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.
![Crease/fold rectangular slats inward](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0614/5776/0511/files/IMG_0229_4_1024x1024.jpg?v=1718121757)
3. Use a paintbrush to paint a blue ocean background inside your folded card-stock.
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](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0614/5776/0511/files/IMG_0245_1024x1024.jpg?v=1718121980)
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](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0614/5776/0511/files/IMG_0252_1024x1024.jpg?v=1718122348)
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.
![Add visual interest by drawing coral and seaweed with varying heights & in colors that pop](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0614/5776/0511/files/IMG_0262_1024x1024.jpg?v=1718122458)
8. Use scissors to cut coral, seaweed and your dry handprint out.
![Cut drawn shapes and handprint out](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0614/5776/0511/files/IMG_0266_1024x1024.jpg?v=1718122558)
9. Add peel and stick googly eyes to the palm side of your handprint to turn it into a fish print.
![Attach googly eye to handprint fish](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0614/5776/0511/files/IMG_0284_1024x1024.jpg?v=1718122725)
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](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0614/5776/0511/files/IMG_0293_1024x1024.jpg?v=1718122815)
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](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0614/5776/0511/files/IMG_0299_1024x1024.jpg?v=1718122943)
12. Write a sweet message like "Happy Father's Day!" or "You're a fin-tastic dad!"
![Write on your card](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0614/5776/0511/files/IMG_0312_1024x1024.jpg?v=1718123067)
![Your Father's Day Keepsake is complete!](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0614/5776/0511/files/IMG_0317_1024x1024.jpg?v=1718123156)