Spooky String Lights – Your New Fave Toilet Paper Roll Halloween Craft

Toilet paper roll crafts never get old.  Sure, they are probably meant for kindergartners but this lady happens to love them for a lot of crafty reasons.  I’m adding making my own DIY spooky string lights to the top of that list.  Brace yourself because this toilet paper roll Halloween craft might be your new favorite project too!

Toilet Paper Roll Halloween Craft Ideas – String Lights!

First of all toilet paper rolls (and paper towel rolls) are cheap and if your house is like mine they are already hanging around waiting for a new lease on life.  Who am I to deny the cardboard roll that longs for something more like a paint job and decoupage.  Just call me the toilet paper roll Halloween craft whisperer.

Not just spooky DIY Halloween string lights, toilet paper crafts have a lot of possibilities.

Even more DIY ideas for using toilet paper roll

DIY Menorah – Sure, wrong holiday but wouldn’t these toilet paper roll candles look spooky in black.

Robot Wrapping Paper – When the gift wrap is almost as fun as the toy inside!

Snake Piñata – Nothing I love more than a single serve piñata and these cuties made from tubies fit the bill.

Really, what can’t you use these things for?  I can barely make myself throw them out with the recycling because the craft supply hoarder in me knows something will come up and I will wish I had a gazillion rolls handy!

OK, but let’s get back to those DIY Halloween string lights I was talking about.

Supplies for Making DIY Toilet Paper Roll Halloween String Lights

• Toilet paper rolls (or paper towels)
• Decorative Halloween napkins
• Decoupage medium
• Scissors
• Pen
• Paint
• Paint brush
• Ready made string lights
• Hot glue and hot glue gun
• Pompoms (because everything is better with pompoms including toilet paper Halloween crafts)

If you can’t find Halloween napkins tissue paper or decorative Kleenex will also work.  You just want something thin enough that the light can shine through.

Step 1 – Paint the Toilet Paper Rolls

Brown toilet paper rolls are too familiar and will remind you of well, the toilet.  Nobody wants that.  Instead using craft paint make them orange or some other fun color that will match your tissue or napkins.  Allow to dry completely.

Step 2 – Cut the Toilet Paper Rolls in Half

Once the paint is dry cut the toilet paper rolls in half.  If you are using a paper towel tube this might mean into 3 or 4 pieces.  Some of this will depend on the size of your string light.

Step 3 – Measure the Parts You Want For the String Lights

Use one of the ends of the cut toilet paper roll to line up the designs on your napkins.  Trace with a pen or pencil.

Step 4 – Cut out Images

Cut out enough images so that you can cover both sides of the cut toilet paper roll.  In other words each light needs one piece of tube and 2 pieces of napkin.

Not just for Halloween check out these ridiculously cute and easy DIY string lights – yet another spin on this toilet paper craft.

Step 5 – Decoupage Napkins to Tubes

Using decoupage medium attach paper to one end of the toilet paper rolls.

Step 6 – Cut a Slit in the Toilet Paper Tube

Using scissors cut a slit in the tube just wide enough to put the string light cording through and into the tube.

Don’t have any toilet paper rolls?  Don’t worry!  Make these DIY marbled paper mache ring dishes using toilet paper and you will have some spent spools when you are done.

Step 7 – Insert the String Light into the Tube 

If the light covers that come with the string lights are too big remove them and just use the actual lights.  Add a small amount of hot glue to hold the light in place.

Step 8 – Close Up the Other End of Tube

Using another circle of Halloween napkin and more decoupage medium to cover the other end of the toilet paper roll.  Allow to dry completely.

Hooray for Toilet Paper Roll Crafts!

I of course embellished my DIY string lights with pompoms, because well – pompoms.  This also helps cover up the slit on the top.

Remember, Santa will be here before you know it!  Try this Christmas version of the string lights over on DIY Network.

String em up, light em up and bask in the spooky Halloween toilet paper craft glow!

Posted October 11, 2018 & filed under Crafts, Halloween, Holidays, Paper Crafts.