Pop-Up Christmas Card

Weihnachtliche Pop-up Karte

In this blog post, you'll find the right instructions for my digital "Pop-Up Christmas Card" file, which you can purchase, download, and print from my shop.

Alternatively, you can of course use your own design.

Links

I originally designed this card for a giveaway. You can see how I made the card in my Instagram Reel and YouTube Short about the giveaway.

What you need*
Material für weihnachtliche Pop-up Karte: ausgedruckte Vorlagem Stifte, Kleger, Schere, Karte, Papper

> Printed template or your own design (preferably on paper that is a bit heavier than copier paper)

> Blank card (A6 or as needed)

> Scissors

> Glue

> Colored pencils or watercolors

> a piece of thick (shipping) cardboard (optional)

Instructions
Vorlage ausmale und ausschneiden

1. Print the template and gather your materials.

2. Cut out the shapes from the template, as roughly or finely as you like, and color them in. Of course, you can also color the template first and then cut it out!

You probably won't need all the graphics for one card. So, only work on the graphics you want to glue into your card later. Only the large wreath is absolutely necessary.
Vorlage zur Hälfte falten

3. Fold your cut-out wreath in half. We will use this fold - marked in green here - as a guide for the next steps.
Vorlage noch einmal zur Hälfte falten

4. Fold the halved wreath in half again.
je obere und untere Schicht zur Häfte zurück falten

5. Fold the top layer in half again.

6. Flip the folded wreath over and repeat step 5 on the back. Your wreath is now divided into 8 sections.
Falte alles wieder auf. Merke dir, wo dein allererster Falz ("grüne Linie") ist.

7. Unfold everything again. Remember where your very first fold (the "green line") is.
Alles öffnen

8. Place the wreath in front of you so that the green line is vertical.

9. Then fold the wreath (along the red markings) diagonally to the lower right. Press the edge firmly and unfold it again.

9. Then fold the wreath (along the red markings) diagonally to the lower right. Press the edge firmly and unfold it again.
Jetzt kannst du den obersten und untersten Punkt deines Kranzes (grüne Linie) nach innen oben Richtung Kreismitte drücken. Falte den nun geviertelten Kreis fest zusammen

11. Now you can press the top and bottom points of your wreath (green line) inwards towards the center of the circle. Firmly fold the now quartered circle together.
gefalteter Innenteil

The heart of your pop-up card is complete.
Markierte Flächen, um Kleber aufzubringen

12. Now, glue the wreath into the card. Turn your wreath over. Apply glue to the left and right quarters of the back (green marked areas).
Mittelstück in Karte geklebt

13. Glue the wreath into the card so that the center line of the wreath (green line) lies directly on the fold of the card.
Pop-Up-Effekt beim Öffnen der Karte

If you fold your card open and closed now, you already have a 3D effect.
Markierungen, wo die Karte mit extra Figuren beklebt werden kann

15. Glue graphics to the top and bottom quarters of the wreath - these are the parts that "pop out" when the card is opened.

Here are a few theoretical tips. But generally: experiment! Glue a graphic with a small dot of glue, close and open the card, move the graphic until everything fits, and only then glue it firmly.

Tips:
> A graphic may only be glued to either the left or the right side of the areas marked red in the picture. Do not glue a graphic on both sides - then the pop-up effect will no longer work.

> Imagine an extension of the folds, as I have drawn them in the picture. The glued graphics may protrude beyond the green line, but not beyond the red line.

> Make sure that the graphics do not protrude from the closed card.
Fertige Pop-up Karte

Your card is ready! Find more tips below.

Enjoy crafting!

Love, Kathrin

Inspiration

Picture 1: You can achieve an additional 3D effect by first gluing cut-out graphics onto a piece of thick cardboard and then gluing them into the card (do not glue the card onto the circle!).
For a simple version of the card, you can skip step 15 and instead decorate the card with this pop-up effect.

Picture 2: Coloring TIP: Light shades visually come forward, dark shades recede. Therefore, when coloring the flowers, paint the front petals light and the back petals darker – you can even add some dark purple, dark blue, or dark green to the shaded areas. This will make your flower appear three-dimensional.

Picture 3: Also design the front of the card. If you like, you can glue on a graphic and close it with a pretty clip.
Ausgeschnittene Formen mit aufgeklebter Pappe als Erhöhung

Disclaimer

* This article may contain affiliate links to Amazon. All affiliate links are marked as such. "Affiliate link" means that I may receive a small commission if you click on this link and then make a purchase on Amazon. This helps me to continue providing free craft tutorials in the future.

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