• Many simple crafts can be made with a roll of paper towels.papierrolle image by Ewe Degiampietro from Fotolia.com
  
  A roll of paper towels can provide an inexpensive afternoon of crafting for you and your children. Simple folding and painting techniques can transform a plain cleaning product into something much more imaginative. These ideas can be used as rainy day activities or as a classroom project everyone can afford.
  
  

Paper Towel Origami

• One square from a paper towel roll is enough to create several different origami creatures. Once folded, your child can add details such as eyes, whiskers, a nose and a mouth, depending on the type of animal desired. The nature of the folding creates a hollow space at the bottom of the paper craft that allows the origami animal to be used as a finger puppet.
  
  

Paper Towel Dyeing

• Paper towel dyeing uses the same principles as regular tie-dyeing. Use food-coloring instead of the chemical dyes used in tie-dying. Each participant uses one square of paper towel, folds it, and dips the corners into bowls of water mixed with food coloring. The paper towel can be refolded and dipped multiple times, creating a varied color scheme. According to preference, your child may choose to blend the colors by dipping the paper towel in several colors continuously. To avoid blending, allow the towel to dry between color dippings. Once the towel has dried completely, it can be framed by gluing Popsicle sticks around the edges.
  
  

Paper Towel Flower Crafts

• Paper towel flowers incorporate the skills learned in paper towel origami as well as painting skills. One single square of paper towel can be folded into the shape of a flower. Glue, which is not traditionally used in origami, is used to hold the petals in place. When the flower shape is completed, it may be painted gently with watercolor paints.
  
  

Paper Towel Butterfly

• The paint used to make a paper towel butterfly can be either watercolors or a mixture of water and food coloring. Once the paper towel has been painted and dried, fold the entire sheet like a fan (or like an accordion). Pinch the paper towel in the middle to create the wings. The body of the butterfly is created by clipping a clothespin to the center of the paper towel and also serves to hold the wings in place. Pipe cleaners may be attached to the clothespin to serve as antenna. The clothespin can be decorated to your child's preferences.