Little Sprouts Program
The perfect DIY gift!
Eco glitter cardboard rolls flowers make perfect gifts for any occasion. We run this activity with children 3-5 years old, but it can be adapted to any age group. It’s a great way to show children reusing in action and uses up all those cardboard rolls lying around.
This activity supports children’s fine-motor skills and fosters their sense of agency and creativity. We use a biodegradable glitter, BioglitterTM to make the flowers shine and sparkle. This provides a learning opportunity to explore the environmental impacts of microplastics like glitter, with children.
A step-by-step video of how to make eco glitter recycled cardboard roll flowers can also be found here.
Materials
- Toilet paper rolls or other cardboard rolls
- BioglitterTM or other biodegradable glitter
- Paint brush
- Kids craft glue or glue gun
- Wooden sticks, skewers or chopsticks
- Kids craft paint (optional)
- Old button (optional)
- Pot or jar to display your flowers (optional)
- Sand, small rocks or pebbles (optional)
Instructions
Step 1: Cut the cardboard roll
Press the cardboard tube to make it semi-flat and then cut the roll into even strips. These will be the petals and leaves.
Step 2: Decorate your petals
If you’re going to paint the petals or leaves, this is a good time to do it. Then let it dry. Add glue and eco glitter to your petals and leaves.
Step 3: Glue the petals together
Add a small amount of glue to the bottom edges of the petals and glue together to form a flower. A hot glue gun makes step 3-5 quick and easy. Leave to dry.
Step 4: Add the Pistil
Make the centre of the flower (called a Pistil) and glue this on. You can use old buttons to make the Pistil or cut out old cardboard in a circle and add some glue and glitter.
Step 5: Put it all together
Glue the flower to the stem. If you are adding leaves, glue them to the stem. Leave to dry.
Step 6: Arrange and display
A great way to display your flowers is to put them in a jar with some sand, small rocks, or pebbles – cute! You could also wrap them in a bouquet or tie the stems together with string or ribbon to gift.
Links to resources
The glitter used in this activity is Bioglitter™. Buy Bioglitter™ from Glitterazzi in Melbourne, Australia. For more information on how to switch to biodegradable glitter, see the Little Sprouts Guide to Sparkling Responsibly.
We used Who Gives a Crap toilet paper for the cardboard roll flowers because not only is their toilet paper kind to trees, but they also give 50% of profits to building toilets in the developing world. Their toilet paper also comes wrapped in paper that’s great for reusing in arts and crafts!
