How to Make a Pop-Up Greeting Card with a Digital Cutting Machine
Gifting a hand-crafted greeting card can be quite a heartfelt gesture. Cheesy as it may sound, nothing says you care more than taking the time and effort to create a personalised gift. But before you embark on creating a traditional greeting card, why not try making something that’ll, literally, stand out from the rest?
Designing and making a pop-up greeting card from scratch can be time-consuming, especially if you’re new to creating them. You might find it daunting too if your design involves cutting intricate shapes. But if you have the right tools—such as a digital cutting machine—you can make them in a fraction of the time.
What Is a Digital Cutting Machine?
Simply put, it’s a printer-like machine that’s capable of making precise cut-outs on a variety of sheet materials, including paper, felt and vinyl. At our library makerspace, MakeIT at Libraries, we use the Brother SDX1200 ScanNCut, a beginner-friendly model:
Using a digital cutting machine instead of a pair of scissors or a penknife can save you a lot of time while producing clean cuts with fewer errors. This means you’ll be able to select more complex designs for your cards, decorations and other similar items (check out how one user made a Chinese New Year lantern by using a digital cutting machine).
You can also use it to cut through thicker materials, which you might struggle to cut manually. Say goodbye to jagged, furry edges!
The cutters are free for use at MakeIT’s makerspaces at our regional libraries in Jurong, Tampines and Woodlands. You can book them after attending a three-hour introductory Starter Session, which you can sign up to attend, also for free, here.
How to Create a Pop-Up Card with a Digital Cutting Machine
The steps below show you the complete process, but you can also watch how it’s done here (we’ve indicated the corresponding time codes for the relevant steps in this article).
1. Choose a Digital Design
Free design templates for pop-up cards and many other items can be easily found via search engines like Google. A major source for such templates is Pinterest. These user-contributed designs are usually downloadable as SVG, or Scalable Vector Graphics files. They are digital templates of a 2D vector graphic design that can be edited in programmes such as CanvasWorkspace, so you can redesign them before printing them out on the digital cutter.
If you are planning to use a complex SVG design with many layers, make sure that the design you have chosen includes the steps for assembly. This will help you arrange the layers in the correct order, so you end up with something that’s accurate to the original design.
You can also create your own SVG designs using software programmes like CanvasWorkspace or Adobe Illustrator. These can be printed out directly, or saved to a USB drive and imported into the digital cutting machine (video time code: 26:10–30:50).
For the purpose of this guide, we’ll create a card with hearts bursting out of a pop-up box:
2. Gather Your Materials
(Video time code: 11:10–12:40)
Before you start using the digital cutting machine, prepare the following materials:
- Paper for the pop-up greeting card (we recommend using 120–135 gsm card stock since anything heavier will weigh down the pop-up designs, while anything lighter will be too flimsy)
- SVG design templates that have been printed out or digitally saved on a USB drive
- Glue or double-sided tape
- Scissors
- Pencil
- Ruler
- Miscellaneous items to further decorate your card (glitter, stickers, coloured markers, ribbons, etc.)
3. Prepare the Card
(Video time code: 32:00–33:00)
First, fold a piece of paper in half and set it aside. This will serve as your card base.
To create the pop-up box from the design, follow the steps below:
- Fold another sheet of paper in half.
- Draw a square along the folded edge.
- Cut two slits along the sides of the square.
4. Fold down the square along its uncut edge as shown below.
5. After making the fold, open the card and push the other fold inwards, as shown below. Close the card for a few minutes with the fold held inwards so it forms a “memory” of the fold. This creates a stronger crease that’ll allow the box to pop up more naturally later when you open the card.
4. Scan Your Designs with the Digital Cutting Machine
(This step applies to designs that are slightly more complex—for basic shapes like the hearts we’re creating for this design, skip to Step 6. The directions below may also vary depending on the machine model that you’re using, but they’re still similar enough.)
For printed SVG designs (video time code: 14:00–17:28):
- Remove the mat attached to the digital cutting machine, place the design face up on the mat, then place the mat back into the machine. (A standard mat that is slightly sticky will also work. Using a low tack mat for thinner paper (80 gsm or so) prevents the paper from tearing when you remove it from the mat.)
- After loading your design, scan it so the machine knows exactly where to cut (it’ll usually allow you to frame the section that you’d like cut).
For digitally saved SVG designs (video time code: 33:29–39:40):
To scan digital SVG designs, digital cutting machines usually come with a USB port for you to upload and retrieve the designs.
- Navigate through your USB drive via the screen on the cutter and select the SVG design that you wish to scan.
- Re-adjust your digital images if required, and save your changes.
5. Cut Your Design
(Video time code: 17:30–18:20)
- After you’ve scanned your design, place your desired sheet of paper on the mat.
- Follow the on-screen instructions (e.g. using the “Cut” and “Start” button) and begin the cutting process.
- Repeat this process for all the designs that you want cut.
6. Cut Simple Shapes and Patterns for Decor
(Video time code: 1:00:00–1:03:00)
- Most digital cutting machines usually come with a variety of patterns and shapes that you can experiment with, such as hearts and circles.
- Choose the shapes you’d like to use and resize them as desired. Duplicate if necessary.
- Begin the pattern-cutting process. Your design will be cut out from the sheet material and left on the mat. Be careful not to tear it as you remove them from the mat. Use a flat tool to gently scrape them off (video time code: 18:21–19:12).
7. Finalise and Assemble Your Pop-Up Greeting Card
- Place the heart cut-outs behind the pop-out box. Once you’re happy with how the overall design looks, apply glue or double-sided tape and paste them onto the card. We recommend using double-sided tape so you don’t have to wait for the glue to dry (video time code: 51:25–56:49).
- Mix and match different patterns and designs to create your one-of-a-kind pop-up greeting card. Go crazy, unleash your creativity and have fun experimenting with the process (video time code: 56:50–58:00)!
We hope that this guide gives you a rough idea of how you can get started creating your own personalised pop-up greeting card for the next special occasion. If you’re feeling unsure about using the digital cutting machine, consider signing up for one of MakeIT at Libraries’ free digital cutting machine Starter Sessions. Our Maker Coaches and like-minded members are more than happy to help you with your first pop-up greeting card!
About MakeIT
MakeIT is a free-for-public library makerspace that aims to introduce the wonder of digital and tech-based creativity through 3D printing, robotics and other forms of tech-based tinkering to all adult and senior library members. All programmes and materials are free, and no expertise is required.
Join the community of makers at MakeIT on Facebook, or visit MakeIT at Libraries in person at the following locations:
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