Cute Christmas Pop Up Card!

I couldn’t help it – these reindeer practically DEMANDED I turn them into a Christmas pop up card complete with their snowy habitat! Bossy little fellows!

I DO love the whole drama of a pop up box card because so many people don’t expect AND people always think you are an engineering genius when you make one. And as detailed and dramatic as they can be, once you know how to make the basic box, the rest is all just your imagination coming to 3D life! To make my pop up box I used The Paper Cut Square Pop Up Box and Rubbernecker’s Reindeer and Birds, Birch Trees, Evergreen Trees, Small Birds, Deckle Hills and Splatter Background.

Assemble the 3D Pop Up Box Base

• Cut the layering pieces.  The snow sky layers were made using Splatter Background and blue cardstock.
•  2   5 5/8″ x 3 5/8″ layers
•  2   3 5/8″ x 2 3/4″ layers
•  4   1 7/8″ x 2 3/4″ layers
• Stamp the Splatter Background on all the layering pieces with white pigment ink, apply white embossing powder and heat.
• Attach the paper layers to the inside and outside card base using ATG adhesive.
• Apply 1/2″ double stick tape to the tab, line it up and secure the box closed.

The Snow Layers

• Cut three 4.75 v 1.50″ white snow sections Deckle Hills and score each at 1/2″ on each end.
• Cut Snow layers to fit on the inside back of the pop, inside the front of the box and for the box flaps.
• Fold the ends of the snow layers, the left side folded back and the right side folded forward. Note: Folding the scored tabs back on the left and forward on the right allows the card to be folded over to close.  See the close up picture below to see inside the box.
• Apply 1/2″ double stick tape to the tabs on both sides and insert them inside the box.
• Attach the snows layers to the inside of the box and the front flaps using ATG adhesive,
• Note:  I use the Be Creative double stick tape on the tabs because it is much stronger than the ATG adhesive.  I like to use the ATG adhesive on layering paper because it is fast and easy.

The Evergreen and Birch Trees

• Cut the evergreen trees using green cardstock and the birch trees using white cardstock.
• Stamp each tree using the Splatter Background and white pigment ink.
• Apply white embossing powder to the trees and heat emboss with your heat gun.
• Use a mini applicator and Chill grey ink to apply touches of color to the notches on the birch trees.
• Attach the evergreen trees to the back wall using pieces of mounting tape and the birch trees using rolled up double stick tape. Note:  I wanted the trees to stand away from the back layer. 
• Attach the the remaining birch and evergreen trees using glossy accents.  I glued the evergreen trees to the front of the snow layers and the birch trees to the back of the snow layers.
• I arranged the trees by looking head on into the box and staggered the placement of the trees to fill in the scene and appear like a nature filled forest.

The Reindeer and Birds

• Cut the reindeer sections using brown, tan, white and light pink cardstock.
• Use red cardstock to cut the birds, wings and scarves.
• Attach the wings to the bird bodies using glossy accents and color the beaks using a black marker. Note:  I used the Small Birds for the ones placed up in the sky and trees but I added the tiny wings from the Reindeer and Birds set to make them match.  It’s a very small detail but one that adds to the interest of the card.
• Assemble the antlers, ears and face sections and attach using glossy accents.
• Attach the scarves to the reindeer using glossy accents.
• Apply pieces of mounting tape to the back of the heads and attach them to the bodies.

Finish the Scene

• Apply small pieces of mounting tape to the top of the evergreen trees and glossy accents to the bottom of the trees and attach them to the flaps.  I wanted the tree top to be popped up a little but wanted the bottom of the trees to be attached flat to the snow layers.
• Apply pieces of mounting tape to the top portion of the reindeer and glossy accents to their bottoms and attach them to the front flap.
• Apply tiny pieces of mounting tape to the back of all the birds and attach them around the card to add touches of red to brighten the scene.

For more inspiration check out my Pop Up Box category to see all 18 of the projects I’ve added thus far.

So – ready to make your OWN Christmas pop up card? And remember, you can add or take away or change ANYTHING. Be sure to bookmark this post, too, so you can come back and make more pop up box cards for any occasion. And make everyone think you ARE that genius!

Color Fuse Set #12 [ RBB ] 5337-01D Reindeer and Bird’s Die [ RBB ] Tabbed Birch Trees Die Cut 5167-02D [ RBB ] 5217-01D Evergreen Tree Die [ RBB ] Small Birds Die 5147-06D [ RBB ] 5173-02D Deckle Hills Die Cut [ RBB ] 1231 Splatter Background [ RBB ]

The Paper Cut: Square Pop-Up Box Card [ THP ] Sizzix – Paper Sculpting Kit [ SBC ] Embossing Gun (Wagner), Hero Arts [ ELH ] Ranger Super Fine Embossing Powder,… [ ELH ] Unicorn White, Hero Arts Pigment Ink Pad [ ELH ] Embossing Magic Bag, Inkadinkado [ ELH ] Clear Acrylic Block 4.78″ X 6.125″… [ ELH ] Mini Applicators, 12 pk, PanPastel Sofft [ ELH ] COPIC Sketch Marker 100, Black [ ELH ] Mini Glossy Accents, Ranger Accents [ ELH ] Scotch Foam Mounting Tape [ ELH ] Fiskars 01-005452 Recycled Bypass… [ AMZUS ] ATG Kit, Advanced Tape Glider [ ELH ] Teflon Bone Folder, Essentials by Ellen [ ELH ] Scor-Pal Measuring & Scoring Board 12×12 [ ELH ] Crossover II Fabric & Paper Cutting… [ RBB ] 3mm (1/8″), Be Creative Tape [ ELH ] 5mm (1/4″), Be Creative Tape [ ELH ]

I had so much fun making this Christmas pop up box card.