by Tammy Lee Morris

Created on: October 13, 2009

If you hate to throw things away, combine your love of recycling into a fun and easy Halloween craft. Make a Halloween garland or simple hanging decorations out of empty toilet paper tubes - the end product is adorable and you are reusing an item that normally gets thrown away.

Ghost Decorations

Collect several cardboard toilet paper tubes and other supplies. You will need white tissue paper, black markers, orange and green craft paint, yarn, scissors and glue. This is a great project to have the kids help with as it's easy to do and is minimally messy (there will be painting involved - so be sure to take proper precautions to protect clothing and surfaces).

Make ghosts by wrapping tubes in white tissue paper. Fold one end of the tissue paper into the tube while leaving the other end out - tear the end that is out to make it look "ghostly." Dab a small bit of glue inside the tube between the paper and the cardboard to help the tissue paper stay in place.

Draw a ghost face on the white tissue paper with a black marker or black paint. Get creative with the ghost faces for some added fun. Punch two holes in the top of the ghost, then either string several ghosts together, or string them individually and hang them at various locations throughout your home for a host of ghosts or a large-scale haunting!

Pumpkin Decorations

Make a pumpkin out of a toilet paper tube by first cutting a stem in the tube (cut a small square in the center of the tube then pull this square up). Paint the rest of the tube orange then the stem and the area around it green. Allow the paint to dry.

Use a black marker or paint to make a pumpkin face. String the pumpkin with ghosts or with more pumpkins. Note: Because of the stem that sticks up, the tube will try to roll, I put a dab of glue on the inside of the tube around the stem and glued the yarn in place.

Another idea with the pumpkins is to punch a hole in each end then tie a piece of yarn through the holes to create a small pumpkin hanging.

These little ghosts or pumpkins can also be made into a fun trick-or-treat necklace for the kids to wear. Add a little glow-in-the-dark paint (don't worry - it dries clear) for some spooky fun that will make your little ghouls glow.

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