Little Sprouts Program

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!