Paper Towel Roll Art into Bohemian Rustic Peacock

2-3 Hours
Easy
Give this upcycled art a try… and see how paper towel roll art gives life to a peacock. Easy explanation; Paint, cut, roll and glue them..
Yes.. I will go into more detail. However, I wrote that sweet sum up to convince you, how easy these paper towel roll art can be. Such beauty in something so insignificant in our every day lives that we (girls 😉 ) have in abundance.
For the breakdown of the Peacock, start by saving some paper towel rolls. You can even use toilet paper rolls, if that doesn’t disgust you.


For the base of the Peacock, I used an old piece of light pressed wood. I painted the wood backing in white and distressed it for a rustic appeal meets Bohemian.
Paint the rolls in shades of turquoise, blue, green, and yellow.


Your going to cut some of them in whole circles, or what will be the feather shape. Just flatten the turquoise rolls down so that you will to be able to cut even widths right off of the edges. They should be similar to a shape of a leaf.
I used about 1/2 an inch for all of the widths of the strips for the paper towel roll art.


To make longer swirls in blue and turquoise, you will need to cut the rolls right up the side. Continue to cut them in the same direction to make long strips. Look at the top left corner of the picture above.
Place your leaf shape (feather) down onto your surface of choice. I glued them with E6000 glue and a dab of hot glue for a quick stick.


Roll or wind your strips of blue and turquoise into circle swirls and hot glue into your feather.
Touch up the outsides with paint.


All of the patterns including the face, I used basic cuttings to create the paper towel roll art into a Peacock. I’d like to give this a try with other birds. What animals do you think this technique would work for?


Visit my website www.viralypcycle.com for more upcycled art.
Heather Christian Iglesias
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
Go
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
3 of 5 questions
  • Julie Young Julie Young on Mar 14, 2019

    Stunning use of something we just usually toss! Well done 😊.. What size board did you use?

  • Barb C Barb C on Jan 01, 2020

    This is beautiful. Also loved the suggestion of a mermaid, can picture flowing curls of hair. My question is did you paint all the strips after they were cut? Sounds tedious. Spray paint or with brush?

  • Nandini Nandini on Feb 20, 2023

    Do you have a video of this, would love to create it but am a little confused

Comments
Join the conversation
2 of 149 comments
  • Susie Susie on Jan 09, 2020

    Totally cool! Yes, spray paint, assume before construction? Or, brush on w/ acrylic? Have been saving paper towel rolls for months, and love peacocks. Please do a mermaid and show us! Thx!!

  • Carolina's Art Carolina's Art on Jul 04, 2020

    I am totally impressed!! best use of left over toilet rolls. This is beautiful!! you are truly an artist!

Next