes work too, cut down to size)

  • Scissors

  • Gesso (primer; optional, but the paint colors will look more vibrant if you prime the cardboard first)

  • Paintbrush and craft paint in various colors

  • Pencil

  • Craft knife

  • White glue

  • Twine

  • Assorted cupcake papers

  • Double-sided tape

  • Green pipe cleaner

  • Wire cutter or old scissors (to cut pipe cleaner)

  • Paper straw (optional, for chimney)

1. Cut the tube down to the house height you’d like.
2. Prime tubes with gesso; let dry. Paint the tubes with craft paint; let dry.
3. Sketch some tiny windows and a door onto the tube. Grownups only: Poke the tip of your craft knife into the tube and carefully saw them open.
4. Make the roof: cut the cupcake paper in half. Tie a loop of twine for an ornament hanger. Lightly glue the knot of the loop to the backside of the cupcake paper at the center of the flat side. Bring the two corners together to create a cone shape. Glue the ends to overlap and hold them in place for a minute while the glue dries.
5. Make wreaths: wrap the pipe cleaner around the pencil a few times and cut off one or more resulting rings. Glue the wreath onto the house.
6. Glue the roof to the top of the house.
7. Cut a small piece of straw at a diagonal for a chimney. Glue it to the roof.
**One update since I made these several years ago... no more glitter! I have stopped using glitter due to its danger as a polluting microplastic. But I think they’ll look just as cute simply painted in pretty colors!

Make these little houses glow with battery-operated tea lights! Just hot-glue the tea light to one side inside the tube so you can turn them on and off. ⁠
You can use these as a table or mantle decoration as well...just leave off the twine hanger. (Place them on top of the tea lights, no need to glue them in.⁠)⁠

If you are looking for more toilet-tube-y crafts using recycled materials, take a peek at my e-book, Toilet Tube Treasury, which includes printable templates and is available for an instant download here!