β˜… Pop-Up Cards | Mechanisms & Templates for Free | DIY Instructions for Beginners β˜…

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Roundup of Pop-Card Tutorials & Ideas

A handmade greetings card is always a thoughtful gesture, but a handmade pop-up card is extra impressive! There are many different types of pop-up technique, including kirigami (a mix of paper cutting and origami) and simple strips which hold parts of a 'scene'.

Below you will find lots of inspiration as well as the best how-tos and free templates that I have found online. I hope you like it!

Photo and pop-up by Rosa Yoo.

Top-Rated Pop-Up Books

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Floral Bouquet

Photo and card by AudreyGardenLady.

Basic Lessons for Beginners

Easiest Type of Pop-Up
Diagrams explaining the simple pop-up strip method.
Pop-Up Mouth
Easy technique for animal themed designs.
Triangle Pop-Up
Another simple way to add 3D detail.
Beginner's Lesson
Information covering the basics.
Lesson 1 : The Box
Find over 20 more brilliant lessons in the sidebar.
Abstract Pop-Up Strip
How to cut a more interesting pop-up section than the normal plain strip.
Creating any Simple Shape
Just cut out the shape outline, leaving 'tabs' where it attaches to the card.
Series of Pop-Up Lessons
Scroll down to see the lesson list in the sidebar.
Tips & Tricks
A step-by-step walkthrough of kirigami techniques.

Pop-Up Christmas Card

Photo and card by Cutter9.

List of Creative Tutorials

Lotus Blossom Card
Very impressive layered flower pop-up.
Woodland Deer
Sweet deer design with a forest background.
Kermit the Frog
Fun and easy pop-up for kids and beginners.
Birdcage Popup
Intricate bird cage pop-up for a more challenging project.
12 Kirigami Templates
Impressive pop-up designs made using paper cutting techniques.
Lattice Heart Pop-Up
Red and white card design, perfect for Valentine's Day.
Pop-Ups for Dummies
Browse the pages of this paper engineering book.
24 Patterns
A page of free patterns for paper cut designs.

Dinosaur Kirigami

Kirigami = a combination of paper folding and paper cutting techniques.

Photo and card by Vivren.

Design Inspiration & More How-Tos

Extreme Cards Blog
The BEST pop-up blog - find lots of tutorials and ideas here.
Rotating Pop-Up Spinner
Produce an amazing spinning pop-up effect.
Pop-Up Shapes & Photos
How to make a pop-up photograph card, plus 3D boxes and cylinders.
3 Amazing Cards
Three different scenes you can make for more of a challenge.
Pop-Up Instructables
User-submitted how-tos for hearts, 3D rooms, picnics and more.
Reindeer Pop-Up
Anybody would love to receive this for Christmas.
Kissing Valentine
Cute idea using photos for a personalized look.
Butterfly Spiral
A different type of pop-up technique which is very simple.
I Heart You
Modern Valentine's day lettering design.

Pop-Up Postcards

type=text

Photo and cards by Henks.

Pop-Up Letters

Photo and card by Lev Abramov.

Designs Inspired by Popular Games

Photo and card by Tom Maillioux.

Free Downloads & Templates

Pop-Up Font
Free font which will make lettering much easier.
Robert Sabuda
Templates for cool designs including Frankenstein and a reindeer.
Canon Printables
2 pages of creative templates including a pop-up birthday cake.
More Challenging 3D Designs
Including a tea set, a paper crane and fighter jets.
Coffee Cut-Out
A cup of coffee template plus a series of steps to try.
Tiger Pop-Up
Make a card which closes the tigers mouth when opened.
Haunted House
Spooky Halloween design with a detailed printout available.
Creative Pop-Up Cards
Amazing resource with free templates for every occasion.

Robot Card

Photo and card by Dubris.

Handmade Greeting Cards

More Tutorials & Templates

4 Snowflakes
Four different cut-out paper snowflakes.
Easter Bunny
Bunny, egg and chick picture with simple hinge pop-up.
Mr Incredible
Fun father's day download based on the Incredibles movie.
3D Brick House
Brick house construction in the centre of a card.
Pirate Card
Cute pirate ship card which is easily made by kids too.
Pixel Heart
Really simple and effective style, perfect for geeks!

Geometric Origami

Instructions and more ideas are available in the Pop-up Geometric Origami book.

Photo by Cimba.

DIY Pop-Up Cards

Puzzle-Cut Pine Tree
Glittery Christmas tree design which would look fab on a mantelpiece.
Cheat Halloween Card
Just buy a ready-made pumpkin paper lantern!
Birthday Balloon Card
Sweet homemade design with pop-up multicoloured balloons.
Honeycomb Circles
How to make a honeycomb centre for a flower.
Amazing Paper Tunnel
Fun triangle pop-up made by cutting out strips.
Sliding Easel Card
Lovely detailed 3D card with a sliding effect.
Cam Wheel Card
A different pop-up technique using a spinning wheel.
I Love You Card
Nice idea for using patterned paper or card as the backing.

Accordion Card

Photo and card by Cornerstonelae.

Cute Igloo Scene

Photo by Otomodachi.

Impressive Pop-Up Projects

Slider Tutorial & More
A list of how-tos for some interesting techniques.
Pop-Up Tab
Pull-apart card design with a pop-up surprise tab.
Hot Air Balloon
Lovely flying balloon design made with card strips.
Greetings with Patterns
A range of kirigami templates including monograms and butterflies.
Paper Cut Buildings
Cool house, cat and more building patterns.
Three Pop-Up Scenes
Detailed scenes of bikes or swordfish to download.
Mother's Day Tea
Free download of a pop-up teacup.

Tiger Lily

Photo and pop-up by Rosa Yoo.

Norway Fjord

I love the simple design and striking colours on this card.

Photo by Rosa Yoo.

Inspiration & Photo Galleries

Flickr Gallery
Pages of photos of pop-cards from Flickr.
Cornerstonelae Photos
Creative and crafty pop-up designs.
Patterns for Sale
A fantastic array of designs which are pretty cheap to buy.
Pop-Up NY City Art
Brilliant 3D design made of lots of paper blocks.
Hand Gesture Pop-Ups
DIY idea for creating your own fun hand gestures.

Ideas & Inspiration

Six Amazing Pop-Up Paper Sculptures
by DesignPD | video info

7,541 ratings | 1,567,951 views
curated content from YouTube

Tutorials & Help

Amazing Pop Up Card Tutorial
by DesignPD | video info

3,945 ratings | 1,170,847 views
curated content from YouTube

More Cool Card Ideas

The template for the paper city shown below can be found here.
Make A 3D Paper City!
by brusspup | video info

3,969 ratings | 1,081,516 views
curated content from YouTube

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Please Leave a Comment!

  • biggking May 28, 2012 @ 5:56 am | delete
    cool. Did it take alot of time?
  • papermotor May 8, 2012 @ 12:55 pm | delete
    My favorite is the xmas tree. Simple and spectacular. Thanks for this lens! :)
  • IYenForZen Mar 14, 2012 @ 3:34 pm | delete
    Wonderful ideas and designs. You have inspired me to try this! Thanks!
  • ZodiacImmortal Feb 17, 2012 @ 11:53 am | delete
    OMG I have tried to think of a way to make a pop up on occassion & I LOVE that Tiger Lily one. (that would be a keeper for me I'd hang it on the wall if someone were to give me that!)
    I've included it on my Favorite Lenses lens under the creative DIY section. (not sure if I missed it, but was there a link how to male the Tiger Lily one?

    Happy Random Acts of Kindness day!
  • anwyn Feb 17, 2012 @ 11:00 am | delete
    a great range of sites for creating pop up cards :)
  • jimmyworldstar Feb 2, 2012 @ 7:54 pm | delete
    That dinosaur pop out looks like it took awhile to make. I can't imagine trying to get some of these open up inside a greeting card.
  • printabledolls Jan 31, 2012 @ 3:09 pm | delete
    wow my dream to make pop up cards, I can learn now, so happy, thank U!
  • John_Michael Jan 5, 2012 @ 10:05 am | delete
    very intricate and artistic - thanks for sharing
  • kathysart Dec 25, 2011 @ 11:11 am | delete
    How fun.. yes I must try it. THUMBS UP ANGEL BLESSED

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Curtis Granderson's foul popup landed out of play and the next thing he knew, his manager and hitting coach had been ejected. Curtis Granderson's foul popup landed out of play and the next thing he knew, his manager and hitting coach had been ejected.
Cards battling, but not winning much of late
Two Atlanta runs had already been scored in the third after a towering popup that had to be caught by somebody was caught by nobody. Left fielder Matt Holliday came in a considerable distance, shortstop Rafael Furcal went back, but the ball fell to ...

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