How To Make Popup Card

MINIATURE BEDROOM

Materials Needed

Large shoebox or gift box Small boxes Paper cups Plastic bottle caps Craft foam Gift wrap paper or textured paper Construction paper Self-hardening clay Pipe cleaner Sequins Acrylic paint Poster paint Paint brushes Palette White glue Craft punches (optional)

Safety Guidelines

• Always let your child use child-safe scissors.
• Small decorative objects like beads and sequins may pose as choking hazard. Not recommeded for children below the age of three.

Steps

	1.	Look for a large shoe box or gift box to turn into your miniature bedroom. Scout around for smaller boxes for the furniture as well. You may need to trim off parts of these small boxes to obtain the desired size (Check out the toothpaste box that I cut to make a bedside table). Glue any open flaps on these small boxes.
	2.	You have the option of creating specialized box furniture by cutting and gluing box parts together such as this book shelf.
	3.	Prime the walls of the big box with white acrylic paint. Parts of the box that are white and unprinted need not be primed (like the interior walls of this shoe box). Prime the smaller boxes too, with the bed as an exception. Let the paint dry completely.
	4.	Think of a color scheme for your bedroom. Once the primer is dry, paint the interior walls, as well as the exterior walls of the box with your desired color of poster paint.
	5.	Cut craft foam or gift wrap paper to cover the bottom of the box. Glue the edges in place.
	6.	Paint the smaller boxes that you primed to make them look more like bedroom furniture. Paint on doors for the closet and drawers for the bedside table.
	7.	To make the bed, cut the head board and foot board from construction paper. Glue them on either side of the box bed.
	8.	Cut a piece of textured paper or gift wrap paper to cover the bed. Apply glue on the entire surface of the paper.
	9.	Glue the paper onto the box.
	10.	Cut another piece of colored paper and glue this as the blanket or comforter.
	11.	If you have craft punches, punch out some designs on the bed's head board and foot board.
	12.	Make a pillow by cutting a rectangular piece of craft foam. Apply glue on its surface and roll into a pillow shape.
	13.	Glue the pillow on the bed.
	14.	Glue the furniture in place inside the box bedroom.
	15.	Create small details using materials like self-hardening clay, paper, pipe cleaner, or sequins. Self-hardening clay is a very versatile material and can be used to mold an infinite number of decor. I've made a teddy bear, a basketball, and a pair of slippers. The potted plant was made using a soda bottle cap for the pot, clay for the soil, and green construction paper for the leaves.
	16.	Construction paper was used to make a mini picture frame as well as these tiny books. The flower vase consists of a large bead for the vase, green pipe cleaner for the stems, and sequins for the flowers.
	17.	Be creative and decorate your bedroom with miniature objects. When you're finished, arrange and glue the objects in place around the bedroom.

HOME SWEET HOME

Materials Needed

Rectangular flat box (Pretzels or similar-sized box) Craft foam or construction paper Craft sticks Scissors Glue stick Felt tip pens or crayons White acrylic paint Poster paint Paint brushes Palette

Safety Guidelines

• Always let your child use child-safe scissors.
• Watch out for this sign . It means you need an adult's help for the particular step.

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Steps

	1.	Obtain a pretzel box or similar-sized box to make the house.
	2.	Prime the exterior of the box with white acrylic paint. The primer serves to cover the printed glossy surface of the box.
	3.	Once the primer is dry, paint the box with poster paint. Use whatever color you'd like the house to be.
	4.	Set the painted box aside to dry.
	5.	To make a family of stick puppets and a home for them, draw and cut the following shapes on craft foam or construction paper: 2 big triangles (roof) 1 small triangle (mom's body) 2 medium rectangles (doors) 1 small rectangle (dad's body) 4 squares (windows) 1 oval (baby's body) 3 small circles (heads) Hair for mom, dad and baby
	6.	Draw faces on each of the 3 circles.
	7.	Glue the corresponding hair on the head of mom, dad, and baby.
	8.	Glue each of the small triangle, small rectangle, and oval separately on a craft stick. These will be the puppets' bodies.
	9.	Glue the head on each of the craft sticks: mom (triangle), dad (rectangle), and baby (oval).
	10.	Draw designs on each person's clothes such as a necktie for dad, flower prints on mom's dress and round buttons on baby's clothes.
	11.	Once the painted box is dry, glue on the remaining shapes to complete the house. Remember we are decorating both panels of the box. Each panel should have a roof (big triangle), two windows (squares), and a door (medium rectangle).
	12.	You may draw a door knob on each door.
	13.	You've just made a family of puppets. Once you finish playing with them, keep them inside the box house.

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GARDEN DIORAMA

Materials Needed

• Shoebox or similar-sized box
• Paper
• Craft foam
• Self-hardening clay or salt dough
• Crayons
• Acrylic paint
• White glue
• Scissors
• Drinking straws
• Pipe cleaner
• Beads
• Cotton
• Pompoms
• Wiggle eyes
• String (optional)

Steps

	1.	The more common practice in making box dioramas is to use the bottom part of a shoebox. In this tutorial, we used a one-type piece shoebox (lid is attached to the box) and included the box lid as part of our diorama design. To keep the lid permanently fixed at a 90 degree angle, use glue gun to attach a small box at the bottom portion of the box hinge.
	2.	Paint the exterior of your box with your chosen color of acrylic paint. If you're already happy with your box's original color, you may leave the box exterior unpainted.
	3.	Plan the look for your garden diorama. Paint the box interior with your intended colors. You may also opt to cover the box interior with colored paper.
	4.	Glue on some details for the background. On the right side of the box, I glued on cotton clouds as well as bushes cut out from felt sheet.
		On the left side of the box, I added a window made out of a rectangular piece of yellow paper and a window frame out of strips of craft foam.
	5.	A common way of adding objects to a diorama is to make paper cut-outs with side or bottom tabs. The tabs allow you to glue the object to the sides or bottom of the box. You can also combine paper cut-outs with other materials. This potted sunflower has a drinking straw stem. The parts were glued together before gluing the pot's bottom tab to the bottom of the box and the center tab onto the background.
	6.	You may also cover the bottom of the box with a thick layer of self-hardening clay or salt dough. Flowers and other objects can be planted into the clay or dough, a great concept for a garden-themed project.
	7.	Here are some suggestions for creating more plants: a.) Make a large plant by cutting out long leaf shapes from paper, gathering them together on one end and taping around that end. Plant the taped end into the clay, adding a little more clay around the base to hold the plant firmly in place.
		b.) Create flowers from any of the materials below and plant these into the clay or dough. Flowers- flower-shaped sequins or cut out flowers from paper/craft foam Stems- pipe cleaner, craft wire, or toothpicks Flower centers (optional)- beads or clay rolled into little balls
	8.	Make bugs and critters out of construction paper, craft foam, felt sheet, and/or pompoms. Here are some ideas that you can follow or use to create your own bugs and garden creatures: a.) SNAIL- (1.) Cut out a snail's body and a round shell from paper or craft foam. (2.) Glue these two pieces together, add a pair of wiggle eyes, and draw a spiral on the round shell using puffy paint or crayons.
		b.) BEE- (1.) Cut out a bee's body (with head) from yellow craft foam or construction paper. Cut out a pair of wings from white crepe paper, coffee filter, or wax paper. (2.) Glue the wings at the back of the bee. Stick a small black pompom for the head or you may just color the head with black crayon. Draw black stripes on the bee's body.
		c.) LADYBUG- (1.) Cut out a red oval from red construction paper/craft foam. Draw an identical oval on black construction paper, add a small round head on top, and then cut out the entire piece. Cut out three thin strips from black construction paper for the legs. (2.) Glue the legs on the red oval. (3.) Glue the black body on top. (4.) Turn the bug over and bend the legs slightly at the tips. Draw black dots on the ladybug using a crayon or puffy paint. You may glue on a black pompom for the head.
		d.) BUTTERFLY- (1.) Cut out a pair of butterfly wings and a worm-shaped body from craft foam, felt sheet or construction paper. Cut out small shapes to decorate the wings. (2.) Glue the body at the center of the pair of wings and stick the small shapes on the wings. You may add other materials such as small beads or stickers on the wings. For an extra cute butterfly, glue on a pompom head and a pair of wiggle eyes.
		e.) CATERPILLAR- Create a fuzzy caterpillar by gluing small pompoms together. Add a pair of wiggle eyes and draw a mouth.
	9.	Add the bugs and critters to your garden. (1.) Glue on a center tab at the back of the bug similar to that of the sunflower in Step 5. This will allow you to glue the bug onto the background or atop a flower. (2.) Glue the bug directly onto the elements in your diorama. (3.) Anchor the bug or critter onto the clay ground. (4.) Attach a string and hang the insect from the box's ceiling.
	10.	Self-hardening clay will set overnight while salt dough may take at least 2 days to dry. Enjoy your exciting Garden Diorama! Go to main Habitat Diorama page for more diorama ideas.