Reuse Paper Towel Rolls To Create Gorgeous Textured Wall Decor

Sometimes, the most creative projects can have their roots in the humblest of places. Instagram artist @arte_fusiongallery showed off how she created dynamic textured art using recycled paper towel rolls. While her sculptural and beautiful minimalist paintings look luxe and expensive, creating a similar piece may be easier than you think. With cardboard rolls, plaster bandages, and texture paste, you can create stunningly sculptural works of modern art for your home completely customized to your tastes.

These artworks are a great way to get on board the plaster wall art trend, to add texture to decorate a large and empty wall, or to DIY chic canvas decor. They are also great for using up cardboard material that would otherwise wind up in a landfill. Creating your own art is much more budget-friendly than spending money in home stores for similar pieces that can cost upward of $100 for larger paintings.

To create your custom piece of art, begin by cutting the paper towel rolls in half. As a base, you will need a large canvas or plank of plywood. Lay out your cardboard rolls in the desired design across the surface. Wet plaster bandages (such as Bright Creations plaster cloth rolls) with water, which will create a sticky material that you can easily mold over the cardboard and will help the pieces of the rolls stay put. You can also add some hot glue to the spots where the cardboard meets the base to keep them in place as you work.

Allow the rolls with the bandages to dry for at least two hours, and they will begin to harden into a plaster-like consistency. Once they're dry, begin painting the entire surface, both the backing and the rolls, liberally with a texture paste (like Ranger texture paste). You can buy the paste from art and craft stores, Amazon, or make your own by combining 1 tablespoon each of joint compound and wood glue with 1 ½ tablespoons of Plaster of Paris.

While @arte_fusiogallery makes an all-white piece perfect for minimalist interiors, you can also paint over the exterior of your texture paste once it has dried, or tint it with an acrylic paint when you mix it, to add a little more color to your art. Add elements like sand or glitter to create additional texture, or incorporate mixed media materials like rocks, beads, and other objects into your finished piece.  

Lay out your cardboard rolls in vertical or horizontal rows for a graphic-inspired piece or cut them into smaller or asymmetrical shapes before adding them to the canvas or wood. You can go highly abstract or create more specific motifs and imagery like landscapes and botanical displays by varying how you cut and arrange the pieces of cardboard. Use other shaped cardboard containers and rolls to vary the available shapes for your piece like boxes, tubes, and oatmeal canisters. You can also cut tubes laterally into slices to create relief on your painting surface with the edges facing outward instead of the front surface.