Pop Up Stage Card Tutorial

This collapsible Pop-Up Stage card is sure to delight your special someone this Halloween... and I'm going to show you how I did it!!

Supplies:

Card base- 5.5" x 11" and folded in half at 5.5"

Black cardstock for stage - 5.5" x 6.25"

Black cardstock for tabs - 2" x 1/2"

Clear heavy acetate (or clear cardstock) - 2" x 1/2" (*Optional)

Green cardstock for belly band - 12" x 1 3/4"

BG Eerie Papers - 5 3/8" square (for inside top); 5 3/8" x 5.25" (to cover top of stage); and 3/4" x 5 3/8" (front bottom piece)

Halloween images - Pumpkin Marci & Witch Marci

(http://www.lalalandcrafts.com/)

Cherry Blossoms Die - Sizzix

(http://www.mcmahonfivedesign.com/)

Fence Border Punch - Martha Stewart

(http://www.mcmahonfivedesign.com/)

Exacto knife

Double-sided tape

Crimper (*Optional for bellyband)

*NOTE: Before you begin, if you wish to add a piece of designer paper to the outside card front, now is a good time to do it as it may be harder once your inside gets thicker! ☺

Let's Begin!

1. Tape your 5 3/8" square piece of designer paper to the inside top of card.

2. Score your longest side of stage (6.25" side) at 1/2" on one end and then I flipped it over and scored 1/2" and 1" on the opposite end.

3. Score your stage designer piece at 1/2" on the short side and tape it to your stage, making sure you align the 1/2" score with the end 1" score end of stage.

4. Arrange your images on the stage, making sure that when laying flat that they don't stick outside of the top of stage (not counting the outer scored edges). Draw 1/2" lines at the bottom of images.

(You see one of my images is upside down. That's because that image will fold forward and the witch will fold backward when the card is closed.)

5. Use exacto knife to cut slits that are 1/2" long where you want the images to stand.

6. Score your 2" x 1/2" tabs at 1/2" on one end. You may use all colored cardstock for your tabs, however, I didn't want some of my tabs showing on some of my skinnier images so I used clear acetate for some.

**Important: For the ones in front that will fold backwards, you want to apply tape to the top side of the 1/2" scored end and insert tabs in the front slits so that they are taped to the underside of stage.

7. Apply tape to each 1/2" outer scored end of your stage then tape the single scored edge to the card top, just above where your card base is scored. Then while holding your card top at a 90 degree angle, tape the other end (outer 1/2") under. You may now apply the front images (or wait til the end).

8. Now you want to apply tape to the under side of the 1/2" scored tabs and carefully slide them into the slots and tape them down to the card base like this:

9. Apply the rest of your images to the front of your tabs.

10. Apply designer paper to the front card base and a sentiment if you wish and Ta-Da!



HOW IT FOLDS CLOSED & FINISHING THE OUTSIDE:

11. As you fold it closed, the back pieces will automatically be pushed forward. You might have to "help" the front pieces fold towards the back though (witch Marci & front fence, and the li'l black tree.)

12. You need your 12" x 1 3/4" strip (crimped or non) and any image you wish to add on top of band (*Optional)
13. Loosely wrap band around closed card. If you wrap too tightly, it will be very hard to slip it on and off. 14. Tape band ends together on back side of card.

15.  Tape medallion (or other image) to the band
Voila!!
Sentiment: "What's Poppin' Up is yet to be seen..."
Inside: "Have a SPOOKtacular Halloween!"

Happy Creating!!!  =)