Stories

Print-out and make these special rosettes to make your teacher feel appreciated at the end of the summer term

Create a rocket-themed Father's Day card kids will love. A fun craft project perfect for toddlers, preschoolers and young kids to make a special gift for Dad.

Print-out and make a Meri Meri Papel Picado garland to celebrate Cinco de Mayo.

Download, print-out and craft these fun Meri Meri-designed Lunar New Year red envelopes, red lanterns and rabbit lanterns. 

Valentine’s cards are the perfect way to tell the special people in your life that you love them. Put them in the post, into a postbox or deliver them in person (if virus rules allow). Our talented designers have created several card designs for you to make.

Looking for fun craft activities for your little people? Our talented designers have crafted an amazing Harry paper doll for everyone to enjoy. They’ve also created Ruby, Matilda, Carolyn and Lila paper dolls – do check them out in our stories section (so you can make several friends for Harry to play with). Harry Loves to Travel Harry is a real adventurer and enjoys exploring the world and going on marvellous holidays – perfect for imaginative play! Download our Harry printable paper doll template and 2 pages of his clothes and accessories onto card (or print onto normal paper and stick onto card) Click here to download. He comes with a sensational suitcase which you can make, then fill, with all his favourite things needed for the perfect get-away – including clothes, suntan lotion, a camera, a mask and snorkel, binoculars, bucket and spade, sunglasses, toothbrush and toothpaste. Here are the instructions on how to make his suitcase: Step 1: Print onto card, and cut around the suitcase and handle. Step 2:  Fold along all of the dashed lines.Step 3: Put glue or double-sided tape on the tabs and stick into position following the printed arrows. Step 4: Stick on the handle. Create Harry’s Many Looks As well as travelling and going to the beach, Harry loves performing magic shows and comes with an amazing star-sprinkled cape, top hat and wand. He also loves to pretend to be a pirate and has a fabulous pirate hat and striped top. He enjoys taking photographs whilst on walks on cooler days, so has a woolly hat, gloves and sweatshirt to stay warm in. Keep all his clothes and accessories neat and tidy in his suitcase when he’s on his travels. Then, when at home, if you prefer you can hang them onto a neat little washing line (see our Ruby blog for details).

Dress your tree in festive paper chains! Our free, printable template contains fun designs in holiday colours and is an activity to share with friends and family.

Welcome Jasper, the black cat who loves Halloween! Enjoy hours of imaginative play with our printable templates of Jasper, his outfits, and accessories.

Boom! Zap! These cool superhero cuffs are a great activity for DIY dressing up. Simply download the free template, follow our easy instructions, and prepare to save the world...

A great party activity or at-home craft – make your own circus top hats with a signature Meri Meri twist! Download the free template to make yours now.

Perfect for a mermaid-themed party or to hang up in their bedroom – this easy mermaid craft is a great activity for creative kids.

Gravity-defying acrobats, mischievous clowns, bareback horse riders and thoughtful creative direction... Gifford’s Circus is a breath-taking spectacular of diverse talent. Originally homegrown in the Cotswolds, the circus now tours the country and is loved by British celebrities like Stella McCartney, Helena Bonham Carter and Lily Allen. 

Say “boo!” Celebrate Halloween with this easy-to-make treat box. Simply download the free template, follow our easy instructions, and prepare to collect all the treats...

Sydney Piercey is a mother of three who is passionate about re-use, creativity and pursuing a slower, more sustainable life. Previously a nanny before having her own children, she’s now making waves online with her cardboard play creations. Sydney’s first book, Sustainable Play, will be released this Spring – featuring over 60 cardboard crafts and games for an earth-kind home.

This beautiful jewellery box is easy to make with just card and ribbon, using our free downloadable template. A perfect rainy-day activity, or used as favours for a ballet-themed party – just write each guest’s name in the frame provided.

Triceratops fans will love transforming into their favorite dino with this easy headpiece to make at home.

Keep the Christmas magic alive by sending Santa a letter and crafting a reply! With our free, printable templates & top tips for writing a response, you’ll ace the holidays this year.

Craft a Halloween Headpiece: Meri Meri's DIY Delight - Unleash your creativity with step-by-step instructions to create a bewitching headpiece for a truly unique Halloween look.

Make your home look Halloween ready with lots of sensational scary and eye-catching decorations. Here are our top 5 tips. 1. Entrance Hall Horrors Even if you don’t have guests around, it’s still a brilliant idea to make your entrance hallway look amazing as it’s the opening into your haunted house. Balloons look fabulous tied on and above doors, like our sparkly bat foil balloons and giant spider balloons. Place Halloween heads in the windows, like Frankenstein’s monster, Dracula and skulls, for an eerie effect. Make them out of card and colour in. Add lots of shiny foil to add shimmer at night, like our sparkly silver mylar tape. 2. Creepy Corridors  Children will love a terrifying thrill when they peek around corners and zoom along corridors. We recommend hanging decorations from the ceiling, that they need to avoid bumping into. Check out our scary ghost decorations and hanging bat decorations. Lots of fake cobwebs and spiderwebs are a must too! 1. Hanging Bat Decorations 2. Scary Ghost Decorations 3. Sparkle Bat Foil Balloons 4. Halloween Motif Sticker Sheets 5. Glitter Halloween Sticker Sheets 6. Halloween Motif Frame Plates   To make cobwebs: Stretch out cotton ball pieces until thin and spray with hairspray to stick them together. Place on brick walls or hang from lights. To make a spider web: Place two pipe cleaners on top of each other, and twist together to make ‘arms’ in an X shape. Twist a third pipe cleaner once around the centre of the X to make two more ‘arms’. Ensure each of the six ‘arms’ extending from the centre are even. Wrap a 3 foot long piece of cotton thread around the ‘arms’ in a spiral pattern. Add a dab of glue at the thread twists to help keep them in place. Tie the thread into a knot once you’ve finished the spiral, and create a loop at the top of the cobweb for you to easily hang it. For more spiderweb and cobweb ideas go here. 3. Party Room Portraits  Haunted houses are always full of scary portraits to give lots of atmosphere. Print out or draw freaky faces and put them in frames. Or hang up our Halloween motif frame plates featuring Dracula, Luna Witch, Midnight the black cat and a Jack o’ Lantern. Lots of candles are a great way to add a scary illumination to the portraits. Pop them into mason jars, which you can cover on the outside with cobwebs or black lace. For more Halloween candle decoration ideas go here. You can also decorate toilet roll inners and tape electric candles on top for a ‘fake candle’ look, which is safer if you’ve got very little people in the house. 4. Piñata Party Time A piñata is excellent as a decoration and a fun way to get candy too! Why not make your own as a great craft project with your kids? Here’s how to make a Frankenstein Monster piñata and a Jack o’ Lantern piñata. Or, if you don’t have the time or inclination to make one, take a look at our wonderful witch piñata with lots of shimmering holographic foil. 5. Sticker Solutions A set of Halloween themed stickers can give you a multitude of decorations – pop them onto pumpkins, candlesticks and posters. We’ve got glittery stickers  or ones with fun googly-eyes.

A homemade picture frame makes a gorgeous gift for granny, or for you or your kids to keep a favorite photograph in. Our talented design team have created two 3D frames for you to make – beautiful butterflies or dynamic dinosaurs. We also share our top ideas on how to take the perfect photographs to pop into your frames. Create a Fabulous Frame Make your photographs look amazing with these butterfly or dinosaur frames. Click here to download the free templates. To make the frames you will need: A printer, printer paper and card, scissors, glue or sticky foam pads, thread, cord or craft wire, sequins, beads and googly eyes. You can also use stickers for decoration (we’ve got a wide range, check them out here). And, of course, you will need a fabulous photograph to frame! (6” x 4” size). Step 1: Print out the templates for the frames onto paper and glue onto card or print it straight onto card. The stand piece will ideally need to be glued to a thicker piece of card or to two pieces of thin card to give it extra strength. Print out your choice of illustrations from the templates. Cut out all the pieces you wish to use. Step 2: To make the frame, first decide if you want it to be landscape or portrait (this will obviously depend on the photograph you want to frame). Take the back piece and glue along the shaded areas (itʼs important you only glue the 3 sides so you can easily slide your photo in at the end!). Then stick the front of your frame to the back piece. For the stand, firstly fold along the dotted line. Lay the stand down flat on the back of your frame so that the short side is parallel with the bottom of the frame. Stick the top part of the stand down as shown. Step 3: Now for the decorations. Use glue or sticky foam pads to attach your characters to make your frame really stand out. The butterflies can be made to look 3D by folding them in half and using thread, cord or craft wire to make antennae. Or add googly eyes to the dinosaurs. Then just have fun adding on as many embellishments as you like. Or why not try personalising your frame with some of our sensational stickers? Step 4: Once youʼre happy with your design, finish off by sliding your chosen photo into the frame. Take the Perfect Photograph 1. Get your subject off-center. Apparently, it’s a common mistake to think the subject of your photographs should be directly in the center of the shot. However, this is said to reduce overall visual interest, causing a less than stimulating effect. So, get your subject to stand slightly off-center for a more interesting result. 2. Bigger is better. A lot of people have the subject of their photograph too small in the shot. So, zoom in or get closer with your camera. 3. Go for patterns. Our eyes love patterns, so make your photograph more exciting by including lots of them in the shot – so this could be with clothing, accessories (check out our amazing hair accessories, enamel pins, embroidered brooches and necklaces) or your background, like flowers, trees or a colorful painting.