Tissue Tube Dwarfs

Working together at the mine and living in the same house, the Seven Dwarfs were sure to have a lot in common. Nonetheless, they had very distinctive personalities. This collection of tissue tube replicas is fun to make — and easier than you may think. All it takes is a few little tricks to portray the unique facial expressions of these pint-size characters

What you'll need

• 11 toilet tissue tubes
• Craft knife
• Measuring tape
• Craft paints and paintbrushes
• Pencil
• A few cotton swabs
• Fine-tipped markers
• Felt (assorted colors including white and skin-tone)
• Scissors
• Hot glue gun or tacky glue
• 7 small yellow buttons
• Black embroidery floss or string
• Craft wire (5-inch length)
• Pencil

How to make it

1. Paint the upper third of seven toilet tissue tubes a skin-tone hue. Then paint the lower portions of the tubes assorted colors for the dwarfs' shirts. From the remaining tubes, cut seven 2-inch lengths and paint them in assorted colors for the dwarfs' pants.
2. When the paint is dry, snip each pants tube, as shown. Then slip them into the bottoms of the larger tubes.
3. Now it's time to give the dwarfs their faces. Don't worry too much about getting them perfect. You can always repaint the face portion of the tube and start again. Begin by using the tip of a cotton swab to dab on the whites of their eyes (pink eyelids for Sleepy), pink noses (red for Sneezy), pink cheeks (red for Bashful), and white bushy eyebrows for Happy. When the paint is dry, use markers to lightly outline the eyes and add pupils (blue irises, too, for Dopey). Then draw on mouths (wide smiles for Happy and Dopey, a scowl for Grumpy, and a small circle for Sleepy), eyebrows (arched for Grumpy), and eyelashes (for Dopey and Bashful).
4. Cut beards out of white felt for all the dwarfs but Dopey and glue them in place once the facial features have dried. Cut out a pair of felt ears for Dopey and glue them in place, as well.
5. Next, fashion a hat for each elf by rolling a 4-inch felt square into a cone, gluing down the overlapped edge
6. Trim the brim, as shown. Fit the hats over the tops of the tubes. If they turn out a little too snug, don't be afraid to gently stretch the felt along the brim.
7. For belts, thread the yellow buttons onto 6-inch lengths of the embroidery floss or string. Tie the belts snugly around the tube and trim the ends.
8. Finally, shape the craft wire into a pair of glasses for Doc by twice wrapping the midsection around a pencil, as shown, to create a pair of lenses. Glue the wire ends to Doc's face, positioning them so that the tips tuck just under the sides of his beard and the lenses appear to rest on the tip of his nose.