Make a Pop-Up Card in 6 Steps

Give someone special a card that pops open in their hands.

 

Materials you'll need

• 2 sheets of cardstock (one for the card, one for the pop-up spring)
• Scissors
• Glue stick
• Construction paper or cardstock scraps (for your pop-up character and any letters or decorations)
• Black marker (optional, for extra details)

 

Step-by-step tutorial

Step 1: Fold a piece of cardstock in half to make your card base, then trim it down to the size you'd like your finished card to be.

Step 2: Cut a long strip from your second sheet of cardstock (or the leftover half of your first sheet).

Step 3: Fold the strip in half, then keep folding it section by section until it forms a small rectangular box shape. Crease each fold firmly so it holds.

Step 4: Glue one end of the folded box to the inside back panel of your card and the opposite end to the inside front panel, centering it over the fold line so it's balanced on both sides.

Step 5: Cut out a character, shape, or design from paper and glue it to the front face of the box. This is what pops up when the card opens.

Step 6: Decorate! Add a title to the cover, extra details like arms and legs on your character, and a message inside.

Learn more

This project uses a paper-engineering trick called a box fold (or parallel fold). Because the two ends of your folded box are glued to opposite sides of the card's center crease, opening the card pulls those two glued points apart. Since the box's sides stay parallel to each other the whole way, they have nowhere to go but up, popping your character into the air in one smooth motion. Close the card, and the same creases let the box collapse flat again, so nothing gets crushed.

Hooked on making paper characters move with a few folds and creases? Our Monster Automaton DIY teaches a new trick, a cardboard cam and follower that turn a simple spin into a dancing monster.