Stories

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.

Little people love to show their friends and family they adore them – and what better way than with a hand-crafted colourful friendship bracelet? Our talented design team have created one for your kids to make and give as a gift to their favourite person or people. We also share other craft creations, to team with the bracelet, to make it even more exciting to give and receive. How to Make the Bracelet Simply click here to download the template to make your beautiful bracelet. You will need: A printer, paper and card, scissors, pencil and ball of putty (or something to make a small hole in the card), 7 strands of thread (embroidery threads work well), each approx 20 inches long. Instructions: Step 1: Print out the loom template and stick onto some card. Cut it out and make cuts along each of the small lines. Step 2: Make a hole in the middle of the loom by putting a ball of putty underneath and pushing through a pencil.Step 3: Take 7 strands of thread and knot them together at one end, leaving an inch of thread loose at the end so you have a decorative tassel. Step 4: Push the knotted end through the hole in the middle of the loom so the knot is on the underside. Step 5: Thread each of the strands through each of the slots, you should be left with one empty slot. Step 6: Hold your loom so the empty slot is at the top. Count 3 strands to the left and move this third stands into the empty slot. Step 7: Turn your loom so the new empty slot is at the top. Count 3 strands to the left again and move it to the empty slot.Step 8: Keep repeating stage 6 and 7 and you’ll see your friendship bracelet grow from under the loom. Keep the threads nice and tight in the slots as you continue making your bracelet.Step 9: Keep going until your bracelet is long enough to tie around your wrist. When you are happy with it, remove it from the loom, tie a knot in the end and cut off the loose threads, leaving an inch at the end to make another tassel. Now you can make as many as you like and give them to your friends!   3 Friendly Ways to Present Your Bracelet 1. In a card. If you can’t see your friends at the moment, then send your bracelets by post inside a special homemade card. We’ve created 3 amazing notecards for you to make – an adorable sausage dog, dreamy sailboat and a cherry ice-cream, go here for the instructions and downloads. As an extra touch, why not include a quote about the wonders of friendship?Here are our favourites: “A sweet friendship refreshes the soul.” - Proverbs 27:9 “Many people will walk in and out of your life, but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart.” - Eleanor Roosevelt. “There is nothing I would not do for those who are really my friends.” - Jane Austen. “The only way to have a friend is to be one.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson. “Friendship is the only cement that will ever hold the world together.” - Woodrow Wilson. 2. Pop it into a piñata. Little piñata favours are the perfect way to present your bracelet to a friend. Put it inside and they’ll get a lovely surprise when they open it. Make your own mini piñata, go here for ideas or choose one of our lovely designs which include unicorns, llamas, skull and crossbones, flamingos, swans, robots, mermaids, crocodiles and rainbows. 3. Include it with a gift. If it’s your friend’s birthday then you may want to team your homemade friendship bracelet with another gift too. Look for presents that have a true friendship meaning, like our Secret Notebook necklace or a notebook for them to write notes to you, like our sausage dog, unicorn and cat notebooks.

Kids love skittles – setting them up and knocking them down is excellent entertainment. We’ve designed a fabulous paper skittle set for you to make and play with. It features amazing safari animals your little people will love. We also reveal how to craft different types of balls to knock the skittles down with. Create the Safari Skittles Time for some sensational safari fun with these paper skittles featuring a lion, elephant, rhino, monkey, cheetah and zebra, with fabulous embellishments.Please click here to download the templates. You will need: a printer, paper, thin card, scissors and glue. Instructions: Step 1: Print out the templates and glue the rectangular pieces onto thin card. Cut out all the pieces. Step 2: Curve the rectangles into a tube shape and glue along the guide shown. This will form the body of each of your animal skittles.    Step 3: For the animal heads, firstly fold along all the dotted lines.    Step 4: For the elephant and rhino, fold them in half and then fold out the sides of the head at the crease line, folding the elephant ears out as well. Glue together the front sections, just up to the crease line. Step 5: For the lion, cut along all the lines marked on the circular mane to create a fringing affect. Stick the lion’s face in the middle of the mane.     Step 6: For the zebra, fold down along the two creases on the nose and fold in the two tabs on the sides. These tabs will be used to attach the zebra head to the body. Glue just the end part of the nose together. Then make the black mane by folding the mane piece in half and glue together just the black section, folding out the two white tabs at the bottom. Cut along each of the lines marked on the black section to create a fringe effect. Slide the mane into the slot on the head of the zebra and glue down the tabs on the underside to hold it in place.Step 7: All the heads can be paired up with their matching body and glued in place. Line up the skittles, grab a ball and get ready to play!   Craft a Ball If you’ve got a light ball, then you can use this to knock over the skittles. Or, why not make your own balls for extra fun? Here are 3 types you can craft. 1. A bouncy ball. It’s chemistry time! Simply mix borax, corn starch, glue, water and food coloring together, leave to dry and hey presto – a bouncy ball! Go here for the instructions. 2. A rice and balloon ball. The great thing about balloon balls is that you can use them as juggling balls too! All you have to do is fill a small food bag with uncooked rice or sand until you have enough to create a small ball. Seal the bag with a tie, wrap it around, then place cut balloons over it. Here are the instructions and video. 3. A paper ball. Wrap layers of paper into a ball shape, then use tape to hold them in place. Finish with a colored paper layer, like our fabulous safari wrapping paper and add decorations too, if you want, like stickers. (Check out our amazing sticker range here, particularly the mini jungle sticker roll with safari animals). Or draw animals to match the skittles and stick them onto the balls with glue. If you want to play the skittles game as part of a safari party, then check out our brilliant Go Wild party range and our Safari Party In A Box bundle which includes: 1. Go Wild plates  2. Napkins  3. Cups  4. Cupcake kit  5. Candles  6. Leopard mask card  7. Go Wild garland  8. Cheetah foil balloon  9. Ray Zebra knitted organic toy.  

Flowers are fabulous for craft making  – whether you use real ones or paper designs. We’ve created a beautiful 3D floral headband to look sensational at summer parties, and rounded up two other flower makes your kids will love too. Craft a Floral Headband Look summery fantastic fast with this headband. Go here to download the free template. You will need: a printer; printer paper or thin card; coloured paper or card; glue; scissors; pompoms, beads or buttons to embellish; a gold pen or foiled gold paper/card (optional). Step 1: Print out the flowers and leaves onto paper or thin card and cut them out. Step 2: Cut a thin strip of coloured paper/thin card to make the headband. Make sure it is long enough to go around your head. Step 3: To create a 3D effect with the flowers, fold the flower in half one way, and then open it up and fold it in half the other way. For the flowers with more than 4 petals, simply fold the petals another two times until all the petals have a crease line in them. Step 4: Overlap the flowers by putting one on top of another and finish by adding a pompom, bead or button in the centre. Alternatively, you could cut out circles of gold paper or card and stick these down or add some gold pen. Step 5: Each leaf has a front and back. Stick the two pieces together and fold the leaf in the middle at a slight angle. Step 6: Now assemble your headdress by sticking on the leaves and flowers. Stick the ends of the headband together and it’s ready to wear.   Construct Flower Butterfly Wings Create wings, made from fresh flowers, with this design made by our talented team. Go here for the details. Perfect to do at a party as a craft, or for summer fun with your kids. Make a Floral Garland Make an indoor, or outdoor, party look amazing with our floral garland crafted from beautiful paper flowers. Click here for the details. If you want a party to look floral fantastic, then we’ve got lots of gorgeous floral plates, napkins and cups everyone will love, including roses and delicate pastels. 1. Large Pajaki Chandelier 2. Bright Floral Tattoos 3. Flower Jewel Necklace 4. Flower Jewel Hair Clips 5. English Garden Party Hats 6. Bright Floral Napkins 7. Flower Garden Plates 8. Floral Halo Crown 9. English Garden Party Cups   Shop our English Garden collection here

Musical sessions, with homemade instruments, are guaranteed to make your summer parties extra enjoyable. Our talented design team have created a delightful little drum for your kids to make and play. We also share our favourite summer songs to sing and drum along to. Make a Delightful Drum This fabulous spinning drum will create a sensational beat. Perfect for party fun. Simply download the template here. You have a choice of a coloured drum, or go for the plain version which you can colour in with your favourite colours. You will need: A printer Paper/Card (if you use paper, glue it onto thin card like an old cereal packet) Scissors Glue Sticky tape A paper straw (we’ve got a great choice of striped or shiny straws, see here) Thin cord or string (approximately 6 inches long) 2 beads (or you could use buttons) A skewer/pencil Putty (for making the holes in the card) Colouring pencils or pens to use on the colouring version. (Optional) Instructions: Step 1: Print and cut out the 3 pieces.Step 2: Make the holes in the long piece of card by placing some putty underneath the printed X’s and pushing a skewer or pencil through. Small holes are needed, big enough to thread the cord/string through and a large hole in the middle big enough to push the straw through.Step 3: Cut your cord/string in half so you have two 3 inch long pieces. Thread them both into the small holes and tape a small amount of the cord/string in place on the inside.  Step 4: Push about 1 inch of the straw into the big hole and cut three small slits into the end of the straw that has been pushed in. Flatten out the slits and securely stick them down flat to the card strip using tape.Step 5: Fold down all the flaps along the two sides of the card strip and curve the whole thing round into a circle shape. Glue or tape it in place.  Step 6: Add glue to the tabs and stick the card circles onto both sides and stick firmly in place.  Step 7: Finally thread a bead or button onto the ends of the cord/string. Tie a big knot at the ends to avoid the bead/button coming off and the drum is ready to spin! Summer of fun play list A wonderful way to really enjoy the summer of 2020 is to have a fabulous play list whilst you party. Listen, sing or play along with your drum.  Click here to play the Meri Meri Summer Garden Party Playlist, a mix of classic and modern feelgood summery tunes.

Create an out-of-this-world space scene at home with our printable templates and read our top tips on creating a star-tastic outfit for amazing astronauts!

Kids will love our specially designed knight’s castle. Fun to make and even more fun to have adventures with. We also share our favorite ideas for a dashing knight’s party. To Make The Knight’s Castle This magical castle comes with 2 knights on horseback, a sword-wielding knight, a knight with a crossbow, flags, a dastardly dragon and castle ground scenery including a tree and 2 rabbits.Click here to print it out onto card (or paper which can then be stuck onto card). You will need: Scissors Glue Double sided tape (optional) Craft knife Push pin and tack Pencil String or rope Darning needle Cocktail sticks Egg box base Instructions:  Step 1: Cut out the windows and around the door using a craft knife. Make sure you leave the bottom of the door attached. Step 2: Fold down the door and glue the separate door piece onto the back, to make it double sided. Step 3: Punch holes in the front of the castle and in the door (use a push pin with a piece of tack behind, and then extend the hole with a pencil). Cut two pieces of string (or rope) 6 inches long. Thread them through the front of the castle and through the door and knot each end. This will create a drawbridge. Step 4: Fold the tabs on the front and back of the castle and attach the sides. You can now place the egg box in the back. Step 5: Fold the flags in half and glue them on the top of the cocktail sticks. Step 6: Set the scene. 4 Ways to Enjoy a Knight’s Party If the castle has made your kids yearn for a knight’s party, then we’ve got lots of ideas for you to make it a party to remember. 1. Party table Add lots of style with shining silver plates (check out our brilliant silver foil shield shaped plates), they look great hung on the walls as decorations too!) and sparkling candlesticks (for safety, use candles with fake flames). 1. Shield Plates 2. Knights Cake Topper 3. Dragon Stand-Up Card 4. Knights Large Napkins 5. Knights Small Napkins 6. Knights Large Plates 7. Knights Cup8. Knights Helmets 2. Party crafts and games There are some fabulous knight themed crafts and games they’ll love to make and play. We particularly like the teeny tiny catapault make which can be used to fire missiles at castle walls or dragons (which you can make out of cardboard) to knock them down. Another great game is a trio of challenges to test the knights’ aim, strength and wit. To test their aim, blow bubbles and get them to pop them before they hit the ground (you can give them cardboard swords for this if you want, which you can get them to make first as a craft activity). For their strength challenge, get them each to take a turn to whack a pinata (with a plastic or wooden sword) to see who can burst it open (we’ve got fabulous silver foil numbered pinatas that will look fantastic at a knight’s party). For the wit section, get each knight to tell the queen or king (pick an adult at the party) a joke, whomever makes them laugh the loudest is the winner. 3. Dress-up Transform with our fabulous Dragon Knights’ helmets. For wonderful tips on how to make a sword, shield and tunic go here. 4. Party food and drinks Create a banquet by serving large platters of food and jugs of drink. Good choices are dragon eggs (add green, blue or red food coloring to the water when boiling boiled eggs), fruit swords (pieces of fruit on wooden skewers), shield sandwiches or pizza (cut into shield shapes, and decorated with small pieces of bell pepper and lunch meat on top to give color and crunch) and cupcakes with knight themed toppers (like our set with silver foil cupcake cases and colorful knights and dragons toppers). For drinks, if you want a gory touch (which let’s face it, kids love!) why not serve Dragon’s Blood? (simply serve cherryade or mix soda water with some raspberry or cranberry juice).

Your kids will love to pretend to have their own deli– taking everyone’s orders and then making a ‘meal’ to remember. Our clever designers have created menus and lots of food items to print out and play with. We also share our favorite party sandwich ideas. Order, Create and Serve The fabulous foods include bread, tomato, lettuce, turkey, roast beef, bacon, avocado, peanut butter, strawberry jelly, tuna, cheese, pickles, cucumber, a fried egg, mayo, tomato ketchup and there’s even a ‘knife’ to use. Perfect for culinary creativity. Click here to download the templates Simply print out all the menus and food items onto card (or print onto paper and then glue onto card), cut them out and get ready for fun.Why not get your kids some paper party plates and napkins to serve their ‘food’ on too? We’ve got fabulous ranges to choose from with amazing designs and all the colors of the rainbow.   Perfect Party Sandwich Ideas If playing with pretend sandwiches has made everyone hungry, it’s time to rustle up some of the real thing. Here are three ways to make them with a difference to turn the meal into a party! 1. Make works of art With the clever use of ingredients you can make sandwiches look like charming creations. We love these crazy crab and sailboat sandwiches, these woodland animal sandwiches, and this remarkable race car sandwich.  2. Shape them up Transform a humble sandwich into a special shape to really delight the kids. Do this with your favorite cookie cutters, or cut them with a knife. We’ve got a great stainless steel cookie cutter range, including a unicorn, sausage dog and a fox. 3. Switch up your sandwich type A sandwich doesn’t just have to have 2 slices of bread. Why not try an open sandwich, pinwheel or a multi-tiered variety where you use a selection of different breads and fillings? Go here for more information.

Why send a letter to friends and family on plain paper, when you can send them something really special? Our fabulous designers have created not 1, not 2, but 3 fabulous notecards for you to make. We also share our favorite famous inspirational quotes, perfect to add to your notes. Three Terrific Notecards There’s something to suit everyone – an adorable sausage dog, a dreamy sailing boat or a delicious looking ice-cream. You will need: a printer, paper/card, scissors, coloring pencils or pens, twine, tape or glue, foiled card and colored paper (optional). Please go here for the templates. Boat Notecard Step 1: Print out the sheets and cut out the notecards with scissors. Step 2: Fold back the sails along the dotted lines. You will need to add color. You can do this with coloring pencils or you can cut out the sails from colored paper. We found that stripes work really well on one of the sails. Step 3: Use the anchor template on some silver foiled card or you can just color it in using a silver pen. Step 4: Poke a hole in the top of the anchor using a pencil and then another in the main part of the boat. Step 5: Next take your twine and tie to the anchor and then the boat. Step 6: Glue the ­flag in the middle of the sails. Sausage dog and Ice-cream notecards Step 1: Print out the sheets and cut out the notecards with scissors. Step 2: Fold along the dotted lines. The ice cream notecard folds in on itself and the sausage dog folds like a concertina. Step 3: (Sausage Dog only). Cut the round tag for the dog collar from some silver foil card or color with a silver foil pen, and glue on to the collar. Step 4: Stick the ­flaps down using glue or tape. Write your notes and send to your friends or family. For extra embellishment you can decorate the envelope and card with lots of fun stickers. We’ve got a great range including unicorns, mermaids, tropical, space and many more. Famous inspirational quotes Want to add something inspirational to your notes, but can’t find the words? Try using these quotes from famous people. “Imagination is more important than knowledge.” - Albert Einstein. “Keep your face always toward the sunshine—and shadows will fall behind you.” - Walt Whitman. “It doesn’t matter how slowly you go, as long as you do not stop.” - Confucius. “All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them.” - Walt Disney. “Nothing is impossible, the word itself says ‘I’m possible’.” - Audrey Hepburn. “What lies behind you and what lies in front of you, pales in comparison to what lies inside of you.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson “If you hear a voice within you say ‘you cannot paint’, then by all means paint and that voice will be silenced.” - Vincent Van Gogh. “Believe you can and you’re halfway there.” - Theodore Roosevelt. “Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.” - Dr. Seuss

Our talented designers have crafted amazing cut out paper dolls for everyone to enjoy. They’re based on our beautiful best-selling fabric dolls. They’ve also designed gorgeous clothes and accessories, for stylish looks and activities.

Delight your little ones with our adorable, printable cake toppers and read our tips on how to create the perfect picnic complete with delicious treats!

If your kids love to dress up, they’ll adore our mermaid tail make crafted from metallic cupcake cases. Perfect for little mermaid and mermen imaginative play. We also share our favourite under-the-sea game ideas.

Ahoy me hearties! Little people who enjoy swashbuckling adventures will love to make, and play with, our excellent egg box pirate ship and accessories. Especially designed for you by our talented designers, it’ll give hours of ship-shape fun.

Let the ocean inspire your little people to make beautiful crafts. Our talented designers have created an amazing aquarium make for them, filled with colourful fish. We’ve also rounded up lots of other fantastic under the sea creative ideas.

We’ve designed gorgeous clay trinket dishes that you can make at home - a perfect place to keep special little items safe, they're little pots of creative fun. These also make fabulous gifts to send to grannies and friends.

Your garden is full of potential for beautiful crafts to make with your kids. Our talented designers have created amazing butterfly wings, made with petals, leaves and flowers – they look so beautiful!

Give your little people hours of imaginative playtime with our amazing paper dolls, crafted by our talented designers. They’re based on our beautiful best-selling fabric dolls Ruby, Matilda and Lila. They’ve also designed gorgeous paper doll clothes and accessories.

Little boys and girls love to pretend to fly, whether it’s by dressing up as a rocket to zoom to the moon, or wearing a superman or superwoman cape. Playing with toys that fly is also amazing fun. So, our designers have created a special napkin parachute for your kids to make.

Looking for fun craft activities for your little people? Our talented designers have crafted amazing printable paper dolls for everyone to enjoy.