How to Make a Pop-out Tree for a Shoebox

Pop-out trees work well in shoebox scenes and dioramas.

Making a pop-out tree for a shoebox gives a diorama or craft project a three-dimensional effect. Shoebox dioramas present scenes from different ecosystems, historical events or books. Museums create large-scale dioramas to show different settings. For example, the Harvard Museum presents dioramas to show the history of New England's forests. To give a small-scale shoebox scene a sense of space, use a basic technique to make a paper pop-out tree. This effect also is called a pop-up. Trees with paper tabs to make them stand out add scenery to a shoebox diorama.

Things You'll Need

• Construction paper or dried moss
• Scissors
• Craft glue

Instructions

1. Fold a piece of construction paper in half by matching the top edge of the paper with the bottom edge. Use the color of construction paper you want for the tree trunk, such as rust for a redwood tree, gray for a pine tree or cream for a birch tree.

2. Draw a pair of parallel lines 1 inch apart or the desired width of the tree trunk starting at the fold edge of the paper. Make the lines as long as you need to make the tree stand where you want it in the shoebox. For example, if the shoe box is 6 inches deep when you stand it on its side for a diorama, and you want the tree to pop out in the middle, make the lines 3 inches long.

3. Cut along each line, from the fold to the end to the line. Push the cut strip of paper the opposite direction of the fold, so it pops out. Glue the folded construction paper into the shoebox with the fold at the bottom of the back of the box. With the box standing on its side with its opening facing you, half of the paper covers the back of the box -- the part that was the bottom of the box when it had shoes in it. The other half of the paper covers the side of the box that's now the bottom, the area your scene will rest on.

4. Draw the top part of the tree on green construction paper and cut it out. For example, draw a narrow triangle for a Christmas tree or a rounded tree top for a poplar or magnolia tree. Cut out the tree top.

5. Glue the top of the tree to the pop-out strip of construction paper in the shoebox, leaving part of the paper showing as the tree's trunk. Glue dried bits of moss to the top of the tree if desired.

Tips & Warnings

• Look at pictures of the kind of tree you want to make to get ideas for the color and shape.

• Make the tree the right size to go with other things in your shoebox scene. For example, if there will be people in the scene, make the tree taller than the people, the way trees in your yard or at school are taller than you.

References

• Harvard University -- Fisher Museum Harvard Forest: Landscape History of New England