How to Make a Pop-Up Card with an Accordion Fan

A pop-up card needs three things: a folded base, a mechanism that lies flat when the card is shut, and something mounted on it that rises. The accordion version uses a strip of paper pleated at half-inch intervals, folded in half, and taped to both inside walls so the card's own hinge does the work. Close the card and the fan squashes flat. Open it and the pleats spread into a half circle, lifting whatever you glued on top.

The seven steps below follow It's Me, JD, who builds the card from one sheet of 8.5 by 5.5 inch cardstock and a strip of lightweight patterned paper, then turns the fan into an umbrella with ducks under it. Copy that scene or swap in a sun, a rainbow or a peacock tail.

How the accordion pop-up card mechanism works

Every pop-up runs on the card's hinge. Open the card and the two inside walls swing apart, dragging anything attached to both of them. The fan is glued along its center spine and taped at its two outer faces, one on each wall, so opening the card pulls those faces apart and the pleats spread.

That is why the spine has to land dead on the score line. Sit it an eighth of an inch off and one half opens further than the other, and the card will not close flat.

Cardstock weight and fan paper: what to use and why

Use 80 to 110 lb cover cardstock (about 215 to 300 gsm) for the base. Lighter and the walls bow under the pull of the fan. The fan wants the opposite: patterned paper from a scrapbook pad or plain printer paper both crease sharply and spring back. Cardstock makes a stiff fan that fights the closure and can peel the tape off the walls.

Glue stick works for the spine because that seam is small and gets clamped under a binder clip. For fixing the fan to the walls, double-sided tape wins. It grabs on contact, does not warp the paper with moisture, and holds the fan where you put it.

Other pop-up mechanisms and when to use each

The fan is the right pick when the feature reads as a fan: a sunburst, an umbrella, a skirt, a peacock. Two other mechanisms cover most of what it cannot, but start with the fan. It has one alignment to get right, and its failure mode shows up before you have decorated anything.

• Box or step pop-up. Two parallel cuts across the fold, pushed inward to make a shelf. It stands up a flat cut-out like a cake or a house, and it is the mechanism behind a 3D card.
• V-fold. A separate piece folded into a V and glued across the hinge at an angle. It pushes an element up and forward, good for a mouth that opens or a flower leaning out.
• Moving mechanisms. A waterfall card flips a stack of panels with a pull strip, and a spinning kirigami card rotates as it opens. Both take longer and get a bigger reaction.

What to mount on the fan

The fan is the decoration, so pick the scene before the strip. Solid or small-print paper reads as an umbrella or a sun. An ombre strip reads as a rainbow. Deep green with gold dots reads as a peacock tail.

An accordion photo card is the other big use. Trim small photos to the height of the fan and glue one to every second pleat on the outward-facing side. They hide while the card is shut and spread into a strip of pictures when it opens. Print them on plain paper, not glossy photo stock, or the weight stops the fan from springing.

Occasions and what to make next

Birthday, Mother's Day, a baby shower, a get-well note: the fan suits all of them because you change the scene, not the build. A yellow fan under a "you are my sunshine" sentiment covers a lot of ground.

If this is your first handmade card, the plain folded card tutorial covers scoring and sizing. For movement without a mechanism, a shaker card gives you a window of loose sequins that rattles instead of pops.