Paper Roll Mice

Told you I'd be back with another one! This time, I've put together a pair of Christmas mice. Aren't they fun??

Wanna make one?? Or two?

Get your paper rolls ready! Cut them into 1/2 inch strips.

Form one into a circle.

Form another into a teardrop.

Glue the teardrop to the top of the circle.

Make two more circles and glue them on for ears.

Now for the feet. For this step, you're really just trying to make something for the little mouse to stand on. Pinch a couple of tiny mounds into one side of a strip and glue them down. (If you'd like you can make the feet for the second mouse, below.)

Glue the feet to the bottom of the body of the mouse.

Now you need to form the front paws. We did this shape for the paper roll puppy. Invert one of the creases, push it through to the other side and glue it in place.

You can also add a spot of glue to the crease, it you have a stubborn tube.


Place the front paws and glue.

Make a tail by flattening and shaping a strip. Glue down the center.

Attach the tail behind the feet.

I decided that I wanted the ears together, so I just added a spot of glue between them.

And that's it so far. Now it's time to paint him! I decided to make this little guy white.

Just a hint: cheap spray paint is no bargain. It takes too many coats to cover. Plus, this is paper, and you're really just wetting it down when you paint it, so less is more.

Remember the detached face we made for the paper roll Easter bunny? Well it's time to do that again. Just glue two 5mm black poms to a 1/2" pink pom.

When he's dry, glue the poms to his nose and dress him up with a few embellishments.

Now for the second mouse. Same basic principle, just a little different assembly.

These feet are less complicated than the first mouse. Start by offsetting one of the creases.

Glue the center down.

Glue the feet to the bottom of the mouse body and shape as needed.


Make another set of paws, but this time, place it inside the mouse body.

With that, she's looking pretty good, ready for a coat of paint!

I decided to paint her black. After she dried, a few embellishments were in order.

And now you have two sweet little paper roll mice, ready to share the holiday celebration with you!

I'd love to see yours!

Any ideas for other poses?


Recycle and cheer, all at one time!

Let me know how it goes for you!

Thanks for visiting! And be sure to check out the endless list of inspirational ideas at my home page childmade.com.

I'll be linking to some of the fabulous link parties listed on the right sidebar ... but really, that's a LOT of parties! I probably won't get to them all, but you should stop in and visit a few yourself. While you're at it, stop by my home page and add a few links there too!

Paper Roll Turkey

GOBBLE, GOBBLE!
Yes, I'm afraid I've been at it again. I can't really explain the appeal.

I mean, I don't believe I spend anymore time in the "supply room" than anyone else, if you get my drift. I just can't help it! Certainly part of it is because it's uber cheap. Part of it is because it's a trash-to-treasure project. I don't know....

... but I just can't stay away.
Okay, here we go. You know the routine -- cut your tubes into 1/2 inch strips. This time, you'll want to paint them mixed fall colors.
I used red, orange, and brown. It's what I had. It works.
Shape one strip into a circle. Arrange a variety of colored strips around it. You'll want to leave a gap on one section. I used 9 strips and it seemed to fit well.

Glue the strips together and to the circle. I found it easy to glue the strips to each other first, then to the circle. They seem to just fan out nicely and arrange well for easy attachment to the center.

Now for the feet. We did this same shape for the paper roll puppy. First, invert one of the folds and place a small drop of glue in the crease. Push the fold to the other side and glue the fold to the center of the opposite side.

Add a crease to the outer edges of the loops created.

Flatten out the edge between the corners.


Glue the feet into the gap left between the feathers on the body. The feet will need to set flat so you might need to adjust your feathers slightly.

Next you'll want to shape the head and neck. It's basically just a figure eight, or a two-part snowman.

Glue the neck onto the bottom of the body just above the feet.

This is an awkward step. I haven't layered my projects before and this is the reason. It's really difficult to glue the "edge" of one piece onto the edge of another. So I have a suggestion for you. When you're cutting you're strips, leave two strips not completely separated, maybe with a 1/2 inch section uncut. Then you can simply shape the two pieces as needed while already connected to each other.

From a piece of red felt, cut a long wattle. What's a wattle, you say? It's that red thing on a turkey that hangs from the side of it's nose. There's a little trivia for you to take to work/school!

It's time to assemble a face. There's no real scientific method to this. I used a little yellow felt and two tiny black poms for eyes, then glued them all together with the wattle hanging down the side.


Glue the face to the paper roll turkey. Since there really isn't a place on the head to glue the face, I had to get a little creative. I just glued the wattle to the edge and the face is sort of just floating. It's surprisingly stable.

And that's all there is to it!

Care to give it a try?

What would Thanksgiving be without a turkey?


I'd love to see yours. You know you want to try it!

Thanks for visiting! Be sure to check back because I have 2 more paper roll tutorials coming up shortly that I think you'll really like for the Christmas holidays!

And be sure to check out the endless list of inspirational ideas at my home page childmade.com.



I'll be linking to some of the fabulous link parties listed on the right sidebar ... but really, that's a LOT of parties! I probably won't get to them all, but you should stop in and visit a few yourself. While you're at it, stop by my home page and add a few links there too!