Things You'll Need
Paper
Sheets of cardboard
Tape
Glue
Hot glue gun
Glue sticks
Paper clips
Close pins
Rubberbands
Scissors
Paper tubes are a staple item for multiple kids crafts or homemade instrument projects. Though paper tubes are available in the form of toilet paper rolls, paper towels and gift wraps, sometimes more tubes are needed than you can possibly save. Also, depending on the activity, you might need different size and strength paper tubes for your projects. In these cases, you can make your own paper tubes.
Step 1
Select the right material, considering length and strength, for your paper tube. Paper, newspaper and construction paper tubes will be weaker and smaller. Newspaper paper tubes will yield longer rolls. Cardboard will yield stronger paper tubes and is only limited by the size of your cardboard sheets.
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Step 2
Decide if you will be rolling diagonal paper tubes or horizontal or vertical paper tubes. This will depend on your project's needs.
Step 3
Roll the paper tube and attach its ends together with craft glue, hot glue, tape or a combination of materials. If you are using glue that takes some time to dry, secure your paper tube with paper clips or clothespins holding the ends together, or uses rubberbands on the body to hold its shape. Hot glue from a glue gun is helpful because it will provide an instant hold while the craft glue is drying.
Step 4
Remove the paperclips, clothespins or rubberbands from your paper tubes. Use scissors to trim your paper tubes to the exact size you need.
Tip
If you need a lot of paper tubes, consider rolling a very long cardboard paper tube and cutting it into many smaller paper tubes.
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