Maybe more Fun than a Pop-Up Card

MyGirl had been keeping her fingers crossed (forever!) for one of my hand made pop-up cards for her birthday.  But, since I had just made her one for Valentine's Day, I was inspired to make her something maybe even more fantastic.

3x5 inch Birthday ''Card"

I don't know what to call this.  I have a vivid memory of my grandmother teaching me how to make a bigger version with a shoe box and paper towel tubes when I was 4 or 5.  I hadn't made one since, but the memory found its way to the surface, and I made one for MyGirl, a tiny one, because little is cute.

Here's How:

1) Find a box and cut a viewing window out of the top.

2) Wrap the box with pretty paper.

3) Make two tubes out of thick yet pliable card board for the spools (make sure they are longer than the length of the box and a diameter that fits inside the width of the box sides). 

4) With an x-acto knife, cut holes the same diameter of the spools on both sides of box, parallel to each other.

5) Now create a story board on paper that fits width wise inside the window of the box (the length can be as long as you want it.  

Here's what my story board started out looking like:

22 inches of Story Board

6) Now tape the story board together so that it is one continuous length of paper.

7) Carefully insert the end of the story board through the window and tape one end to one spool.

8) Wind the story around the spool you just taped it to.

9) Tape the remaining end of the story board to the other spool.

10) Have fun winding your story back and forth!

Here's the one I made for MyGirl: