CREATIVE PRINT

Create a dinosaur-themed bedroom with recyclable papercraft décor

Home decoration is not just for grown-ups. With Canon Creative Park, the whole family can get involved in giving a child's bedroom an affordable prehistoric makeover that you can recycle.
Various dinosaur templates printed from Canon Creative Park lie on a table, with a hand reaching to pick one up.

Just like adults, children adore expressing their creativity and personalities through the spaces around them. And when you're young, your bedroom isn't just where you fall asleep at the end of a long day. It's where you do your homework, where you play, where your friends stay over – it's your own little universe. What better way to make that space truly your own than crafting something you love? With Canon Creative Park, a PIXMA printer, some paper and a pair of scissors, it has never been easier.

Pick your theme

An adult and a child build papercraft dinosaurs downloaded from the Canon Creative Park website and printed using a Canon PIXMA printer.

Dad Chee and older son Okkie enjoyed cutting out the dinosaurs together. "We found it very enjoyable as a family, and the big choice of dinosaurs ranged from basic enough for Elon to tackle to super challenging which kept us interested," says Chee.

There are many ways to customise children's bedroom décor – such as patterned curtains or bedding, and painted murals or framed prints. But it can be hard to keep up with children's ever-changing interests. One minute, it's all about space and astronauts, then they're on to pirates, and before you know it, dinosaurs. Repainting and buying new linen or artworks each time can be expensive, but you can now give your child's bedroom a prehistoric makeover in a more affordable way.

So, why not try paper decorations? When your children's interests change, you can simply recycle the decorations and make some more. There are thousands of free templates, including all sorts of child-friendly papercraft ideas, available on the Canon Creative Park app and website, but budding palaeontologists will be especially thrilled to see the dinosaur designs available. Choose a full-head mask, such as that of a Pteranodon or a Triceratops, or a paper figure of an Apatosaurus. And if your children want to get the perfect pop-up card for a friend's birthday, why not create a T-rex card? Chee-Chiu Lee and his two sons Elon (7) and Okkie (11) tried out a selection of designs from the site.

Get ready to make your dinosaur wall art

A dinosaur papercraft template emerges from a Canon PIXMA printer, with a completed model T-rex alongside pot plants to the side.

The Canon PIXMA TS5350a Series printer is ideal not only for papercrafting, but also for creating labels, and it allows you to print straight from your smartphone.

A child uses a pair of scissors to cut out a dinosaur template downloaded from Canon Creative Park and printed using a Canon PIXMA printer.

There's a real satisfaction in crafting, and by introducing your children to making things for themselves from a young age, you could be instilling independence and resilience that may help them later in life.

One of the best things about dinosaur papercraft is that you don't need new or complicated equipment. Check the instructions for each template – some might require extra materials, such as string, elastic bands, craft glue or colouring pens – but in general, here's what you'll need:

Choose your dinosaur decorations

A child uses a brown pencil to colour in a drawing of dinosaurs.

Dinosaur-themed colouring-in templates are also available on Creative Park and can be a great way for children to stay creative while adults take care of the more complicated parts of building and installation. Here seven-year-old Elon enjoys brightening up a dinosaur printout.

An adult's hands construct a paper model dinosaur from Canon's Creative Park printed on a Canon PIXMA printer, with a packet of Canon photo paper behind.

Did you know dinosaur fossils have been found on all seven continents? And that the Stegosaurus was said to have a brain the size of a walnut? Creating dinosaur decorations for the bedroom can give you the opportunity to share such fun facts with your children.

Once you have your tools, it's time to select your designs on Canon Creative Park, download the templates and print them out using your PIXMA printer. There are so many designs to choose from – from a cute paper mobile that will appeal to smaller children, to posters showing a T-rex baring its big, scary teeth that gore-loving older kids will love. Eleven-year-old Okkie found the crafting work particularly interesting – "especially seeing the way the paper tabs work together to create 3D magic!" says Chee.

Talking through what to choose is a great way to get chatting to your children about different kinds of dinosaurs, which they like best and why. You might be surprised by how much they can teach you!

This activity can get kids to think creatively about colour, too. Maybe they want to choose their own colour scheme or complement the colours they already have on their walls and curtains. You can also use it as a prompt to discuss the colour wheel and how colours that are opposites, like blue and orange for example, look good together. Although we tend to think of dinosaurs as certain shades, scientists don't know what colour they were. Creative Park offers outlines of pictures for kids to colour in, so they can let their imaginations run wild. Who says no to the possible existence of a glittery, rainbow dinosaur?

If your kids love any opportunity for a selfie, you could print out a set of Jurassic photo props, get everyone to strike a pose and make your own playful prehistoric portraits, which they can display on their walls or pinboards.

Get the whole family crafting together

An adult's hands construct a T-rex head alongside a child's hands cutting a simple origami dinosaur.

Canon Creative Park has a selection of simple origami dinosaur designs that are ideal for younger kids, as they don't require any sticking or fiddly cutting. This frees up adults to work on more advanced structures, such as this T-rex head, alongside their little ones.

An adult attaches a papercraft T-rex night light to a white bedroom wall.

There is a range of more complex designs available on Canon Creative Park that take dinosaur crafting a step further to create inspiring room decor. This T-rex head can be installed on the wall to make a battery-operated night light. "Elon loves the dinosaur head in his bedroom, with the light in," says Chee. "He shows all his friends when they come round."

Each template comes with step-by-step printable instructions that you can refer to as you go along, a star rating to indicate difficulty level, and information on approximately how long it should take to make. As some of the designs are easier to assemble than others, this means there's something for everyone to get stuck in to – from children just starting school and preteens to grandparents. "There was something about choosing and printing the dinosaurs which made the boys feel like they were creating something from scratch," says Chee.

Let your children tackle the more straightforward templates independently, such as the cute origami Triceratops or an easy mini dinosaur, while you help with tackling the trickier ones, like the 3D Stegosaurus. It's easy to adapt different designs to the skills levels of your children. "Okkie was skilled enough for some complicated cutouts and sticking it all together," says Chee.

Some of the models, such as the articulated paper doll Tyrannosaurus and the elastic-powered Stegosaurus, have moving parts, adding some understanding of engineering and physics into the educational mix.

Decorate the room and share your creations

A pair of hands pins a coloured drawing of two dinosaurs to the wall behind various built dinosaur templates from Canon Creative Park on a table in front.

Making dinosaur papercraft can spark interesting conversations about topics in history, science, and climate change — a great way to complement learning at school.

A built dinosaur template from Canon Creative Park sits on a potted plant with other plants surrounding it.

It can be tricky to find plastic-free toys and decorations. These papercraft dinosaur designs mean you can transform a room without worrying about the environmental impact, and recycle any that get torn during playtime. You could even add them to houseplants to make your paper herbivores a habitat where they feel at home.

Ask your children how they think they could display their dinosaur papercraft to best effect. Maybe they'd like to create a gallery wall of cool dinosaur prints? Together, you can plan out where each one would look best. Perhaps they've made lots of model dinosaurs or crafted their own mini dinosaur diorama. These look fantastic arranged on a shelf, a desk or a chest of drawers so children can grab them quickly when they want to play. "The boys liked placing the dinosaurs in the house plant setting," explains Chee.

An adult and a child admire a model T-rex head built from a Canon Creative Park template, which is held by the adult.

Instead of switching on the TV or a gaming console the next time your child is bored, try papercrafting. It not only serves as a bonding activity, but also helps you relax, can improve concentration and help you express your feelings, as well as being a rewarding experience in its own right.

Next time it's pouring with rain outside or you're looking for something to do on a weekend afternoon, there's no need to spend money on expensive activities. This dinosaur papercraft activity isn't just fun, it also allows your children to develop a whole range of skills, such as creativity, concentration, following instructions and teamwork. They'll be delighted when they see the results – a unique bedroom or play space they can proudly say they've made their own. And when their tastes change, you can just head back to Canon Creative Park to discover more paper templates for designs that tie in to their next topic of interest.

There's never been a better time to decorate your child's bedroom in an affordable way with Canon Creative Park's prehistoric papercrafts. And once you're done, take a picture and share it with the hashtag #MadeWithPixma to inspire others who are keen to have a go. Now all you have to decide is which dinosaur to bring to life!

Rachel Segal Hamilton

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