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How To Make A Pop-Up Card For Halloween

Updated on April 19, 2017
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Sweetiepie is an artist and a blogger. See more of her artwork by visiting the website listed on her profile page.

Halloween is the perfect time of year to make a pop-up card with a spooky black cat theme. Anyone who reads my arts and crafts hubs knows I am a big DIYer, so rather than buy a mass produced card at the store, I will try to persuade you to make your own pop-up card. Since Halloween is coming up I decided it would be fun to make a pop-up card with a cat image, and I prefer something on the cute side with a bit of creepiness to it, without being too over the top as it were. I would not watch Nightmare on Elmstreet, and thus would not make a card to match that tropical landscapes. My handmade cards have a sweeter theme with kittens, birds, puppies, or something a bit on the sweet side. So feel free to have a spooky Halloween night, but adorable and lighthearted as well. Take a look at the tutorial below to see how to make a pop-up card step by step. You can also see more of my arts and crafts projects here on Hubpages.

Here is a picture of the Halloween cat pop-up card that I made today.
Here is a picture of the Halloween cat pop-up card that I made today.

Step One: Score The Cardstock In Half

Use a ruler to draw a line down the width of the card stock.  Divide the card stock in half by drawing a line with the ruler, and then use a knife or a letter opener to score down the line.  Adults should score the card for children as this can be dangerous if not done properly.  Folding the card in half is fine too, but I like to score the card stock so if folds a bit more smoothly.

Step Two: Score The Card Stock In Half By The Height

Use the ruler to score the card stock in half by the height.
Use the ruler to score the card stock in half by the height.

Here I have taken the ruler and a pencil to divide the card stock in half by its height. Score along the line with a knife so that it is easy to fold, but remember this step in the process is not suitable for young children.  Folding the card stock without scoring is fine too, but I like to score the card stock because this makes it easier to fold.

Step Three: Fold Card Stock In Half To Make A Half-Fold Card

Here I fold the card stock in half to make a half fold card.
Here I fold the card stock in half to make a half fold card.

Fold the card stock in half along the score line to make the half-fold card. 

Step Four: Fold The Half-Fold Into A Quarter Fold Card

Complete the quarter-fold card by folding the half fold card in half.  Simple as that!
Complete the quarter-fold card by folding the half fold card in half. Simple as that!

By using the ruler and a pencil to divide the card stock in half by width and height I created a quarter fold greeting card template.  All I had to do was first fold along the half-fold score line, and then fold along the quarter fold score line,

Step Five: Open The Card Back Up And Cut Two Slits For The Pop-Up

Open the card back up and cut slits along the half-fold height line.
Open the card back up and cut slits along the half-fold height line.

Open the card back up and cut two lines along the half-fold height line at the top of the card stock.  Refold the card to make the pop-up pop out.

Step Six: Fold The Card Back Together

Fold the card back into a quarter fold and make the pop-up pop out by folding it along the top and bottom.
Fold the card back into a quarter fold and make the pop-up pop out by folding it along the top and bottom.

Fold the card back into a quarter fold greeting card, and then fold the pop-up on the top and the bottom to make it pop out.

Step Seven: Use A Ruler To Draw The Brick Lines

Here I used a ruler to draw the horizontal lines for the bricks.
Here I used a ruler to draw the horizontal lines for the bricks.

Here I used a ruler to draw the horizontal lines for the bricks.  The ruler makes it easy to space out the bricks so these are all equidistant apart.

Step Eight: Draw In The Vertical Brick Lines

Here I used the ruler to precisely draw in the vertical brick lines.
Here I used the ruler to precisely draw in the vertical brick lines.

I used the ruler to drawn in the vertical lines of the bricks, which is easy to do when I can accurately measure these.  I have sketched these free hand in the past, but I like the ruler because it allows me to be a bit more precise.

Step Nine: Finish Drawing The Brick Wall

Here I have finished drawing the brick wall for  my card.
Here I have finished drawing the brick wall for my card.

I used a ruler to complete the brick wall that the cat in the card sits on.

Step 9: Use A Junk Envelope For Sketching Out The Cat

Recycle an unused junk mail envelope by turning it into the cat image for the pop-up card.
Recycle an unused junk mail envelope by turning it into the cat image for the pop-up card.

I decided to recycle a junk mail envelope by turning it into the cat image I drew for my pop-up card.  Here I am sketching the outline for the cat, which I continued to work on until I achieved a form to my liking.

Step Ten: Color In The Halloween Cat

I used a charcoal pencil to shade in my Halloween cat, which is based on a picture I took the other day.
I used a charcoal pencil to shade in my Halloween cat, which is based on a picture I took the other day.
This is the Halloween cat e-card I designed the other day, and he was the inspiration for my Halloween pop-up card.
This is the Halloween cat e-card I designed the other day, and he was the inspiration for my Halloween pop-up card.

I used a picture I took a cat and turned into a Halloween e-card as inspiration for this drawing.  Charcoal pencil was a fun and different medium I used for coloring in the cat, even if people usually use charcoal for making sketches.  I liked how shading in the charcoal pencil heavily created a smoking looking effect, which helps to give the cat a bit of a more spooky look.  My drawing is just an outline of the cat as seen in the picture I took near sunset.  The yellow glowing eyes add the the creepiness of this Halloween image.

Step Eleven: Finish Coloring The Cat

I used charcoal pencil to completely fill in my quick little cat sketch.
I used charcoal pencil to completely fill in my quick little cat sketch.

Here I used a charcoal pencil to fill in the sketch of my little cat.  Now it is time to cut him out!

Step Twelve: Cut Out The Cat

Use scissors to cut out the picture of the Halloween cat.
Use scissors to cut out the picture of the Halloween cat.

I used the scissors to carefully cut out the picture of my Halloween cat.

Step Fourteen: Make A Caption For The Inside Of The Card

I wrote the caption Black Cat under the full moon I drew on my Halloween pop-up card.
I wrote the caption Black Cat under the full moon I drew on my Halloween pop-up card.

Over the years I have become more interesting in sketching the letters on my cards rather than using a stencil.  I decided to give the inside of my card the caption Black Cat underneath the Halloween full moon.

Step Fifteen: Color In The Night Sky

Here I used a cobalt blue water colored pencil to create the vibrant color of the Halloween night sky.
Here I used a cobalt blue water colored pencil to create the vibrant color of the Halloween night sky.
Here I have completed coloring in the blue color of the night sky, and used an off-white colored pencil for the moon.
Here I have completed coloring in the blue color of the night sky, and used an off-white colored pencil for the moon.

Here I used the cobalt blue colored pencil to carefully color around the yellow letters Black cat. 

Step Sixteen: Color The Brick Wall Gray

I have begin to color in the gray bricks of the wall.
I have begin to color in the gray bricks of the wall.
Here I have completed coloring in the gray wall that the cat will sit on.
Here I have completed coloring in the gray wall that the cat will sit on.

I used a gray watercolor pencil to create a vibrant wall for the cat black cat to sit on.  Notice how the pop-up is at the very top of the wall, so it will create the illusion of a catch perched upon it.

Step Seventeen: Color The Front Of The Card

I have colored the front of the card with the yellow letters Happy Halloween, and a black background.  This entire image was colored with colored pencils.
I have colored the front of the card with the yellow letters Happy Halloween, and a black background. This entire image was colored with colored pencils.

I used yellow colored pencils to color in the hand drawn letters Happy Halloween.  After that I used a black colored pencil to fill in the background.  This quarter-fold Halloween pop-up card is looking nice!

Step Eight: Glue The Cat Cut-Out To The Card

The card is complete now that the cat cut-out is glued on the pop-up card.
The card is complete now that the cat cut-out is glued on the pop-up card.

Video: How To Make A Pop-Up Card For Halloween

Watch the video I created of how to make a pop-up card for Halloween, which will show what the quarter-fold pop-card looks like when it is opened and closed.  I am so excited I drew another card and made another card, and will have fun giving this to someone for Halloween.

Will you make a Halloween pop-up card?

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