Giving a special card to someone you really care about is a super nice way to show them how much you admire them. And guess what? You don’t have to spend a lot of money on it, especially if you make it yourself and add some fun stuff to it.

So today, we’re going to make one of those cool pop-up cards for someone very important in your life, like your friends, parents or cousins. You can give it to them on their birthday, anniversary, or any other special day they have. It’s going to be awesome!

Things you need:

1. Two A-4 sized coloured papers or card sheets (I used blue and red)

2. Scrapes of pink and red paper to make small circles and hearts

3. Ruler

4. Pencil

5. Glue stick

Directions:

1. Take the blue card sheet and fold it in half. From the folded bottom edge, make two marks at 1.5 inches each. Next, draw a straight line that’s 2.5 inches long. Then, draw another line to connect with the first line, forming a rectangle shape, notice the cross in pictures 2 and 3.

2. Cut along the straight lines starting from the folded side of the sheet, and stop when you reach the top crosses. Leave those top crosses uncut to keep that side secure, and carefully pull it upwards until it reaches the top crosses: picture 4.

3. Now, this cut section will function as a 3D effect, when you pull it inside the sheet making it look like there’s an open box inside the card; picture 5.

4. To make the borders or edges of the box, cut thin strips of paper, and then glue them onto the top inside of the box, see pictures 6 and 7.

5. Cut hearts that are about one inch in size from red and pink papers, and also cut small circles in various sizes, but not bigger than one inch, picture 8.

6. Begin by gluing one heart at a time, slightly lower on the inside of the box. Then, paste another heart diagonally, a bit higher, creating a pattern of hearts that appear to pop-up; pictures 9, 10, and 11.

7. Glue the circles or dots that we cut earlier, covering half of the card, see picture 12.

8. Take the red card sheet and cut it half a centimetre smaller than the blue card we’ve just created; to maintain the 3D effect of the box, leave the box folded inside the card, and then glue the red sheet over the blue; pictures 13, 14 and 15.

9. Your pop-up card is now ready! You can decorate the front in whichever way you like. I used heart shapes and kept a heart theme, but you can also add stickers of teddy bears or flowers if you prefer.

The writer can be contacted at ithecraftman@gmail.com

Published in Dawn, Young World, October 14th, 2023