Make your mom this fun hydrangea pop-up card for Mother’s day! Though there are a few steps to this project, with just some basic supplies you can create this simple, yet amazing, pop-up card. I was inspired by hydrangeas for my pop-up flowers which can come in blues, pinks, and purples – but you can make your flowers any color or multiple colors! We’ll be starting with white paper and be adding the color to our paper as we go but feel free to skip the coloring steps and just use colored paper! Check out the video at the bottom for steps as well!
What you need:
- Copy Paper
- Colored card stock or Construction Paper- measurements
- Green Construction Paper
- Pencil
- Washable Markers
- Scissors
- A Small Paint Brush
- Small Dish or Cup of Water
Step one: Cut your white copy paper into 7 squares that measure 4″ x 4″ – each of these will become one of your flowers! Fold each of your 7 squares as shown in the picture – Fold in half lengthwise, left to right, then fold the bottom edge to the top edge, finally fold the bottom right corner to the top left corner to form a triangle. You want to make sure one point of your triangle is closed (should be the point that’s towards you) – that’s the center of your paper, the other points should have multiple flaps of paper.
Step two: Making sure the center of your paper is at the bottom, draw a curved line at the top of your paper and cut out. Use this cut out to trace the curved line on all 6 remaining triangles and then cut them out!
Step three: Now that you have all 7 flowers cut it’s time to add some color! Grab your washable markers in the colors you would like! Color just along the edges of your folded flower (making sure to hit all the folds & flaps along the edge). You can use one color or multiple colors on the same flower – just keep in mind our colors may mix.
Step four: Now we’re going to make that color spread! We will need your paintbrush and a small dish of water. Paint with water over top of the marker – this will make the marker ink spread and give a slight tie-dyed effect to your flowers! Make sure not to keep brushing over your flower in the same spot or use too much water – this will make your paper weak and cause it to tear! Keep your flowers folded and let them set for about 15 – 30 mins. to let the color continue to spread!
Step five: While your flowers are setting; Cut a piece of card stock or construction paper for your card that measures 11″x 7.5″ – this will be the background to your flowers. You could also color a background for your flowers instead of using a solid color! Fold your paper in half so it measures 7.5″ x 5.5″. Decorate the front of your card however you’d like (just leave the inside black for now).
Step six: Now that your flowers have set, it’s time to carefully unfold them all! They may still be a little wet – make sure to be gentle when opening them so they don’t rip! Lay your flowers flat and let them dry completely – you can speed this up with a hairdryer!
Step seven: Once your flowers are completely dry, then we will be cutting one “petal” out from each of them. Next, close the gap we created by overlapping and glueing the two petals together (glue the two petals marked with yellow dots in the picture) – giving your flower a 3D form and a total of 6 petals.
Step eight: Fold each flower in half, flattening it – so we can see three petals. Next we will be layering and glueing all of your flowers together in a certain pattern to create the pop-up. We will only be gluing the top portion of your petals in the next steps (from the yellow line shown in the picture and up) – do not apply glue on the entire petal or your card will not pop-up properly.
Step nine: Layering your flowers; Lay one flower down and apply glue to the tips of the petals that are marked with yellow dots in the photo. Glue two flower petals on top as shown in the second photo – you should now only be able to see the center petal of your original flower (marked with the green dot).
Apply glue to the tips of the petals marked with yellow dots and add another flower on top – lining it up with your first flower. The green dots show the petals from your last layer.
Apply glue to the tips of the petals with yellow dots and add two more flowers vertically – lining them up with your other vertical petals. The petal with the green dot should be the only petal from your previous layer showing.
Add glue to the petal tips marked with yellow dots and finally take your last flower, gluing it down horizontally – lining it up with your other horizontal petals. The green dots show the petals still visible from your last layer. Keep your flowers folded.
Step ten: Create leaves for your flower out of green construction paper and add veins with a marker. Glue the leaves to your flowers – you can add leaves to each side of your folded flowers. Make sure leaves are glued to one petal – not on a crease line of two petals. Leaves should also not go past the yellow line shown in the photo.
Step eleven: Open up the card you prepared in step six and lay your flowers along the center line as shown. Add glue just to the tip of the center petals, shown with a yellow dot, on each side of your flower (the very center petal) – close your card and press. It’s best to let your glue dry for quite a few minuets – setting something heavy, like a book, on your card while it’s drying can be helpful!
Once your glue is dry carefully open your card to reveal your pop-up!
You can change up your flowers by starting with colored paper instead of white, or using different methods to decorate your paper with. You can also change the shape of your petals in step two by making a different type of line, rather than a curve. Have fun and get creative making your mom something special! Send me pictures of your finished pop-up cards to add to our followers gallery! And happy Mother’s Day to all you mom’s out there!