Spring Craft Project – Handmade Pop-Up Easter-Egg Greeting Cards

Mar 27, 2011
Carol Wells

Decorate paper Easter eggs with pretty designs. - Photo by Carol Wells

Celebrate the arrival of Spring by sending loved ones handcrafted greeting cards. This fun and easy Easter craft project requires only a few everyday items.

In many areas of the world, Spring is a time of rebirth and renewal, a time when trees begin to bud and plants begin to peek out of the soil. Spring is a wonderful time to connect with your loved ones by making greeting cards handcrafted especially with them in mind.

Popular symbols of Spring include flowers, baby chicks, bunnies and, of course, Easter eggs. The following egg-themed card craft is fun for both adults and kids to make. Young children will require adult help and supervision for some of the steps. For guidance, refer to the illustrations following this article. Click on an image to enlarge it.

Preparation for Crafting a Pop-Up Easter-Egg Greeting Card

Items required:

Construction paper, 9" x 12"
White paper, 8 1/2" x 11"
Scrap paper
Pencil
Ruler
Scissors
Craft glue or glue stick
Double-sided tape, 1/2" wide (optional)
Marking pens in several bright colors
Wax paper

Instructions for cutting the construction paper:

Fold the paper in half, short sides together, then fold again, short sides together.
Cut along the shorter (9") crease, resulting in two 6" x 9" sections.
Set one section aside to use as the inner section of the card.

Decorating the Front of the Easter Greeting Card

This handcrafted greeting card is designed to be opened horizontally. On a 2 1/2" x 4" piece of white paper, write a greeting with colorful marking pens. Include the word "eggs" in the greeting. See the following eggs-amples:

Wishing You an Eggs-citing Easter!
Hope Your Easter is Eggs-tra Special!
Have an Eggs-cellent Easter!
Sending Eggs-tremely Happy Easter Greetings to You!
You Deserve an Eggs-ceptional Easter!

Suggestions for decorating the front of the greeting card:

Cut around the edges of the white paper with decorative craft scissors.
Back the white paper with a 3 1/2" x 5" piece of construction paper in a coordinating color.
Cut out several small egg shapes from scrap pieces of construction paper and glue them around the edges of the greeting.
Glue ribbon remnants around the edges of the greeting.
Place tiny Easter stickers around the edges of the greeting.
Glue the greeting to the front of the card, either before or after decorating, depending on the decoration you choose.

Tip: The front of the card doesn't need to be too fancy because the inside is where the action will be!

Craft the Inside of the Pop-Up Easter-Egg Card

Use the reserved card section to make the inside of your greeting card. Follow these instructions for making the pop-up strips and attaching the inside card to the outside card:

Mark dots from left to right along the folded edge at 1", 1 5/8", 2 3/4", 3 3/8", 4 3/8", and 5".
Draw a line 1' down and parallel to the folded edge.
At each dot, cut a line down to the 1" line. Cut the two center lines a little longer than the others, but no longer than 1 1/4".
Flatten the paper marked-side-down and pop the cut sections upwards, reversing their center folds.
Crease each pop-up strip at the cut points, so they are at 90-degree angles to the upper and lower pages of the inside of the card. (See illustration.)
Cover your work surface with wax paper and apply glue to the back of the card, being careful to keep glue away from the pop-up strips.
Attach the inside section to the outside section, matching back of front page with back of upper inside page and back of back page with back of lower inside page.
If desired, place weights, such as small rocks, on the glued areas and allow to dry while you make and decorate the eggs.

Make and Decorate Paper Easter Eggs for Popping Up Inside the Card

Now comes the eggs-citing part of this greeting card craft! First you'll need to make an egg template, then you'll cut out eight paper eggs and decorate them, and finally, you'll attach three eggs to the pop-up strips and glue three eggs to the lower page and two eggs to the upper page. (See illustration.)

Instructions for making the egg template:

Cut a 2 1/4" x 3" rectangle from scrap paper.
Fold the paper in half, bringing the long sides together.
Draw half an egg shape, beginning with the narrow end at the top of the paper, curving to touch the side at about 1 3/4" from the top and ending with the broad end at the bottom of the paper. (See illustration.)

Tip: If you will be making several Easter egg cards, make your template out of lightweight cardboard.

Instructions for decorating and attaching the paper eggs:

Write messages on the three eggs for the lower page of the card, such as: To Amy ... Happy Easter! ... Love, Jim.
Decorate all the eggs with designs such as hearts, stars, diamonds, flowers, dots and squiggly lines.
Glue or tape the eggs in place, three on the lower page, three on the pop-up strips (having bottom of the egg at the bottom of the strip), and two on the upper page.

Tip: If using glue, lay the card front-side down when attaching the eggs to the pop-up strips. Allow the card to dry completely before placing it into an envelope.

Surprise someone you love with a handmade Easter-egg greeting card. The pretty eggs you hide inside will surely bring a smile.