My friend Penny taught me how to make these pop-up cards several years ago at a Christmas make-and-take at our stamping club. They work beautifully with fussy cut images or die cuts, and can be customised to whatever theme or occasion you wish.
1. You will need two card blanks (any size) plus the images or die cuts you wish to "pop-up" in the centre of the card. I've chosen to use three little owls from my Owlette set that I coloured and cut out. Make sure your three images fit side by side in the centre of your card without any over hang.
2. Score and fold one of the card blanks in half. With the fold closest to you, mark and measure three evenly spaced tabs. These tabs will hold your images and form the "pop-up part" of the card.
3. My tabs are 1/2" wide and 1/2" tall. I started by centring the first tab right in the middle of my card blank, equal distance from both edges. I then marked each of the two side tabs equally distant from the centre tab. The distance you place the tabs apart will depend on the size of your card blank and the size of the images or die cuts you are using.
4. Use a knife or sharp scissors to cut along the vertical lines (I've marked them as "cut" in the photo). When you open your card you will see the cuts have gone through both sides with the centre fold in the middle. Now score along the tops of the tabs so they fold easily. See the picture below.
5. On the inside of the card, pull up the tabs so they fold in the opposite way to the rest of the card. These tabs will hold your images or die cuts. (You can adjust how far your pop-ups will protrude by altering the measurements of the cuts. Because I cut my tabs at 1/2", my little owls will stand 1/2" away from the back of the card. If I wanted to have them further away from the card I would make the measurement longer. You can play around with the measurements and have items further forward than others by making some tabs longer and some shorter.)
6. Secure your images to the bottom section only of the tab. I used some strong glue to hold my little owls in place.
Your pop-ups are now done! They will fold down when the card closes, and pop up when it opens.
7. Take the second card blank and cut it in half. Adhere one of the pieces to the back of the card to cover the cuts and folds. Be sure you don't get any adhesive on the tabs or your pop-ups won't pop up!
8. Decorate the other half of the card blank and adhere to the front of your card, again covering the cuts and folds. (Alternatively, you could keep the second card blank in one piece and simply adhere the two cards together. You will need to make some slight adjustments to the length of the inside card so it fits neatly and also ensure there is enough movement in the spine.)
9. Finish your card by decorating the inside as desired.
