Christmas Tree and Gifts

A Christmas pop-up card: a Christmas tree made of three layered tiers with a star on top, a little house with lit windows, gifts and a snowman by a snowdrift. Eight pieces: the tree tiers and the boxes hold onto each other, and in the corner there is a bush with a bullfinch on a V-fold. You can trace the template sheets through the camera or print them on cardstock — the files are at the bottom of this page.

• Hard
• 77 steps
• 3 Letter sheets
• 8 pieces

Make it with your phone cameraLesson code: 8534

On VanGami the template appears over your sheet through your phone camera — no printer needed. Trace it, cut, fold and glue. Below are all the steps in text.

What you’ll need

• 3 Letter sheets — office paper, 80 gsm (20 lb)
• Markers
• Pencil — and eraser
• Ruler — 8–12 in
• Scissors — small
• Glue stick — or PVA glue
• Empty pen — to score the folds
• Glass — phone stand

Steps

Base

1. Sturdy base from two sheets. The base is made from two sheets of office paper: spread a glue stick over all of one sheet, lay the second on top and smooth it with your palm from the middle to the edges. Draw the base on this sheet.
2. Base outline. Trace a 5⅞ × 8¼ in rectangle in the middle of the sheet — this is the card opened flat.
3. Fold. Trace the middle line as a dashed line: the card will fold in half along it. Don't cut it.
4. Back half: drawing. The top half will stand up like a wall. Copy its drawing: big shapes first, then the small details.
5. Bottom half: drawing. The bottom half will lie flat on the table, and the pieces will stand on it. Copy the drawing.
6. Back half: color. Color the top half to match the sample. Colors:
7. Bottom half: color. Now the bottom half. Colors:
8. Frames 1 · Frosty bush. Two slanted frames numbered 1 by the fold: one on the bottom half, the other on the back half. The tabs of the “Frosty bush” piece will be glued here. Trace them over the color and write in the numbers.
9. Frames 2 · Tree top with star. Trace over the color: on the bottom half, frame 2 for the piece's tab; on the back half, frame 2 with a double side, for the strip. Write in the numbers.
10. Frames 3 · Little house. Trace over the color: on the bottom half, frame 3 for the piece's tab; on the back half, frame 3 with a double side, for the strip. Write in the numbers.
11. Frame 4 · Tree middle. Trace over the color: on the bottom half, frame 4 for the piece's tab. Write in the number.
12. Frames 5 · Tree bottom. Trace over the color: on the bottom half, two frames 5 for the piece’s tabs. Write in the numbers.
13. Frame 6 · Gifts. Trace over the color: on the bottom half, frame 6 for the piece's tab. Write in the number.
14. Frame 7 · Striped box. Trace over the color: on the bottom half, frame 7 for the piece's tab. Write in the number.
15. Frames 8 · Snowdrift with snowman. Trace over the color: on the bottom half, frame 8 for the piece's tab; on the back half, frame 8 with a double side, for the strip. Write in the numbers.
16. Cover: drawing. Flip the sheet over like a book page and put it back in the same place, edge to edge. Copy the cover: the drawing is upside down — on the closed card it will end up the right way up.
17. Cover: color. Color the cover. Colors:

Pieces

18. New sheet · Frosty bush. Remove sheet 1 and put in its place a clean sheet, edge to edge; don't move the phone. Trace the outline of piece 1 with a solid line — you'll cut along it. Dash-dot lines mark the center fold and the tabs at the bottom.
19. Frosty bush: drawing. Copy the drawing inside the outline. On the tab, write the number 1.
20. Frosty bush: color. Color it to match the sample. Colors: This piece's tabs will stay visible — color them the same as the base.
21. 2 · Tree top with star: outline. Trace the outline of piece 2 with a solid line — you'll cut along it. At the bottom is a tab: along the dashed line it folds back.
22. Tree top with star: drawing. Copy the drawing inside the outline. On the tab, write the number 2.
23. Tree top with star: color. Color it to match the sample. Colors: Don't color the tab — glue sticks better to bare paper.
24. 3 · Little house: outline. Trace the outline of piece 3 with a solid line — you'll cut along it. At the bottom is a tab: along the dashed line it folds back.
25. Little house: drawing. Copy the drawing inside the outline. On the tab, write the number 3.
26. Little house: color. Color it to match the sample. Colors: Don't color the tab — glue sticks better to bare paper.
27. 4 · Tree middle: outline. Trace the outline of piece 4 with a solid line — you'll cut along it. At the bottom is a tab: along the dashed line it folds back.
28. Tree middle: drawing. Copy the drawing inside the outline. On the tab, write the number 4.
29. Tree middle: color. Color it to match the sample. Colors: Don't color the tab — glue sticks better to bare paper.
30. 5 · Tree bottom: outline. Trace the outline of piece 5 with a solid line — you’ll cut along it. At the bottom are tabs: along the dashed line they fold back.
31. Tree bottom: drawing. Copy the drawing inside the outline. On the tab, write the number 5.
32. Tree bottom: color. Color it to match the sample. Colors: Don't color the tab — glue sticks better to bare paper.
33. 6 · Gifts: outline. Trace the outline of piece 6 with a solid line — you'll cut along it. At the bottom is a tab: along the dashed line it folds back.
34. Gifts: drawing. Copy the drawing inside the outline. On the tab, write the number 6.
35. Gifts: color. Color it to match the sample. Colors: Don't color the tab — glue sticks better to bare paper.
36. 7 · Striped box: outline. Trace the outline of piece 7 with a solid line — you'll cut along it. At the bottom is a tab: along the dashed line it folds back.
37. Striped box: drawing. Copy the drawing inside the outline. On the tab, write the number 7.
38. Striped box: color. Color it to match the sample. Colors: Don't color the tab — glue sticks better to bare paper.
39. 8 · Snowdrift with snowman: outline. Trace the outline of piece 8 with a solid line — you'll cut along it. At the bottom is a tab: along the dashed line it folds back.
40. Snowdrift with snowman: drawing. Copy the drawing inside the outline. On the tab, write the number 8.
41. Snowdrift with snowman: color. Color it to match the sample. Colors: Don't color the tab — glue sticks better to bare paper.

Strips

42. Frame on piece 2. On the “Tree top with star” piece, over the color, trace frame 4 and write in the number: strip 4 will be glued here.
43. Frame on piece 4. On the “Tree middle” piece, over the color, trace frame 5 and write in the number: strip 5 will be glued here.
44. Frame on piece 5. On the “Tree bottom” piece, over the color, trace frame 6 and write in the number: strip 6 will be glued here.
45. Frame on piece 6. On the “Gifts” piece, over the color, trace frame 7 and write in the number: strip 7 will be glued here.
46. Strips. Trace 7 strips: solid line — cut, dashed line — fold. From left to right: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. Copy the numbers and arrows: the arrow goes on the tab that is glued into the frame. No coloring needed.

Cut

47. Cut out the base. Cut with scissors along the solid line. Don't cut the dashed line in the middle.
48. Cut out: frosty bush. Cut along the outline with scissors, tabs included. In narrow spots, cut with the tips.
49. Cut out: tree top with star. Cut along the outline with scissors, including the tab. In tight spots, cut with the tips of the scissors.
50. Cut out: little house. Cut along the outline with scissors, including the tab. In tight spots, cut with the tips of the scissors.
51. Cut out: tree middle. Cut along the outline with scissors, including the tab. In tight spots, cut with the tips of the scissors.
52. Cut out: tree bottom. Cut along the outline with scissors, tabs included. In narrow spots, cut with the tips.
53. Cut out: gifts. Cut along the outline with scissors, including the tab. In tight spots, cut with the tips of the scissors.
54. Cut out: striped box. Cut along the outline with scissors, including the tab. In tight spots, cut with the tips of the scissors.
55. Cut out: snowdrift with snowman. Cut along the outline with scissors, including the tab. In tight spots, cut with the tips of the scissors.
56. Cut out the strips. 7 strips: cut along the straight lines. Leave the numbers and arrows so the strips don't get mixed up.

Fold

57. Fold the base in half. Score the dashed line with an empty pen along a ruler and fold the base with the drawing inside. Then open it up to a right angle.
58. Piece tabs. Fold the tabs of the pieces back, away from the drawing, along the dashed line — to a right angle. The “Frosty bush” is different: fold it in half with the drawing inside and only lightly crease the tabs — a little toward you, toward the drawing.
59. Strips. Fold the strip tabs to a right angle: plain dashed line — away from you, dash-dot line — toward you, toward the number. On strip 8 the tabs point in different directions — that’s how it should be.

Glue

60. 1 · Frosty bush. Open the card. Apply glue to the back of the tab on the right half (see the picture) and glue it into frame 1 of the bottom half: the sharp corner of the piece goes exactly into the fold of the card. Fold the piece in half, apply glue to the second tab on top and close the card.
61. 2 · Tree top with star: strip. Hold strip 2 with the number facing up: the tab with the arrow goes into frame 2 on the back half, with the fold toward the double side of the frame.
62. 2 · Tree top with star: into place. The piece's tab goes into frame 2 on the bottom half. Place the piece face down, top toward you. Straighten the strip's free tab, apply glue to the underside and slowly close the card: the strip will lie down on the back of the piece by itself. Press down.
63. 3 · Little house: strip. Hold strip 3 with the number facing up: the tab with the arrow goes into frame 3 on the back half, with the fold toward the double side of the frame.
64. 3 · Little house: into place. The piece's tab goes into frame 3 on the bottom half. Place the piece face down, top toward you. Straighten the strip's free tab, apply glue to the underside and slowly close the card: the strip will lie down on the back of the piece by itself. Press down.
65. 4 · Tree middle: strip. Hold strip 4 with the number facing up: the tab with the arrow goes into frame 4 on the “Tree top with star” piece, with the fold toward the double side of the frame.
66. 4 · Tree middle: into place. The piece's tab goes into frame 4 on the bottom half. Place the piece face down, top toward you. Straighten the strip's free tab, apply glue to the underside and slowly close the card: the strip will lie down on the back of the piece by itself. Press down.
67. 5 · Tree bottom: strip. Hold strip 5 with the number facing up: the tab with the arrow goes into frame 5 on the “Tree middle” piece, with the fold toward the double side of the frame.
68. 5 · Tree bottom: into place. The piece's tabs go into frames 5 on the bottom half. Place the piece face down, top toward you. Straighten the strip's free tab, apply glue to the underside and slowly close the card: the strip will lie down on the back of the piece by itself. Press down.
69. 6 · Gifts: strip. Hold strip 6 with the number facing up: the tab with the arrow goes into frame 6 on the “Tree bottom” piece, with the fold toward the double side of the frame.
70. 6 · Gifts: into place. The piece's tab goes into frame 6 on the bottom half. Place the piece face down, top toward you. Straighten the strip's free tab, apply glue to the underside and slowly close the card: the strip will lie down on the back of the piece by itself. Press down.
71. 7 · Striped box: strip. Hold strip 7 with the number facing up: the tab with the arrow goes into frame 7 on the “Gifts” piece, with the fold toward the double side of the frame.
72. 7 · Striped box: into place. The piece's tab goes into frame 7 on the bottom half. Place the piece face down, top toward you. Straighten the strip's free tab, apply glue to the underside and slowly close the card: the strip will lie down on the back of the piece by itself. Press down.
73. 8 · Snowdrift with snowman: strip. Hold strip 8 with the number facing up: the tab with the arrow goes into frame 8 on the back half, with the fold toward the double side of the frame. The frame is behind pieces that are already standing: guide the tab in on the tip of a pencil.
74. 8 · Snowdrift with snowman: into place. The piece's tab goes into frame 8 on the bottom half. Place the piece face down, top toward you. Fold the strip's free tab under the strip, apply glue to the underside and slowly close the card: the strip will lie down on the back of the piece by itself. Press down.

Check

75. Close. Slowly fold the card shut: the pieces lie flat, one on top of another. If something catches — don't force it: find the strip that is pulling and glue it again.
76. Press. Hold the closed card under your palm for 10 seconds: the tabs will set in the position where they fold naturally.
77. Open. Open it to a right angle: the pieces stand up one by one, from the back half toward you.

Done. The card is done. Closed, it can go into an envelope: the pieces lie flat between the halves.

Make it with your phone camera

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