How to make a birthday cake pop-up card
Birthday Cake Pop-Up Card: try all 11 steps in the 3D player. Turn and replay every move. Print the complete diagram sheet or save it as PDF.
Make a two-tier birthday cake with a little square candle, all cut from one card. Each smaller pop-up rises from the back of the tier below it, so the candle sits above both cake tiers. An Origami Tutor design.
- You need
- A 14 × 20 cm sheet of thin card (160–200 g/m²), a pencil, a ruler and scissors.
- Start
- Begin with a 14 × 20 cm sheet of thin card or heavy paper, coloured side up, with a short edge at the top.
Your model is ready
Stand the card open with the wide tier at the bottom. Colour icing bands on both fronts and add a small flame to the card behind the candle, then write your birthday message. Two cake tiers stacked in the correct order, with a narrow candle above them.
Step-by-step diagrams
Steps 1–6
- 1
Fold the card in half
Lay the sheet coloured side up. Bring the bottom edge up to the top edge and crease the fold firmly. This fold is the card's spine; the coloured side is now inside.
- 2
Cut the bottom tier: left
On the folded spine, mark two points 8.4 cm apart, centred across the card. At the left mark cut 3.6 cm straight into both layers. The other slit will be the same length.
- 3
Cut the bottom tier: right
Make a matching slit at the other marked edge. Cut only the same two layers; keep the paper between the slits attached at both ends.
- 4
Push the bottom tier inside
Crease between the slit ends. Ease this small strip between the two layers, reversing its middle fold, and press the card closed. Keep the same face of the card toward you.
- 5
Cut the top tier: left
Keep the same side facing you. Ease the card open enough to reach the pushed-in strip's back fold, 3.6 cm from the spine. Mark a centred 4.8 cm width. At its left edge, cut 1.8 cm into this fold through only the outer layer and the strip beneath it.
- 6
Cut the top tier: right
Make a matching slit at the other marked edge. Cut only the same two layers; keep the paper between the slits attached at both ends.
Steps 7–11
- 7
Push the top tier inside
Crease between the slit ends. Ease this small strip between the two layers, reversing its middle fold, and press the card closed. Keep the same face of the card toward you.
- 8
Cut the candle: left
At the top tier's back fold, now 5.4 cm from the spine, mark a centred 5 mm wide strip. Cut 1.1 cm into the fold at its left edge, through the two layers forming that fold only.
- 9
Cut the candle: right
Make a matching slit at the other marked edge. Cut only the same two layers; keep the paper between the slits attached at both ends.
- 10
Push the candle inside
Crease between the slit ends. Ease this small strip between the two layers, reversing its middle fold, and press the card closed. Keep the same face of the card toward you.
- 11
Open the card
Open the card to a right angle. The 8.4 cm wide bottom tier supports the 4.8 cm wide top tier; a narrow square candle rises above the top.
- ✓
Finish
Stand the card open with the wide tier at the bottom. Colour icing bands on both fronts and add a small flame to the card behind the candle, then write your birthday message. Two cake tiers stacked in the correct order, with a narrow candle above them.
Fold next
Pop-up heart ↗
Make a Valentine card with a complete red heart raised above its spine. Rounded lobes, a clear top dip and a tapered point stay together on a small V-fold support. An Origami Tutor design.
Pop-up tulip ↗
Make a pop-up tulip with a complete three-pointed pink cup, a green stem and two leaves. Small V-fold tabs lift the whole flower above the card without turning its petals into a box. An Origami Tutor design.
Pop-up Christmas tree ↗
Cut a complete three-tier Christmas tree from green paper, fold its small glue tabs and mount it across a card's spine. The whole tree rises into a shallow V when the card opens. An Origami Tutor design.
Pop-up star ↗
Make a card with a complete five-pointed gold star that rises above the spine. Cut the star from a second piece of paper and use small V-fold tabs to lift it. An Origami Tutor design.