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Toilet Roll Castle Desk Tidy – Easy Kids Crafts!

June 25, 2021

Welcome back to this week’s Kids Crafty! If you know our house, you will know that we have pots of pencils and pens and crayons and scissors and all sorts floating around all the time. Tidy it is not. And if we need to clear a surface we need move LOTS of things. So we decided it was about time of a TP Roll Castle desk tidy! And not any desk tidy – but a toilet roll desk tidy (why of course! Our favourite craft material)!!! A perfect Back to School craft too. Get your kid’s tables sorted! And who doesn’t love a clever Toilet Roll Upcycle?! Right?

back to school
Finished desk tidy, first shared in August 2012

We started off relatively simple and then got a bit carried away – the little boat is for some Peanut People we made, but you could also use it hold erasers and pencilย sharpeners. The trees are there, so that you can add sheets or paper/ letters of postcards between the castle and the trees. Perfect.

Materials to make a TP Roll Castle Desk Tidy:

  • 7 Toilet rolls (3 cut in half),
  • acrylic paint,
  • extra bits of card for trees, boat and door,
  • paint,
  • a shoe box lid (a piece of card would be ok too, but the lid has the added bonus of having a rim, which means things will not roll out of it)

How to make a TP Roll Desk Tidy

We intended to paint the castle red. But I had run out of red. So this shiny pinky/red it was!

back to shool craft
TP Rolls stacked for the desk tidy

1) Cut your loo rolls to shape. And decide on the basic lay out for your castle.

toddler painting
Toddler painting a TP Roll

2) Paint your loo rolls. Wear old clothes, acrylics do stain.

3) Cut out any extras such as trees and paint. Again, I cut, the kids painted..

4) Let dry.

5) Glue in place. Now we used a hot glue gun, as I have many a child hood memory of things like this falling apart and being VERY annoying. So either use VERY GOOD PVA glue, supported by a bit of masking tape (that you can paint over) or a hot glue gun! The trees are glued to the rim of the shoe-box lid.

6) I then cut out little extras like the boat and the draw bridge and we stuck it all in place.

Castle Desk Tidy - perfect for back to school

And here full of pens!

(PS the Knights are a little preview from our my Kids Craft Book!)

Fancy some more Back to School Ideas?

back to school crafts
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Filed Under: Kids Craft, Loo Rolls, stationery 42 Comments

Comments

  1. Liz Burton says

    August 20, 2012 at 9:52 am

    You’re castle is so cool, and the knights look cute – I can’t wait for your book!

    I’ve linked up and thanks for the heads up on the competition, I’m off to enter now!

    Reply
  2. Red Ted Art says

    August 20, 2012 at 10:14 am

    Thanks Liz! I can’t wait for the book either… Good luck with the Competition!

    Reply
  3. maryanne @ mama smiles says

    August 20, 2012 at 12:28 pm

    This is the cutest art supplies storage solution I’ve seen! LOVE!!!

    Reply
  4. Bethany @ No Twiddle Twaddle says

    August 20, 2012 at 1:13 pm

    I am constantly amazed by your creative ideas. This craft/art supply station has to be one of my favorite posts I’ve seen thus far!

    Reply
  5. Jen Fischer says

    August 20, 2012 at 4:10 pm

    I absolutely love that! How great. I’ve been wanting to use toilet paper rolls to make toothbrush caddies for the bathroom – you’ve inspired me to get that done!

    Reply
  6. Jennifer says

    August 20, 2012 at 7:25 pm

    That is wonderful! I love how it is all contained in the shoebox lid.

    Reply
  7. Red Ted Art says

    August 20, 2012 at 7:47 pm

    Awe, I was out for the day and I come back to all your lovely comments. Funny, as I am so used to seeing our desk tidy now, I didn’t feel it was so special anymore, so really nice to read your kind comments!!!

    Reply
  8. Emma @mummymummymum says

    August 20, 2012 at 8:11 pm

    Fantastic Maggy, I especially love the little boat! and your photo of Pip Squeak is adorable!

    Reply
  9. Rebecca from Here come the girls says

    August 20, 2012 at 8:21 pm

    That is the cutest desk tidy ever. I was in Hobbycraft earlier and they were selling a plain desk tidy to decorate and i did wonder why people didn’t just make them out of toilet rolls.

    Reply
    • Red Ted Art says

      August 20, 2012 at 9:19 pm

      Awe thanks Rebecca! And I agree.. why buy a kit when there are LOO ROLLS!

      Reply
  10. JDaniel4's Mom says

    August 21, 2012 at 11:28 am

    I need to start saving rolls!

    Reply
  11. artsy_momma says

    August 22, 2012 at 4:42 am

    Love the idea of turning it into a castle ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
  12. Pinkoddy says

    August 22, 2012 at 6:34 am

    Oh wow what a great competition and to be picked as a judge ๐Ÿ™‚
    Thanks for sharing. Will be buying the book ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
  13. Red Ted Art says

    August 22, 2012 at 7:11 am

    I know, I am very excited to see what people come up with! And Ooooh fabulous re buying the book ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
  14. sunnymama says

    August 22, 2012 at 4:54 pm

    What a wonderful castle. Definitely want to have a go at making one of these with Sunnyboy. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
  15. Red Ted Art says

    August 22, 2012 at 4:57 pm

    That is what I like to here!! Have fun making one.

    Reply
  16. The fairy and the frog says

    August 22, 2012 at 6:12 pm

    great idea for a desk tidy

    Reply
  17. Susan Mann says

    August 23, 2012 at 1:26 pm

    This looks fab x

    Reply
  18. Johanna GGG says

    August 25, 2012 at 2:57 pm

    this is brilliant – toilet rolls are so simple to play with and so available – will keep it in mind for a little craft session

    Reply
  19. Red Ted Art says

    August 25, 2012 at 3:24 pm

    Perfect! Toilet rolls really are great for crafting!!!

    Reply
  20. Emma @Sciencesparks says

    August 26, 2012 at 7:54 am

    oooh fab Maggy, and great photo of Pip Squeak!

    Reply
  21. Ness @ One Perfect Day says

    August 26, 2012 at 2:18 pm

    This is too fantastic! I love the little boat too. You are such a tease with the knights! I kept scrolling through your post “but what are the knights made from?” and then I see they are in the book. I cannot wait for that book! Thanks for linking up to Tueday Tots.s

    Reply
    • Red Ted Art says

      August 26, 2012 at 3:50 pm

      Oh Ness, sorry to be such a tease…. ๐Ÿ˜‰ I do hope you will like the book!!!!

      Reply
  22. Joyce @Childhood Beckons says

    August 27, 2012 at 8:16 am

    Oh this is so fantastic. My son (and my husband) will love this! Definitely going on our to-do list. Thanks so much for posting.

    Reply
  23. Michelle says

    July 30, 2015 at 1:20 pm

    Can you say ultimately cute!!??? Where or how did you make the Knights? My son would love to play with those while he makes art for the fridge and family.

    Reply
    • Red Ted Art says

      July 30, 2015 at 1:49 pm

      Hello! Glad you like them… they are in my book (Red Ted Art, Cute & Easy Cafts for kids) but are essentially made like these https://www.redtedart.com/2011/12/28/kids-crafts-peanut-finger-puppets/ (more images of the knights here https://www.redtedart.com/2013/12/26/winter-small-world-play/)

      Reply
  24. shweta says

    June 1, 2018 at 9:53 am

    Wow such a nice idea for tidy up her study table. Very nice use of the rolls. I have few plastic rolls from packing material i save for these diys …will use them. Thanks a lot. saved a lot of money of buying the organizers.

    Reply

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