How to Make a Pull-Tab Pop Up Card (Step by Step)

Fifteen focused minutes beats an hour of Pinterest scrolling. Here is the complete build for make a pull-tab pop up card - the same sequence we'd use, with the failure points called out before you hit them.

You'll Need

• A sheet of 200-300gsm cardstock for the base
• A scoring tool (or an emptied ballpoint pen and a ruler)
• Craft glue or double-sided tape - never a glue stick for load-bearing folds
• Sharp scissors or a craft knife
• Your cutting mat and a decent film playlist

Step by Step

1. Cut the card base to 21 x 15 cm and score a centre fold.
2. Cut two strips of cardstock about 1 cm wide: one the height of your moving figure plus 2 cm (the guide), one slightly longer (the tab).
3. Cut a vertical slot in the front panel - about 0.8 cm wide, as tall as you want the figure to rise.
4. Glue the guide strip vertically behind the slot, leaving a 2 mm channel for the tab to slide through.
5. Attach your figure to the top of the tab strip, face up, low enough to hide behind the panel when pushed down.
6. Thread the tab through the channel so the figure sits behind the card, then add a stopper fold at the tab's bottom so it can't pull free.
7. Test the pull ten times, widen the channel with a craft knife if it sticks, then decorate.

Three Tips That Save the First Attempt

• Powder the channel with a pencil's graphite on the sliding edge - it's a dry lubricant that stops sticking
• Keep the figure's width under the slot's height or the corners catch mid-pull
• Print the word 'PULL' with an arrow - the mechanism delights only when people find it

Or Skip the Scissors

Handmade has charm; engineered has 64 precisely-cut layers. If the craft session was a means to an end, the end is here -

Back To School 3D Pop Up CardOpens flat, stands for months$35.05View & order →Capybara Greeting CardOpens flat, stands for months$35.72View & order →

Related Guides

How to Score and Fold Pop Up Cards · Pop Up Card Templates · Common Pop Up Card Mistakes

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