Chipper Recycle Craft: Kitchen Roll Kaleidoscope

Occupying your kids during the summer can be challenging, especially when there is a significant age difference between them. Doing some home made crafts is one inexpensive way to connect with your kids and have some fun! Try out this Kitchen Roll Kaleidoscope craft idea on the next rainy day or when your kids are stuck inside complaining of boredom.  It works surprisingly well and can be made from scraps around the house. Entertaining your children has never been easier or as environmentally friendly as this!

YOU WILL NEED: 

• A kitchen roll
• Mirror card (or foil glued onto card)
• Small colorful transparent objects (e.g. beads, sweet wrappers, Lego ‘lights’)
• Three transparent plastic discs
• Scissors
• Glue stick
• Sticky tape
• Greaseproof paper disc (optional)
• Black paper disc (optional)
• Paper to decorate (optional)

Please note: All measurements given in this tutorial are based on you using a standard kitchen roll tube (23cm long with a diameter of approx 5.3 cm).

HOW TO:

1. Begin by cutting your mirror card into three strips (gluing some foil on recycled cardboard does the trick). The strips need to be 4.3 cm wide and 21cm long. Once cut, sellotape the three sides together to form a triangular prism. Make sure the shiniest sides face inwards. Push into kitchen roll tube so that the prism is flush at one end.

2. Cut two discs of plastic (some old food containers work perfectly for this). The circles need to have a diameter of 5.3 cm. One disc needs to be totally transparent whilst the other needs to be frosted. If you haven’t got frosted plastic to hand then simply glue a piece of greaseproof paper onto a transparent disc. Put the transparent disc inside the tube so that it rests at the end of the prism. Tape into place.

3. Pour your beads into the end of the tube. Don’t overfill as the beads need to be able to move around for the full effect!

4. Place the frosted plastic disc onto the end and secure in place with tape.

5. Turn the kaleidescope over. At this end you need to tape a disc of cardboard (5.3 cm diameter) with a peephole cut into the center. Also, glue a disc of black paper to the cardboard disc if you want it to look a bit smarter.

6. Decorate the tube in any way you fancy. Glue some colorful paper at either end if you want to still see the tube or go crazy with some markers. Adding a corrugated paper cuff to the middle of the tube so that you can hold the cuff with one hand and rotate the tube with the other is also a good idea.

Making crafts is as easy as going through the garbage and recycle bins then getting creative! What kind of recycled crafts has your family done or come up with? Chipper and friends would love to know : )