Mack Academy Weblog

A few years ago I was talking to my mom about opportunities for learning engineering techniques and she suggested that I learn how to make pop-up cards.  Her reasoning was that pop-ups are very complex how they fold and that the practical application of the geometry I was learning would reinforce it in my mind.  At the time, I was thinking only about robotics and didn't really consider what she was suggesting.  However, the thought stayed in the back of my mind.

A year later it was Emily's birthday, and as our whole family has a tradition that we give hand-made cards, I had to come up with an idea.  For some reason, all I could remember was that conversation and decided to search the web for instructions on making pop-up cards.  I discovered Robert Sabuda's site  and made the birthday cake pop-up card.  I was instantly hooked!

I went to the library and checked out two books:  Paul Jackson's The Pop-Up Book, and The Elements of Pop-Up by David Carter and James Diaz.  These two books have become an essential part of my pop-up kit.

I have made several cards and taken many pictures which I will be posting in the future, but I thought that I would share one of my favorite designs I created.

I first made the made the pop-up ladybug card for one of my VBS girls, and later as a get-well-soon card for a friend who was going in for an operation.  I used a combination of the Closed Tent Technique for the head and body and the Platform Technique for the leaf.

Creating pop-up cards has now become a major hobby for me.  It is a craft that is both challenging and rewarding, yet not very common.  If you are interested in creating your own pop-up cards, I would recommend that you first make a few of the template cards on Sabuda's website.  Once you understand how the paper must fold, I would work through The Pop-Up Book.  Finally, once you feel comfortable with the process, I would go through The Elements of Pop-Up to learn the more advanced techniques.  This is an incredible craft and I hope that I can inspire you to take it up as well.