Upcycled Toilet Paper Roll Minecraft Desk Organizer

If there’s one thing my boys are known for, it is their love of Minecraft. But they also have a love of crafting with mom. In fact, I spend most days having to juggle the baby while overseeing some new project or other for the kids! And while I love to bolster their creativity, I gotta admit I’m overwhelmed trying to keep four boys from killing each other over creative differences! Haha.  But thankfully, I have this amazing and simple craft that each kid can do pretty easily. It’s upcycled from old toilet paper rolls and an empty box. It’s a Minecraft Desk Organizer!

We had to save up for a while to have enough empty toilet paper rolls for all the kids to make their own versions of this. I mean, we go through a TON of toilet paper here, but my kids aren’t the best at remembering to save the empty rolls. So often, they tear them apart to make “superhero bracelets” or other weird and wonderful pieces. But after a while, we had enough.

Here’s what you’ll need for this project.

• Square box approx 6” tall and 4” wide
• Dark green paint
• 2 sheets of white paper
• Graph paper (or you can make your own)
• Ruler
• Pencil
• Scissors
• A few different shades of green markers, a beige marker, and a black marker
• 4 toilet paper rolls all the same size
• 2 sheets of red construction paper
• Glue gun

Instructions:

Paint your box green and let it dry.

Get out your graph paper or make your own using a ruler to measure ¼ inch squares on the paper. Follow the photo below to get the placement of the black face right and fill that in and then alternate shades of green on the other boxes. This face was made on an 8 x 8 grid.

Glue the face onto a piece of white paper and cut an edge around it like a ¼” frame. Glue the frame to one side of the box and set aside.

Take your four toilet paper rolls and measure the height. Fold your 2 sheets of red paper in half. Measure up from the edges and draw a line the height of the toilet paper rolls. Cut these out so that you have four pieces. Cut a strip of paper that is 8 ½ inches long and 2 inches tall. Use the photo as a reference and draw the “ T N T” design on the middle of the paper.

Use the glue gun to cover the toilet paper tubes with the red paper. Trim of any excess. Once the 4 tubes are covered, glue them together and wrap the center of the tubes with the TNT paper.

Glue the TNT to the Green Box and organize the kids’ miscellaneous desk items such as markers, scissors, paint brushes and more!

This is such an easy craft to do, and it will make the day of any Minecraft-loving kid. Some other options you can consider to make this craft even easier are to cover your box with green construction paper rather than green paint. Similarly, you can use red paint on the TNT if you don’t have construction paper.

Another idea to consider is to glue the TNT onto a small square of cardboard so that they have a bottom. If the organizer is going to just sit on the desk, you may not need it, but since kids often like to pick things up, you may find a bottom necessary!

Check out some of my other fun Kid Crafts below!

Katie Reed

Katie Reed is a passionate writer and mother of four vivacious boys from Salt Lake City, Utah. Drawing from her own journey through TTC, pregnancy, and the joys of raising children, she offers a wealth of insight into the world of motherhood. Beyond her heartfelt tales, Katie delights her readers with family-friendly recipes, engaging crafts, and a curated library of printables for both kids and adults. When she’s not penning her experiences, you’ll find her crafting memories with her husband and sons—Dexter, Daniel, Chester, and Wilder.