Cut a length of coloured paper to act as the base of the scroll. Make sure it is long enough for you to fit three to six pictures of different shapes and sizes. Cut another length of paper (about 1-2cm shorter and narrower) and glue onto your scroll base allowing the base colour to frame this second layer. Press the layers firmly together. 

Next make a decorative banner (called a toran) to edge the scroll. Choose a coloured paper the same length as the scroll and decorate with brightly coloured paints – simple splodges or something more elaborate. Once the paint has dried, cut shapes into the edge along the length to form a colourful bunting-like banner. To finish it off decorate another simple ribbon-like strip, decorate it and glue along the top of your “bunting” shapes. Put this to one side for now.

Whilst you wait for the glue and paint to dry in the previous steps, you can get on with making the pictures for the scroll. The original Hindu story tells the tale of Rama and Sita, however you could use this decorative scroll to tell any story through pictures. Decide how many pictures you can fit onto your scroll and draw a picture to represent each part of the story.

Now you just need to stick the pictures to the scroll itself, and also add the banner to the top. Just glue these on and press firmly. You can add cut out additional drawings too - we've added pictures of lamps (called diyas) at the bottom and on the outside of the scroll.

All that's left to do now is add some detail. As Diwali is the Festival of Light it’s important to make the scroll as colourful and bright as possible by adding lots of shimmer with a gold pen or glitter. Once dry, roll up each end so you get a scroll-like effect. We've added a wooden dowel to each end, attaching them with masking tape, to make rolling and unrolling the scroll easier.