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Gather together your paper, scissors and decorating materials like glitter, colored markers and paint. Lay down newspapers or a drop cloth if you're going to be using glue, glitter or paints. Begin by making the shape of your card. Fold your paper in half to make a simple square card or fold in half and cut a heart shape, be sure to leave the fold connected at the hearts top peaks, to make a connected seam from which your card will pop open. Construction paper works better than white printer paper for this, as it's thicker and you can use festive colors.
Next you want to create a spring, from which your words or shape will pop out. Cut a long, thin strip of paper about a 1/2 inch wide. Beginning at the base, fold the paper over itself, back and forth, at 1/2 inch intervals; you are making a zig zag out of paper. When you fold the paper until the very end, you should be able to compress the folded paper into a 1/2 inch by 1/2 inch square spring. Use glue to cement the bottom base of the spring to the inside of your card. If the spring is too long to shut easily within the card, you can trim off some of it's length by cutting along one of the folds.
Cut out a heart shape or square shape and glue the top base of the spring to the backside of the shape to attach it to the spring. This makes a pop-up area to write a special message or just for decoration. Use your glitter, markers and different colored paper to layer designs and add words to your card. Don't forget to decorate the inside first and allow any paint or glue to dry completely before moving on to decorate the the front of the card.
