10 Toilet Paper Roll Crafts Halloween Ideas

When spooky season arrives, you don’t need expensive store-bought kits to create memorable, festive decorations. The humble cardboard toilet paper tube is one of the most versatile, budget-friendly craft bases in existence. With a little paint, some construction paper, and googly eyes, simple cardboard tubes transform into a hauntingly fun gallery of Halloween monsters and icons.

These 10 toilet paper roll Halloween crafts are easy to assemble, quick to dry, and perfect for classroom activities, rainy afternoon projects, or budget-friendly home decor.

Materials & Prep Checklist

Before diving into the craft ideas, gather these simple household and crafting staples:

• Base: Empty toilet paper rolls (or paper towel rolls cut in half).
• Paint & Color: Acrylic or washable kids’ paint (black, green, orange, white, purple), paintbrushes, and markers.
• Paper & Felt: Colored construction paper, cardstock, or felt scraps.
• Adhesives: School glue, glue sticks, or low-temp hot glue (for adult assembly).
• Embellishments: Googly eyes (various sizes), pipe cleaners, yarn, gauze or cheesecloth, and pom-poms.

10 Fun Toilet Paper Roll Halloween Ideas

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
|                    TOILET PAPER ROLL CRAFT MAP                        |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
|  [ TOP CROWN ]       --> Ears, Bat Wings, Frankenstein Bolts, Hair    |
|  [ TUBE BODY ]       --> Paint Surface, Mummy Wraps, Clothes/Costume  |
|  [ FACE / DETAILS ]  --> Googly Eyes, Fangs, Stitches, Spooky Smiles    |
|  -------------------------------------------------------------------  |
|  [ PRO TIP ]         --> Paint the roll first and let it dry before   |
|                            gluing on facial details and accessories!  |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

1. The Gauze-Wrapped Mummy

• The Look: A classic, spooky mummy peeking out from beneath layered bandages.
• How to Make It: Paint the tube black or dark brown so the background shows through the gaps. Once dry, glue a pair of large googly eyes near the top third. Wrap strips of medical gauze, cheesecloth, or white crepe paper randomly around the tube, making sure to leave the eyes visible.

2. The Spooky Black Bat

• The Look: A cute, nocturnal bat with indented ears and wide wings.
• How to Make It: Paint the entire tube black. Once dry, fold the top two edges of the roll inward toward each other to create the curved bat ears. Cut out two wing shapes from black construction paper and glue them to the back of the tube. Finish with small googly eyes and two white paper triangle fangs.

3. Frankenstein’s Monster

• The Look: The iconic green monster complete with a flat head, black hair, and neck bolts.
• How to Make It: Paint the top quarter of the tube black (for hair) and the lower three-quarters bright green. Paint jagged black fringe down from the black section for his hairline. Draw a stitched scar with a black marker, add googly eyes, and glue two small gray paper circles or silver painted pasta shapes to the sides near the bottom for his neck bolts.

4. The Glowing Jack-O’-Lantern

• The Look: A cheerful or spooky pumpkin topped with a green vine.
• How to Make It: Paint the tube bright orange. Use a black marker or cut out black construction paper shapes to create a classic triangle-eyed pumpkin face. Punch a tiny hole at the top rim to attach a green pipe cleaner stem or twist a piece of green felt onto the top rim.

5. The Friendly Vampire (Count Dracula)

• The Look: A sharp-dressed vampire featuring a high collar and classic widow’s peak hairline.
• How to Make It: Paint the top half of the roll pale skin-tone or light gray, and the bottom half black for his suit. Paint a black widow’s peak hairline at the top. Add a red paper cape glued to the back, googly eyes, and draw a red mouth with two sharp white paper fangs sticking down.

6. The Wicked Witch

• The Look: A bright green witch sporting yarn hair and a pointy black hat.
• How to Make It: Paint the tube green for her face and black for her dress. Glue strands of black, orange, or purple yarn along the top rim for messy hair. Cut a circle out of black cardstock for a hat brim, slide it over the top of the roll, and top it with a paper cone to form her pointed witch hat. Add a crooked black marker smile and googly eyes.

7. The Woven Yarn Monster

• The Look: A textured, colorful monster wrapped in bright yarn.
• How to Make It: Coat the middle section of a cardboard tube with craft glue and tightly wrap colorful yarn (bright purple, neon green, or orange) around it from top to bottom. Once secured, glue three or four googly eyes of different sizes onto the yarn for a funny, multi-eyed alien monster look.

8. The Glowing Ghost

• The Look: A floaty, bright white ghost with a dramatic open-mouthed expression.
• How to Make It: Paint the entire tube solid white or wrap it in white printer paper. Use a black marker to draw two large black oval eyes and an open “O” shaped mouth. For an extra touch, glue wispy white cotton balls or tissue paper streamers inside the bottom rim so they hang down like a ghostly tail.

9. The Black Cat

• The Look: A sleek black cat with bright yellow eyes and pipe cleaner whiskers.
• How to Make It: Paint the tube black. Just like the bat, fold the top rim inward to form pointy cat ears. Glue bright yellow googly eyes (or yellow paper circles with black slit pupils) onto the face. Glue three small pieces of black or white pipe cleaner on each side of a small pink pom-pom nose for the whiskers. Attach a long black pipe cleaner to the back for a curling tail.

10. The Haunted House Tree

• The Look: A spooky, gnarled autumn tree with bare branches.
• How to Make It: Paint the tube dark brown. Make 4 to 6 vertical cuts about 2 inches deep into the top of the tube. Bend and twist these cut cardboard strips outward to look like bare, twisted winter branches. Draw a small hollow knot in the tree trunk with a black marker, and optionally glue a tiny paper owl or bat sitting in the branches.

Tips for Success & Display

1. Weight the Base: If your cardboard rolls tip over easily on display, glue a penny or small stone inside the bottom rim using a dab of hot glue before finishing the craft.
2. Turn Them into Treat Containers: Instead of leaving the tubes open, fold the bottom edges inward (just like the top bat ears) to seal the base. Fill the roll with wrapped Halloween candies before closing or decorating the top!
3. Make a Garland: Punch small holes on the sides of finished bats, ghosts, and pumpkins, then string them along twine to create a handmade Halloween mantel banner.