Pop-Up Card Template — Heart / Star / Tree
Half-fold pop-up card template with central pop-up element — choose heart, star, or tree. Solid lines = cut, dashed = mountain fold, dot-dash = valley fold.
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Mountain vs valley fold — the only kirigami vocabulary you need
Pop-up cards are kirigami's easiest entry point: one outer cut, one centre fold, two parallel tab cuts, and a shape on top of the tabs. When the card opens, the tabs push the shape forwardfrom the inside surface. That's the entire mechanism — and once a child sees it work once, they design their own pop-ups for life.
Mountain fold (long dashes) means the line points away from you — like a mountain ridge seen from below. Valley fold (dot-dash) means the line points toward you — like a valley between two hills. The centre of this card is a valley fold (so it opens like a book); the two side hinges of the pop-up tab are mountain folds (so the tab pushes out when the card opens).
Card weight: 80–100 lb cardstock. Too thin and the tabs collapse; too thick and the centre fold won't lie flat in an envelope. Score before folding with a bone folder or a dead ballpoint pen — paper folds cleanly along a scored line, sloppy along a guessed one.
Pair with the Mini Envelope (Gift Card Size) — the A2 mini envelope fits a card folded from US Letter perfectly. Or with Bookmark Templates for a matched gift-set look.