Crafts From Trash: Sun and Sunflower From An Empty Paper Towel Roll

Crafts From Stuff You Have At Home - Celebrating The Sun (project 5 of 5)

Crafts to make during the Coronavirus Stay-At-Home order

*Check back June 15th for an elaborate Sun Wheel!*

Who DOESN'T have an empty paper towel roll or empty rolls from toilet paper that they could turn into magickal creations for the home? When I began this effort to make 5-out-of-5 one-of-a-kind crafts, leading up to the BIG *Sun* project that I will be posting on June 15th ... I kept asking the Goddess for creative genius. I wanted this blog to be a BLESSING to someone. To bring some kind of glorious respite for the soul (despite all the ridiculous chaos that seems to be polluting our world and nation right now).

Because many of us are avoiding shopping - I kept looking at everything that I was about to throw away or recycle and asked: "Can you be transformed into magick?"

So HERE is my empty paper towel roll craft project!  

To make either the Sun or Sunflower, from an empty paper towel roll, you will need:

1. masking tape 
2. glue (I mixed equal parts of flour and water to make mine)
3. empty paper towel holder or else a couple of empty toilet paper rolls

For the SunFLOWER (4 easy steps) you will ALSO need:

• yellow crepe paper
• an artificial flower for the center

For the Sun (7 steps) you will ALSO need: 

• wire
• paper clips
• the thick aluminum seal that you find when you open some large twist-top containers (e.g., a large plastic jar of coconut oil). *Save that thick foil! It's very cool.* You may also use normal aluminum foil; in a pinch.
• Gold glitter fingernail polish or yellow paint
• Round-tip needle-nose pliers

The Sunflower frame is on the left. The Sun's frame is on the right.

1. To begin either project, cut the 8 sections out of the empty paper towel roll. *IMPORTANT!* Measure each cut to exactly match the width of a piece of masking tape. (So the width of each cut from the roll is exactly the width of a roll of tape!)

2. Place the eight circles together, in the shape of a flower (seven petals around a circle) and use the masking tape to secure each circular petal/sun ray tightly to the center circle as shown. 

3.a. To make the SUNFLOWER: Begin wrapping the crepe paper around each section - using the glue to make it stick to the paper towel roll's circles.

3.b. To make the SUN: I used gold glitter fingernail polish to paint the taped-together parts. I then creased the points of each "Petal" to make each one become a Sunray and TEMPORARILY added a paper clip to hold the Sun-ray's shape until the glue could set. 

Fully wrapped Sunflower frame  |  paper-clipped/painted Sun frame

4.a. Finish your SUNFLOWER by gluing an artificial flower in the center! (I happened to have a random Sun gem so embellished mine with it. You could either embellish with buttons or with small pieces of tin that you painted or add just about anything! Or you can leave this just as a Sunflower!)

Refer to the second photo posted
if you need a more direct perspective

4.b. Take a piece of wire and run it through the center of your SUN's frame so the wire penetrates the center and comes out the other side. Repeat this process THREE TIMES so that all 3 wires criss-cross at the center; making 6 sun flares.

5. Using the needle-nose pliers, begin twisting and shaping the wire (SUN flares).

6. Gather the aluminum seal (or aluminum foil) and cut circles out of it to the exact diameter of the paper towel roll. (I used a same-size plastic bottle lid to trace mine).


7. Begin stuffing each of the SUN's rays with wood shavings (as shown). I covered my shavings in glue to make them stay put. 

HANG and enjoy your art!

JUST MY NORMAL LIFE: That grey fox-like face in the mirror is a distortion, just like the plants are all distorted. I mean, I was standing in front of the mirror to take the picture and behind me is my kitchen doorway. I don't know where the salmon-pink color is coming from. It's not in my house.