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Mermaid Paper Bag Craft For Kids [Free Template]

Mermaid fans unite! There’s never too many mermaid crafts and activities to do, right?

If you agree, you’ll want to make this easy mermaid paper bag craft with your kids.

We’re giving you a free printable template to make it super simple to recreate, plus it comes with a mermaid and a merboy version.

This craft is perfect for ocean themed or summertime! Watch our quick video tutorial below or read our step by step directions to see how to make this fun craft.

Don’t forget to look through all of our fun mermaid activities for kids for more great ideas!

Mermaid Puppet

paper bag mermaid craft image collage with the words paper bag mermaids in the middle

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Supplies

  • Brown paper bag
  • Colored cardstock or construction paper
  • Scissors
  • Glue
  • Mermaid template (enter your email in the form at the end of this post to have the link sent to you)

Directions

Download the mermaid template, print, and cut out the pieces you need.

Optional: Glue the ocean background to the main portion and flap of the brown paper bag.

hand gluing blue paper to brown paper bag

Create the mermaid or merboy head by gluing the hair to the top of the page.

hand gluing hair to mermaid head

Take the completed head and glue it to the flap portion of the brown paper bag.

hand gluing head to paper bag mermaid craft

Assemble the body by gluing the arms to the back of each side of the torso.

hand gluing arms to torso of paper bag mermaid

If you’re making a mermaid, glue the seashells to the chest area.

hand gluing seashells to paper bag mermaid craft

Glue the top portion of the mermaid tail to the bottom portion of the torso.

hand gluing top of mermaid tail to torso of paper bag mermaid

Next, glue the torso to the mermaid tail.

hand gluing torso to mermaid tail

Finish creating the tail by gluing the end of the tip of the tail.

hand gluing fin to paper bag mermaid tail

Place the entire lower body on the main portion of the paper bag and glue it in place.

hand gluing tail to paper bag mermaid

Use a marker to draw the scales on the mermaid tail.

hand drawing scales on paper bag mermaid

That’s it! Isn’t this such a fun craft?

hand holding mermaid paper bag craft

More Ocean Ideas For Kids

Want to add this mermaid craft to themed unit study? Check out some of our favorite ideas below!

We love borrowing books from the library or buying some to add to our home collection. Reading is a great way to introduce a new unit and as you know, has tremendous benefits! Below are some of the top rated ocean books for kids!

The Snail and the Whale– Julia Donaldson, author of the famous book The Gruffalo, brings kids another fun book about an unlikely set of friends. Snail and Whale have lots of fun together in this colorful book!

Shark Lady– This children’s book is based upon the true story of Eugenie Clark, aka, The Shark Lady. Learn about her love of sharks, her discoveries, and the inspiring message of going after what you want in life.

The Rainbow Fish -This is a classic children’s book with a wonderful message for children. In it, a fish learns to share his favorite possession, his glittery scales, with his friends!

boy and girl paper bag mermaid craft

For more ocean crafts, check out some of our favorite below:

boy mermaid paper bag craft

This ocean sensory bin is great for when you want something done for you. If you prefer the DIY route, try out this frozen ocean sensory bin.

The ocean playdough kit is a great way for kids to get hands-on with their play. Plus, the pre-made dough is ready to go, so all you need to do is open the box and start playing.

It’s a fun way to explore the ocean world without getting wet, and it’s also a great way to develop fine motor skills. So whether your child is a beach bum or a landlubber, the ocean play dough kit is sure to be a hit!

Share With Us

Did you make this craft with your kids or students? We’d love to feature them on our social media!

For a chance to have your child’s craft featured, simply snap a picture of the completed project and post it to our Facebook page, email it to us directly by clicking here, or use #simpleeverydaymom on your social media!

More Ideas For Kids

boy and girl paper bag mermaid craft

Mermaid Paper Bag Craft For Kids

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Active Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Difficulty: Easy

This mermaid paper bag craft is the perfect summer activity for boys and girls!

Materials

  • Brown paper bag
  • Colored cardstock or construction paper
  • Scissors
  • Glue
  • Markers
  • Mermaid template

Instructions

  1. Download the mermaid template, print, and cut out the pieces you need.
  2. Optional: Glue the ocean background to the main portion and flap of the brown paper bag.
  3. Create the mermaid or merboy head by gluing the hair to the top of the page.
  4. Take the completed head and glue it to the flap portion of the brown paper bag.
  5. Assemble the body by gluing the arms to the back of each side of the torso.
  6. If you're making a mermaid, glue the seashells to the chest area.
  7. Glue the top portion of the mermaid tail to the bottom portion of the torso.
  8. Next, glue the torso to the mermaid tail.
  9. Finish creating the tail by gluing the end of the tip of the tail.
  10. Place the entire lower body on the main portion of the paper bag and glue it in place.
  11. Use a marker to draw the scales on the mermaid tail.

Did you make this craft?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Pinterest

Mermaid & Merboy Template

Mermaid Template 

Enter your email address below to download your free printable and join the email list. 

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Palav

Monday 28th of August 2023

My child will love this one. Thanks

Sam

Friday 1st of September 2023

Yay! So glad ◡̈

Liz Falls

Sunday 18th of June 2023

Children love making paper bag puppets!!! These are adorable and my Kindergarten students will be so excited to make these in summer camp - could I please have the template to make them? Thank you!!

Sam

Monday 19th of June 2023

Of course! All you need to do is enter your email in the form at the end of this post to have the link sent to you. Once you've been confirmed as an email subscriber (by clicking the link in the first email), you simply enter your email in any of the forms and it'll automatically redirect you to the download page.

Robin

Friday 21st of April 2023

I am so glad that you have this pattern. I will be using this summer. I love that you have both a boy and girl pattern Your patterns are so easy to follow.

Sam

Friday 21st of April 2023

Thanks, Robin! I'm happy that you can use them ◡̈

Robin

Thursday 20th of April 2023

Thank you for always sharing. I glad that you had a mermaid paper bag template. Now I don't have to draw one.

Sam

Thursday 20th of April 2023

No problem! I'm glad you can use it!

Loida

Thursday 24th of June 2021

Dear Sam, do you still offer to mermaid and Merboy templates?? There’s no box at the end of the page where you can put your email in to request it.

Sam

Saturday 26th of June 2021

Yes, they’re still there. If you can’t see it, that’s usually due to a firewall blocking the form. If you can try on another device or disable the firewall on the page, it should appear. Hope this helps!

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