CraftyFileCo planning guide
Rainy-Day Pocket Pets: Build a Paper Bed Box
Make a rainy-day paper toy by building one pocket pet and its sliding bed box. Choose kitten, dinosaur or bunny artwork, then finish the inside tray before folding the outer sleeve and adding the loose accessories.
Pick a pet before printing
The kitten set includes a cover with a name label, bed tray, reversible sleepy-and-awake kitten, blanket pocket, pillow, little toys and a note. Its two full-colour pages are the template and illustrated how-to guide, supplied in A4 and US Letter.
The dinosaur version changes the scene to a jungle-style bed with a dino-spike headboard, quilt pocket and egg pillow. Its toys and note have dinosaur-themed artwork.
The bunny version has carrot wallpaper, a bunny-ear headboard and name label, a picket fence and its own toys. It uses the same described bed-and-sleeve making sequence.
These are separate downloads. Choose the pet your child wants to use rather than printing every template and mixing similar-looking tray pieces.
Prepare the card and adult step
All three listings specify 200-250 gsm cardstock at Actual Size / 100%, rather than Fit to Page. Cut the pieces and score the dashed lines before folding.
The descriptions identify a small paw slit as a grown-up's task. Keep that preparation with the illustrated guide so it is not overlooked while the child makes the bed.
The listings describe ages 5+. Use the sample and your child's experience to decide how much help to provide for scoring, folding and joining. A digital toy still needs its paper construction completed before play.
Build from the inside out
Follow the supplied order:
- Keep the bed tray flat while attaching its pillow and blanket pocket.
- Fold and glue the bed.
- Form the cover into a tube.
- Slide the bed into the cover.
- Tuck the character into the blanket and collect its toys.
Let joined parts set before repeatedly sliding or flipping them. If the tray catches, check the supplied fold and glue positions before forcing it through the sleeve.
Give the finished toy a place to live
The listed finished boxes are about 5.4 by 7.2 cm. They are small play pieces with several loose accessories, so plan somewhere to keep them after the afternoon.
As a home routine, choose a container for the pet, box, note and toys together. Keep the unused printable size and spare template flat for later. The two PDFs repeat the same craft in different paper formats; they are not two different bed designs.
Invite the child to tell a bedtime-and-morning story using the character's two sides. That play prompt is an optional use of the finished toy, separate from the assembly instructions.
By CraftyFileCo · Published · Updated
Questions and answers
Do I need to buy an empty matchbox?
The descriptions supply printable cover and bed-tray pieces to fold and glue. They describe matchbox-style construction, not inserting the craft into a purchased matchbox.
Which step is specifically for a grown-up?
All three descriptions say a grown-up cuts the small paw slit used to hold a paper toy. Plan that step before play begins.