How to Make a Pop Up of a Treehouse

Craft a pop up tree house card to impress your friends.

Impress your friends and relatives by making a pop up of a treehouse for a greetings card or handmade book. According to Ann Montanaro, of the University of Rutgers, one of the first moveable books was made by a Catalan poet Ramon Llull in the 1400s, who used a revolving paper disc. Form your own moving illustration paper by first drawing a two-dimensional picture of a treehouse. Then use the drawing to transform it into the three-dimensional pop up.

Things You'll Need

• 8-by-10-inch paper
• Scissors
• 8 1/2-by-11-inch paper

Instructions

1. Lay your 8-by-10-inch paper horizontally on your table. Draw a tree with a thicker than usual trunk in the center of your paper using a pencil. The trunk needs to be approximately 4 inches wide and 4 inches tall for the craft and ideally to make sure the entire tree is symmetrical.

2. 

   Draw a simple outline of a treehouse for this craft.

   Add branches above the trunk with a treehouse in the center that looks like a square with a triangular roof. Add a small rectangular door and square window in the treehouse. Draw the symmetrical upper leaves of the tree that look like a cloud.

3. Draw two large roots on either side of the bottom of the tree trunk. They need to be roughly 2 inches by 2 inches. Cut out the entire picture, including the tree trunks, using a pair of scissors.

4. Lay the tree flat with the drawing facing down. Fold the left side to the right side. Flip it over so you see your drawing again and it now looks three-dimensional. The crease is going upwards. Fold both roots at a 45-degree angle upwards and towards the trunk.

5. Fold your 8 1/2-by-11-inch paper in half lengthwise with the crease going inwards. Lay the cut treehouse into the center of your folded 8 1/2-by-11-inch paper. Apply glue to the back of the tree trunks only. Glue them 3 inches from the bottom and on either side of the inwards crease. They need to be close enough to each other so your treehouse is folded at a 45-degree angle. Allow it to dry completely.

Tips & Warnings

• Once you close your larger piece of paper, the tree house is hidden. Open it to see the pop up of the treehouse.

• You can use the first drawing as a template or cover the pencil lines with black marker.

• Experiment with different variations of your treehouse in size and color.

• Adult supervision is needed for this craft.

References

• Rutgers University Libraries; A Concise History of Pop-up and Movable Books; Ann Montanaro