DIY Workshop

As we are all artists (even you too!), we support handmade goods, whether they are purchased or made with heart by yourself! A handmade card or gift beats anything from a chain store, big box, something made en-masse in a factory. The people who receive them can definitely tell the difference...isn't it nice when we receive cards in the mail, a handmade gift, or something with a human touch! These are the things we remember and treasure throughout the years.

We also believe that anyone can create art, and there is an artist in everyone. Our early works were crumpled and wonky, lots of heart, but defintely no talent there! Since then we have made much progress, all it takes is some help, patience and practice (the first which we provide here). We hope that you can enjoy making papercrafts too =)

Tools

Paper: Anything from 90 grams (24 lbs) onwards is good for pop-up cards, but paper too thick can be hard to cut for delicate designs!

Exacto knife/ Cutter: All kinds are great, recently we love the ceramic blades that are so sharp! Scissors are probably only suitable for cuts that start at the rim of the paper. A self-healing cutting mat is also useful for protecting your tabletop.

Glue: Gluesticks are great for delicate paper, as watery glue may cause paper to bubble. But if using heavier paper, then white glue defintely bonds better.

Fancy paper: Scrapbook, decorative, metallics, etc. For decorating the covers or embellishing your design.

Embellishing: It's your card, so make it yours! Add ribbon, stickers, glitter, gems, sequins, feathers, leaves, gold foil, diamonds, dog hair....

Lesson 1: Pop-up Fundamentals

There are many kinds of pop-up mechanisms, this is one of the simplest:

The first crease line (blue) you should mark is the "horizon", the fold right across the middle of the paper that makes the spine of the card.

The design should have three creases, one attached to the top half, one to the bottom half, and one in between. As seen in the picture, this is the fundamental rule for any design:

bottom crease to horizon = middle crease to top crease

When you make pop-ups coming out from pop-ups, this rule is the same, except the horizon can shift. In the picture, you can see the bottom crease for the purple pop-up has become the horizon for the yellow pop-up.

next lesson: Beyond boxes, making a scenic pop-up card

Templates

Here are some free pop-up templates for personal use, in pdf format. Print on the wrong side of your paper to hide the lines, then cut on the red lines and fold on the blue. Refer to the photo for where you should fold in or out!

Please send us any photos of your finished card, and someday we'll set up a gallery of your works for other people to get inspired! We will try to push out designs at least once a month =)