Father's Day Keepsake Craft: Pop-Up Card

Let Dad know he's fin-tastic by creating this sweet keepsake pop-up craft for him.

Little ones will work on scissor skills, hand-strengthening, fine-motor skills, pre-writing skills, painting, hand-eye coordination, collaboration, focus and concentration while creating a beautiful, colorful card that Dad will love!

What you'll need:

2 pieces of card-stock paper
scissors
glue
2 colors of paint (blue and a favorite color)
1 paintbrush
1 cup/bowl of water
1 clean-up rag/paper towel
1 sponge, piece of bubble wrap or paper towel (optional for adding texture)
2 markers or crayons

Instructions:

1. Fold card-stock paper in half.

2. Cut 6 slits along folded side of paper. Each pair of slits should line up to form a rectangular pop-up. The pairs of slits can be cut at different lengths to add interest. Fold/crease these slits inward, in your card, to form 3 pop-ups.

3. Use a paintbrush to paint a blue ocean background inside your folded card-stock.

Paint ocean background inside folded card

4. Use a paper towel, sponge or piece of bubble wrap to blotch over the painted water and create texture.

Use paper towel, bubble wrap or sponge to add texture

5. While your painted ocean background dries, use your favorite paint color and clean paintbrush to paint the inside of 1 hand.

6. Stamp your handprint on a second piece of card-stock paper. While your handprint dries, use a couple of markers or crayons to draw coral and seaweed.

Stamp your handprint on a 2nd piece of cardstock

7. To add visual interest, draw these with varying heights and widths, and or use complementary colors, such as red and green, blue and orange, and purple and yellow.

Use marker or crayon to draw a coral and seaweed

Add visual interest by drawing coral and seaweed with varying heights & in colors that pop

8. Use scissors to cut coral, seaweed and your dry handprint out.

9. Add peel and stick googly eyes to the palm side of your handprint to turn it into a fish print.

10. Use a marker to add scales, a smile and other details to your fish.

Use a marker to draw scales, a smile and other details on your fish print

11. Add glue to each of the pop-up slats of your card. Hold your card in open position and glue your coral and seaweed to the outer slats, and your fish to the middle slat.

Use glue to attach your coral, seaweed and fish to the card slats

12. Write a sweet message like "Happy Father's Day!" or "You're a fin-tastic dad!"

Ramona Bell

Ramona Bell is a designer and homeschool mom with a love for art, science, nature, teaching and creating meaningful spaces. She believes the best way to teach and to learn is to follow children’s natural sense of wonder and to be just as inquisitive and awe inspired. Find her on Instagram @happy_learning_moments, where she shares about crafting, playing and homeschooling with her 2 children.

→ Ramona Bell

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