The other day we went to a friend’s house, and they had a big, beautiful pot of red poinsettias in their entrance. They were gorgeous! I got a little jealous that I didn’t have that beautiful pot of poinsettias. But then I remembered that poinsettias stay alive until like July. And that’s a lot of responsibility for a Christmas plant! (I’m not going to tell you about the collection of half dead plants my husband and I keep in our master bathroom… it’s embarrassing). So I decided to make this craft version of poinsettias instead. It’s super pretty AND it has the added benefit that you can tuck it away into your box of Christmas ornaments, rather than keeping it alive until July. With the pretty red glitter, they sparkle so nicely on the tree. Seems like a pretty good compromise to me!?
Paper rolls are so awesome! Whether it’s toilet paper rolls, paper towel rolls, or rolled up card stock (pssst… you’ll save yourself the painting step if you use red card stock!) there’s so many fun things you can make! We’ve made paper roll wizards, paper roll fireflies, paper roll sheep and a collection of paper roll animals. My kids LOVE playing with them all! I found everything I needed for these poinsettias at the dollar store. I’m not going to lie, my favourite part is adding the glitter. It’s just that time of year and I’m a sucker for anything with sparkles!
Check out our video for how to make Paper Roll Poinsettia Ornaments:
If you love making your own ornaments, check these out for even more inspiration! Paper Roll Snowflake Ornaments Pipe Cleaner Poinsettia Ornaments Clothespin Reindeer Christmas Ornaments Pipe Cleaner Wreath Ornaments
How to make Paper Roll Poinsettia Ornaments:
toilet paper rolls white glue red craft paint paintbrush red craft glitter silver rhinestones green ribbon glue gun scissors ruler hole punch
The paper rolls I used were 4.5 inches long. Different brands use different roll sizes, so you might need to adjust your measurements if your size is different from mine.
Paint the entire roll – both inside and outside – a bright, beautiful Christmas red colour. I used acrylic paint, but other paint will work as well. Let it dry completely before moving on to the next step. Mine took about half an hour to dry, but it will depend on the type of paint you use.
Once your roll is completely dry, press down on the roll to flatten it. Use a ruler to make a mark every 3/4″, then cut the roll into 5 equal strips (each one should be 3/4″ wide).
Each of these 5 strips will be a petal of your poinsettia. Flip your strips over and begin shaping them into petals. Pinch the top of each one, pushing it together in the middle to make it “petal” shaped with a slight point at one end.
Pour some white glue into a disposable plate. Make sure the puddle of glue is bigger than the paper roll petal. Dip one side of each petal into the glue, making sure that entire bottom edge is generously coated with glue.
Sprinkle a generous amount of glitter into a second disposable plate. Immediately press the glue covered side of the petal into the red glitter, making sure that edge is completely covered with glitter. Repeat this process so all 5 petals have been dipped in glitter, then glue.
Allow your petals to dry completely. This could take anywhere from an hour to overnight, depending on how much glue you added. Once they’re completely dry, lay them out to make a flower shape. If your petals lost their pointed ends, re-shape them if needed.
Add a small line of glue to the end of the petals and glue them together. Keep adding petals around the circle until all 5 have been glued together.
Use a single hole punch to punch 2 holes at the end of one of the petals.
Thread an 8 inch piece of green ribbon through the hole and tie it at the top. Add 3 silver rhinestones to the center of the flower to finish it off. If you don’t have rhinestones, you could use pom poms, buttons or even a cut out circle of paper to make the center of the poinsettia.
Now your poinsettia is finished and ready for hanging! So pretty!!
Can you believe you can make these beautiful poinsettias from a recycled paper roll!?
I love how simple these were to make and how beautiful they turned out!
They’re super easy to make, and look so sparkly on the Christmas tree!
These paper roll poinsettias are SO FUN and they’re really simple to make! This is such a great Christmas craft and a super fun homemade ornament to make with the kids! Who knew you could transform a simple paper roll into something so beautiful!? Such a great recycled craft!
For even more holiday ornament ideas be sure to check these out!
Paper Roll Snowflake Ornaments
Pipe Cleaner Poinsettia Ornaments
Clothespin Reindeer Christmas Ornaments
Pipe Cleaner Wreath Ornaments
Glitter Ball Yarn Ornaments
Our book Low-Mess Crafts for Kids is loaded with 72 fun and simple craft ideas for kids! The projects are fun, easy and most importantly low-mess, so the clean up is simple!
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