How to make a tulip pop-up card
Tulip Pop-Up Card: try all 12 steps in the 3D player. Turn and replay every move. Print the complete diagram sheet or save it as PDF.
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.
- You need
- A 14 × 20 cm sheet of thin card, a 12 × 9 cm rectangle of pink paper, an 8 × 1.96 cm strip of green paper, pencil, ruler, protractor, scissors and glue stick.
- Start
- Lay the card coloured side up, with a short edge at the top. Set the pink rectangle beside it, white side up, with a 12 cm edge at the top. Put the green strip farther right, white side up.
Your model is ready
Let the tabs dry, then open and close the card. The pink three-pointed cup stays above the green stem and two leaves. Add your greeting around the flower. A complete pink tulip cup with a green stem and two leaves, raised above its card.
Step-by-step diagrams
Steps 1–7
- 1
Crease the card
Fold the card in half, bottom edge to top edge, press the spine and open the card flat again.
- 2
Position the green strip
Lift the pink rectangle and place the green strip beneath it, green side facing down. Centre it across the pink paper with its top 4.94 cm below the top edge. The band will become the stem and leaves.
- 3
Glue the stem layers
Glue the middle of the green strip to the pink paper, where the stem will be. Let the glue dry before folding and cutting the two layers together.
- 4
Fold the tulip paper in half
Fold the smaller rectangle from left to right. Keep its 12 cm edges at the top and bottom; the folded piece is 6 cm wide and 9 cm tall.
- 5
Cut the tulip and tabs
Draw half a tulip against the fold: a tall middle petal, a V-shaped dip and a pointed outer petal, then a rounded side narrowing to the stem. In the green band, leave a narrow stem and one long pointed leaf. Keep the small angled glue tabs below the green strip. Follow the cutting diagram through both layers and lift away the scrap. Opening the two halves gives three petals and two leaves.
- 6
Fold the front glue tab
From the bottom of the middle fold, draw a line 60 degrees from the fold toward the right. Fold only the front tab up along this line.
- 7
Fold the back glue tab
Fold the other tab behind on the same line. The tabs point in opposite directions; the cut shape stays between them.
Steps 8–12
- 8
Position the tulip
Set the folded piece on the upper half of the open card. Put its foot on the spine, 5 cm from the left edge. Its middle fold leans 10 degrees left of upright; keep the whole cutout inside the card.
- 9
Glue the lower tab
Glue only the lower tab to the card. Leave the outline, the other tab and every fold free.
- 10
Close the card onto the upper tab
Put glue on the upper tab. Fold the bottom half of the card up over it and press gently.
- 11
Secure the upper tab
Press the card against the upper tab and let the glue set before opening it.
- 12
Open the card
Open the card slowly to 150 degrees. The tabs lift the complete tulip into a shallow V above the spine.
- ✓
Finish
Let the tabs dry, then open and close the card. The pink three-pointed cup stays above the green stem and two leaves. Add your greeting around the flower. A complete pink tulip cup with a green stem and two leaves, raised above its card.
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.
Birthday cake pop-up ↗
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.
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.