Simple DIY Wall-Mounted Paper Roll

Wow – where did this week go? Did it fly by for you guys too? I know that some of you are within days of having your kiddos out of school for the summer – we’ve still got a few weeks to go but that’s not keeping us from thinking about how we’re going to spend our summer days! I’m going to make sure that my girls have a lot more creative time than screen time over the summer so I took a few hours this week to spruce up their little craft room so it’s a place that they’ll look forward to spending time in.

It’s been a long time since I shared any craft room pics – do you remember this teeny I-always-hit-my-head-on-the-low-ceiling space?

Not much had changed with the space since my craft room makeover almost two years ago (except for it getting much, much messier…) but now it has a new little addition – a wall-mounted paper roll where the girls can draw, brainstorm, play hangman, or use it for whatever else they can think up. We’re breaking it in by starting a summer bucket list of the things we want to do this summer – I’m sure that by the time school is out, it will be filled up with big plans (did you notice that all of my contributions to the list so far involve food 🙂

This was a super simple under-30 minute DIY project that isn’t just for craft rooms – a wall-mounted paper roll would also be fun in a kids room, kitchen, or home office. I simply took two screw eyes that are a little greater than 1″ in diameter on the inside and screwed them into the wall about 18-3/4″ apart (my screw eyes feel pretty secure even though they aren’t in studs but depending upon your walls you may or may not need to use anchors):

Then I picked up an 18″ roll of white paper and a 1″ wood dowel (you can find them at hardware or craft stores), cut the dowel about 22″ long, and threaded it through the screw eyes and the inside of the paper roll:

Finally, I secured the bottom of the paper roll to the wall with some fun washi tape. Super easy and hopefully something that my girls will get a lot of use out of this summer!

I’m also going to stock up on some new craft supplies before school gets out but there’s already plenty of stuff in this little space to get creative with:

And speaking of getting creative, it’s time for many of us to be thinking about teacher appreciation gifts so I thought I’d share one of my favorites from a few year’s ago – a s’mores gift basket with marshmallow roasting forks, a small cooler, and all of the makings for s’mores. I even had a smart reader share a cute tag line that could be used with it: “We need S’MORE teachers like you!”

For some more teacher appreciation ideas, you can also check out {this post} with some cute ideas for dressing up gift cards.

That’s it for me this week – I’m off to celebrate the long weekend with some barbecues, a parade, and…a huge pile of mulch that needs to be spread. Hope you all enjoy some weekend R&R!