Valentine’s Day Pop UP Card: 3D Heart Tutorial

30 Jan Valentine’s Day Pop UP Card: 3D Heart Tutorial

This is probably my most popular pop up card. After redesigning the card and creating the template, I was able to make the tutorial this past weekend.  I could only get the video down to 11 minutes, which is still pretty long. It just takes time to do all the sewing and gluing. I still have a cold (that's lasted for a month) so please excuse my muffled coughs. I've sped most of the video up so you may need to pause it a few times or watch some parts over to get what I'm doing. It's not as hard as it looks. You just need a little patience to put everything together. It will all be worth it in the end when you give this card to someone you really care about.  Here is a picture of the first 3D heart I made in 2007.

Here's the video of the tutorial.

Here is a transcript of the video:  Narration for Valentine's Day Card: 3D Heart Tutorial

If you don't want to watch the video, here are the summarized instructions:

1. Purchase the template for this design here: Valentine's Day Pop Up Card: 3D Heart.
2. Print out the template and use it to cut the parts out of card stock.
3. Cut out all the pieces making sure that you cut all the slots very precisely. If the slots aren't deep enough, you heart will be warped and wont fold flat.
4. Start assembling the heart with pieces A and C. Put the C ring into the A heart
5. Assemble the rest of the rings (D, E) into the A heart
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7. Assemble the B heart pieces by starting at the top of the heart and pulling the rings through the center. Then slide the bottom of the rings into the bottom of the B heart
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9. Finish by sliding the F heart over the rings, starting from the top again.
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11. Cut out the card backing from white card stock. Poke holes at the center of the “X” using a needle or sharp object. You will attach the heart to this card.
12. Cut out another card backing, without the holes, and cut it down the center so you have 2 pieces. This will be the outer cover.
13. Cut 5 pieces of thread 2-3 feet long. Use thread that is the same color as your card backing.
14. Tie the thread at the 5 locations shown below. The thread should sit inside the slot in the heart pieces:
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16. Put the 5 threads through the 5 holes in the white card backing, starting with the center thread. Use tape to hold the thread in place so that it doesn't slip out accidentally. To pass the thread through the holes, you can use a needle, needle threader, tweezers, thin wire or floss threader (not shown). I'm using black thread in these next few pictures so that you can see it easier.
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18. If you don't have these items, you can just make the holes larger and pass the thread directly through. I prefer to use a needle threader. Here is what it looks like:
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20. Adjust the lengths and tension of the threads so that the heart stands up straight when the card is opened. Use tape to hold the thread in place.
21. Glue the threads in place by gluing small pieces of paper on the threads.

    

22. Fold the string over the paper and glue a second piece of paper over the folded string. This will anchor the string in place.

    

23. Cut off the excess string.
24. Glue the outer cover pieces onto the backside of the card. Be sure to align the pieces to the center crease very accurately and make sure the card opens flat.
25. Put the card under several books or flat objects so that the card will dry flat.

If the lengths are not adjusted correctly, the heart will not stand straight. If the string is not anchored properly, the string will slip over time and the heart will begin to droop down or it will not open fully. I recommend using 65lb paper or thicker for the backing. You may want to use dense cardboard. A variation of this card is to put initials in the center of the card. Attach the initials to the A heart piece.

Update 5/4/13:

I revised the design so that you can use an inside and outside card.  You can use Page 3 and Page 4 of the template to make the backing look like the image below:

Once you attach the heart to the inside card with the thread, you can slip it into the outside card at the corners.  This is a much simpler way to finish the card.

I've also created a series of images to show how to assemble the heart.

I hope you all enjoyed making this card. Good luck!

If you don't want to do all that sewing, Carol at Extremecards has a design for a neat stand to hold the heart.  Check it out!

Extreme Cards and Papercrafting: Sliceform Card Stand

You can purchase this template in the Template Store or follow this link: 3D Heart Pop Up Card.