These paper roll stamped spiders are such a fun way to use up those empty toilet paper rolls that have been cluttering up your craft cupboard! Not only are they totally adorable, but they’re also quick to make and easy enough for younger kids.
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Do your kids like to collect recycled materials for crafts? If you have more toilet paper rolls than you know what to do with, you’ll love this cute and simple Halloween craft.
These adorable paper roll stamp spiders are both fun and easy to make, and they don’t require any fancy supplies. Save this project for an October afternoon where your kiddos are looking for something to do!
Why You’ll Love This Craft
- Easy to make: This craft requires minimal adult intervention—older kids should be able to do it all on their own, while younger kids will only need help creating the paper roll stamps.
- Simple supplies: You probably already have everything you need to make this craft at home, and if you don’t, it won’t cost you much to buy. This project is the perfect way to use up some of those cardboard rolls you’ve been saving for crafts.
- Cute and fun: This craft was lots of fun to make, and how adorable did those spiders turn out?! We’ll definitely be saving this one to make again in the future.
Looking for more simple crafts to make using toilet paper rolls? Try these Paper Roll Heart Stamps, this Paper Roll Stamped Tulip Card, this Toilet Paper Roll Turkey or this Paper Roll Advent Calendar.
Required Supplies
- Toilet paper roll: You can also use a paper towel roll, but not the cardboard tube from plastic wrap, parchment paper or aluminium paper, as those tend to be thicker and more difficult to cut.
- Scissors: Make sure they’re sturdy enough to cut through the cardboard from your toilet paper roll. (Plastic safety scissors won’t work for this.)
- Paint: Washable kids’ paint and acrylic paint are both fine, though you may want to stick with washable paint if you are doing this craft with younger kids. I used black, but feel free to get creative and try other colors.
- Paint palette: You’ll need a paint palette with a large flat surface. If you don’t have one, you can also use a paper, plastic or ceramic plate. (I like plastic and ceramic because they can be washed and reused.)
- Cardstock or paper: Either is fine. I prefer cardstock because regular paper tends to get wavy when painted, but since the only paint you’ll be adding is the spider stamps, you don’t need to worry about soaking and tearing the paper. I used white, but a colored background could be nice too.
- Marker: I used a black washable fine tip marker. Fine tips work better than broad tips for this project because you don’t want the spider’s silk to look too thick. You can also use a black pen or colored pencil if you don’t have a marker handy.
- Googly eyes: The ones I used were 7-8 mm, but slightly smaller or slightly larger should work as well. (I bought a large googly eye set with multiple sizes.) Just make sure you’re able to fit two eyes inside the round spider’s body.
- Liquid glue: I used white school glue. Liquid glue is best because you’ll be using it to glue the googly eyes, but a glue stick can work in a pinch as long as you use enough. You can skip this if your googly eyes have a self-adhesive backing.
The full supply list and instructions can be found in the how-to card.
How to Make Paper Roll Stamp Spiders (Step-by-Step)
Step 1: Create paper roll stamp. On the same end of a toilet paper roll, use scissors to make two cuts, one across from the other, about 1.5 inches in length. Make two more cuts on both the right and left sides of each of the initial cuts (for a total of 8 more cuts). Gently bend the cut cardboard outward to create four spider legs on either side of the paper roll, then cut off the excess cardboard in between the two sets of legs.
Step 2: Stamp spiders. Pour a generous amount of black paint onto a paint palette or plate, then dip your paper roll stamp into the paint, pressing down multiple times and readjusting the position of the stamp as needed to ensure that every part of it is covered with paint. Before the paint has a chance to dry, press the stamp onto the sheet of cardstock and remove it to reveal the imprint of a spider’s body and legs. If desired, repeat to create a second spider.
Step 3: Draw spider silk. Use a marker to draw a line between the spider’s body and the top of the sheet of cardstock. (If you want it to be very straight, wait for the paint to dry and use a ruler.)
Step 4: Add googly eyes. Grab two googly eyes and add a bit of liquid glue to the back (or peel off the back if they’re self-adhesive). Place the two googly eyes at the top of the spider’s body to create a face.
This project was super simple, but it turned out so cute! My kids are always really excited when they get to use toilet paper rolls for crafts, and they had a lot of fun with this one.
Helpful Tips
- Make even cuts: When creating your stamp, make sure that the cuts you make are all the same length (about 1.5 inches). If they aren’t, you’ll have trouble covering the whole stamp with paint and getting every part of it to come into contact with the cardstock.
- Fully cover the stamp with paint: For best results, you’ll need to make sure that every part of the stamp is covered with paint. You can do this by pressing it down multiple times, adjusting its position as needed, and by lightly pressing down on the spider’s legs with your fingers to ensure they are covered.
- Use different-sized googly eyes: This is optional, but I used two different-sized googly eyes for each spider (one 7 mm and one 8 mm) because I thought it looked cuter.
- Don’t be afraid to get creative: I kept the craft pretty basic, but you don’t have to—feel free to experiment with colored spiders and backgrounds, use colorful googly eyes, or to add extra details like spiderwebs.
- Keep and reuse your stamp: Not only can you use your spider stamp to create multiple spiders, but you can also let the paint dry and save it for another day.
More Spider Activities for Kids
If you have tried this Paper Roll Stamp Spider Craft or any other project on my website, please let me know how it went in the comments below. I can’t wait to hear from you!
Paper Roll Stamp Spiders
Ingredients
- 1 toilet paper roll
- 1 pair sharp scissors
- paint (black or other) washable or acrylic
- 1 paint palette
- 1 sheet cardstock or paper
- 1 black fine tip marker
- 2-4 googly eyes
- liquid school glue
Instructions
- Use scissors to make two cuts on the same end of a toilet paper roll, one across from the other, about 1.5 inches in length. Make two more cuts on both the right and left sides of each of the initial cuts. Gently bend the cardboard outward to create four spider legs on either side of the paper roll, then cut off the excess cardboard in between the two sets of legs.
- Pour a generous amount of black paint onto a paint palette or plate, then dip your paper roll stamp into the paint, pressing down multiple times and readjusting the position of the stamp as needed to ensure that every part of it is covered with paint. Press the stamp onto the sheet of cardstock and remove it to reveal the imprint of a spider’s body and legs. If desired, repeat to create a second spider.
- Use a marker to draw a line between the spider’s body (or bodies) and the top of the sheet of cardstock.
- Grab two googly eyes and add a bit of liquid glue to the back. Place the two googly eyes at the top of the spider’s body to create a face. If you added more than once spider, repeat with the second spider.
Video
Notes
- Make even cuts: All cuts should be the same length to allow the paper roll stamp to be adequately covered with paint and fully come into contact with the cardstock.
- Cover the stamp fully: Make sure the stamp is fully covered with paint by pressing down multiple times, adjusting its position and gently pressing down on the legs with your fingers.
- Use different googly eyes: For added quirkiness, use two different-sized googly eyes for each spider. (7 mm and 8 mm work well.)
- Get creative: Experiment with colored spiders and backgrounds, use colorful googly eyes, or add extra details like spiderwebs.
- Save your stamps: Stamps can be reused multiple times in one session, and even saved for another day once the paint has dried.
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