Toilet Paper Roll Halloween Crafts That Work as Real Decorations
Every year around mid-September I find myself staring at the collection of empty toilet paper rolls I’ve been saving in the cupboard under the sink and thinking: right, now what.
This year I actually did something with them. Eighteen things, to be precise, because once you start making toilet paper roll Halloween characters you cannot stop. Maria made eleven mummies. Marina made a bat village. Tasos pretended not to be interested and then spent forty minutes making a vampire with a tiny paper cape.
Every craft below costs almost nothing, takes under an hour, and looks good enough to sit on your mantel alongside things you actually bought. That last part is the whole point. These are not the toilet paper roll crafts that look like toilet paper rolls. These are the ones that make people ask where you got them.
What You Need Before You Start
Most of these use the same small set of supplies. Gather everything first and you can move from one craft to the next without stopping.
Paint: Black, white, orange, green, and purple cover almost every Halloween character here. Acrylic craft paint works best because it dries quickly and covers well.
Card and paper: Black cardstock for wings, hats, and ears. Orange and white construction paper for pumpkin features and ghost details. Tissue paper or crepe paper for mummy wrapping.
Adhesive: A glue stick for paper, a hot glue gun for anything three-dimensional, and double-sided tape for anything that needs to hold well on a flat surface.
Markers: A black marker for details, faces, and outlines. A white paint pen for highlights and eyes on dark characters.
Extras: Googly eyes for the characters that need them, which is most of them. Pipe cleaners for spider legs and bat details. String or twine for hanging.
18 Genius Toilet Paper Roll Halloween Crafts
1. The Classic Mummy
White paint over the whole roll, left to dry, then strips of white tissue paper or crepe paper wrapped loosely around the outside and glued at each end.
Two black oval eyes peeking out from the gaps in the wrapping. Stand them in a cluster of three or five on the mantel or a shelf.
They look oddly adorable and genuinely atmospheric, especially in a row getting smaller from back to front.
2. The Black Cat
Black paint all over, two pointed ears cut from black cardstock and glued to the inside of the top, two green googly eyes, a small triangle nose in pink, and thin strips of black card for whiskers.
Tailor the expression, narrow eyes for a suspicious cat, wide eyes for a startled one.
Maria made six with different expressions and arranged them in a staircase pattern on the windowsill.
3. The Jack O’Lantern
Orange paint all over.
Once dry, draw or paint a jack o’lantern face in black marker or black paint, a triangle nose, jagged teeth, either round or squinting eyes.
Curl a small strip of green card into a stem and glue to the top.
A battery tea light inside the roll glows through the face if you cut the features out rather than drawing them.
4. The Frankenstein Monster
Green paint over the whole roll.
A flat top head made by folding the top of the tube inward, or adding a flat card cap. Two small bolt shapes cut from silver card glued to the sides.
Wide black painted eyes, a straight stitched mouth in black marker, and a few stitched lines on the forehead.
Black marker hairline across the top.
5. The Vampire
Black paint on the lower two thirds of the roll, white on the upper third for the face.
A black paper cape that wraps around the outside and flares at the bottom, secured with a dot of hot glue at the back.
White fangs painted or cut from white card. Slicked black hair painted at the top, thin red lines for dramatic eyes.
This is the one Tasos spent forty minutes on.
I have not let him forget it.
6. The Witch
Black paint all over. A pointed witch hat made from a circle of black card rolled into a cone and glued in place, with a small brim of black card underneath. A thin strip of purple card around the hat as a band. Green paint for the face in the top third, narrow eyes, a hooked nose drawn in marker, a wide grin. Optional: tiny broomstick made from a toothpick and a little piece of raffia tied at one end.
7. The Ghost
White paint all over. A simple round face in the middle: two black oval eyes, a small open mouth, or a surprised O shape. Wavy white tissue paper skirt glued around the bottom, extending below the roll to give the ghost its floating shape. Hang several from a piece of twine at slightly different heights across a window or doorframe.
8. The Spider
Black paint all over. Eight legs made from black pipe cleaners, four pushed through small holes on each side of the roll, and bent at the ends so it stands. Two large round googly eyes, or white paint dots with black pupils. For a hanging spider, thread a piece of black string through the top and knot it inside so it dangles. Marina hung nine of these from the curtain rail and called it a spider invasion. She was not wrong.
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9. The Bat
Black paint, then two large bat wings cut from black cardstock and glued to the sides, flaring outward. Two small white dot eyes. Fold a small pointed ear shape on each side of the top opening. Hang upside down from a piece of string pushed through the bottom, because bats hang upside down and the detail matters to eight-year-olds.
10. The Skull
White paint all over. Large black oval eye sockets, a small triangle nose hole, and a wide toothy grin drawn or painted in black. A thin crack line running from the top of the head down through one eye socket makes it look like a proper skull. Group several on a dark tray or wooden slice for a genuinely moody Halloween vignette.
11. The Werewolf
Brown paint as the base. Pointed wolf ears cut from brown or grey card and glued inside the top. Yellow googly eyes or paint dot eyes, a snout suggestion with a brown marker, and a slightly open snarling mouth showing two white fang points. A tuft of grey tissue paper sticking up from the top adds the unruly fur detail.
12. The Mummy Pumpkin
A hybrid because why choose. Orange paint, then white tissue paper strips wrapped loosely over the orange so some shows through, like a pumpkin that has been mummified. Two small eyes peeking through the wrapping. The orange beneath the white looks like a real pumpkin almost immediately, and the hybrid character is unusual enough to earn a second look.
13. The Tiny Haunted House
Flatten the tube slightly into a rectangular shape rather than a cylinder. Paint it grey or dark purple. Cut a pointed rooftop from black card and attach to the top. Draw or paint windows and a door, with small yellow paint dots for lights in the windows. Make five or six of different heights and arrange them as a Halloween village silhouette on a shelf, darkest at the back, tallest in the middle.
14. The Owl
Brown or dark grey paint, with a slightly lighter brown for the face circle. Two large round eyes, either googly or painted, a small beak triangle in yellow, and wing shapes cut from brown card glued to the sides. Small pointed ear tufts at the top cut from card. Less obviously Halloween than the other characters but fits perfectly in a fall nature vignette alongside pumpkins and leaves.
15. The Zombie
Green paint on the lower section, paler for the face area. Ragged strips of old cloth or tissue paper hanging off the outside in places, as if the zombie is falling apart. Stitch marks in black marker across the face, red paint suggesting wounds, and wide vacant eyes. Definitely for the adult side of the audience rather than small children, but very effective on a dark shelf.
16. The Candy Corn Character
White on the top third, orange on the middle third, yellow on the bottom third. A small happy face in the orange section. Simple, bright, cheerful, and the most kid-friendly of the lot. Maria made twelve and arranged them in a bowl.
17. The Black Crow
Black paint all over. A small beak cut from yellow or orange card, folded and glued to the front. Tail feathers cut from black card and fanned out from the bottom. Two yellow or orange eye dots. Perch several on the edges of your Halloween tray or bookshelf, facing slightly different directions so they look like they are watching.
18. The Cauldron
Black paint, round shape kept intact, a small rim added at the top by wrapping a thin strip of card around the outside and gluing. Green paint inside the opening to suggest the potion, or tissue paper in green and purple crumpled inside. Three small card legs at the base so it stands. Fill several with the tissue paper potion and cluster them with your witch roll for a complete scene.
How to Display Them
On a mantel: A row of characters in a line, tallest at the back. Mix the styles so you get colour variation across the row.
On a tiered tray: Group by colour or character type. Skulls together, pumpkins together, mummies in the corner. The contained surface makes even the simplest craft look styled.
Hanging in a window: Ghosts, bats, and spiders all hang well on black thread from a tension rod across the window frame. No drilling, comes down easily, and the light behind them makes the characters pop.
As a village on a shelf: The haunted houses work especially well arranged as a skyline, smaller at the front, taller at the back, with small characters placed in front as if walking toward them.
On a dark tray: A black or dark wooden tray with skulls, cauldrons, and a few scattered black pebbles or fake spiders looks like something that took planning. It takes about ten minutes.
Tips That Actually Make a Difference
Paint two thin coats rather than one thick coat. One heavy coat bubbles and takes forever to dry. Two thin coats dry in minutes and give a much cleaner finish.
Let each colour dry completely before adding the next. Wet paint smears and mixing colours on the roll is almost never the effect you wanted.
Use a white primer coat under bright colours like orange and yellow. Without it you need four or five coats to get a solid colour over the cardboard brown.
Googly eyes on everything. I cannot explain why but googly eyes elevate every single character on this list instantly. Do not skip them.
Make more than you think you need. Toilet paper rolls are free and the more characters you have the more impressive any display looks. Ten mummies is more satisfying than two. Twenty is better still.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use kitchen roll tubes instead of toilet paper rolls? Yes, and they’re actually better for the taller characters like the haunted house and the witch since they give you more height to work with. Cut them down to toilet roll size for the shorter characters.
What paint works best on cardboard rolls? Acrylic craft paint. It dries quickly, covers well, and comes in every colour you need. Watercolour paint soaks into the cardboard and looks washed out. Spray paint works but is harder to control for small details.
How do I stop the rolls from rolling around while I paint them? Stand them upright on a piece of scrap card to paint the sides, then turn them upside down on the same piece of card to paint the bottom. Or push a pencil through the roll and rest the pencil across two stacked books so the roll hangs freely.
How long do these last? If kept dry, indefinitely. I have toilet paper roll characters from two Halloweens ago that still look fine. Store them flat in a box between sheets of tissue paper and they come out ready to use the next year.
Are these safe for toddlers to make? The painting and sticking is safe for toddlers with supervision. The hot glue gun and any small decorative elements like googly eyes are adults-only. Toddlers can do the wrapping steps on the mummies and the tissue paper stuffing on the cauldrons safely.
The bat village is still on Marina’s windowsill. She has informed me it is staying there until November. I have decided this is fine because honestly it looks better than what was there before.
Make a few. Make eighteen. Leave them on the shelf and see if anyone notices they’re toilet paper rolls.
They probably won’t.
Until next time,
Stay safe,
I’m Katerina Lithopoulou, co-creator of DIY Cozy Living. I’ve always loved the little things that make a space feel special. With a background in language and a passion for photography and cozy design, I enjoy turning everyday inspiration into simple ideas people can actually use.
My motto: “Cozy isn’t a trend — it’s a feeling.”
