In our first lesson, “How to make a pop-up card,” we will play with the simplest and most popular type, the “Trellis” type of construction. In short, it consists of paper panels joined together at the vertical edges.
Our card has one exception. Our card is FREE STANDING, not attached to the book-like cover. Instead, we use a small mechanism, so the card will stand up on its own under the weight of the paper it is made from.
The outcome of our effort depends on our creativity and patience. The simple mechanism we introduce below can be used as a base for more complicated shapes if you expand and use your design. The sky is the limit.
What do we need to create our pop-up card?
1) A couple of Letter-size sheets of postcard weight paper. (Bigger paper would be handier, but very few people have 11×17 or wider printers)
2) Printer
3) Scissors, Exacto knife, or any digital die-cut machine accepting file formats you will find here. 
4) If we cut paper by hand, patience is necessary since our success depends 
on the detail. The small openings on the sides of the panels are to be paired with round shapes sticking on the edges of the other panel. They create the vertical hinges keeping the whole thing together. For the card to work, the openings must be smaller than the round shapes penetrating them. The paper being flexible will pass through the small opening and straight out itself on the other side. If by accident the opening is too wide, you can always glue a piece of paper to make it smaller after you insert the round shape
Limitations
The weight of the paper limits the size of our pop-up. 60-80# postcard weight paper you probably have on hand is stiff enough to make only small pop-ups. If in doubt, use a double layer. Thicker 100-110 pounds cover weight is usually the thickest one you can feed your printer with.
Size of the Paper. In order to have a more sophisticated and better-looking design, we need several panels. Our letter size page limits the number of parts we can create.
More complicated shapes require more cutting and assembly time, so for starters, we will limit ourselves to a very simple Flower shape.
The downloads contain the design in PDF and also two (SVG, IA) formats you may use in your Digital cutting machine.
1) To create this card, please download and print the PDF files.
2) Before printing the second side (Flipped) of the page, please wait for the paper to dry.
3) If you intend to use your Exacto knife, there is a download with the cutting lines printed. If you are using your cutter, print and cut sheets printed with just colors, no lines.
4) During assembly, make sure the two small triangles attached to the inner bottom sides of the pop-up bend down, not up (see the video). They will extend the pop-up when you set it upright. Watch the video below.
5) Your exercise outcome may fall apart if the round shapes penetrating the openings on the sides of the box panels are smaller than the opening it penetrates. (Eventually, a small piece of paper can be glued to make the opening smaller)
Our second lesson will deliver downloads and know-how for another type of pop-up. You may subscribe below to be notified. Do not miss the fun. We are going to play with an even simpler form of a pop-up. Form used by Vojtech Kubasta. Czech artists who charmed the world from behind the Iron curtain of the EU past.