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Pop Up Village (Tutorial Part 2)

By now you should have your six little pop up houses made. (What? You're not done? Well get on it!)

These graphics are by Cathe Holden.

pop up house

The next step is to make the wreath base and attach your houses to the wreath.

Make wreath base

Download and print the PDF template. Tape together the pieces to make a 12" circular wreath template. (Match a to a, b to b, and so forth.)

(I had to break this up into pieces to save it as a PDF. If you would like a full size pattern in .cdr or .ai --or you name it--, email me and I can send it to you. Let me know what program you have, and what version.)

Black lines = cut lines. Red lines = valley fold. Green lines = mountain fold.

Use the template to cut a base from heavy card stock. I used 12" Bazzill scrapbook paper.

pop up house

Firmly score fold lines.

Crease all fold lines. Crease in both directions (mountain and valley). You want to break the fibers in the paper so the folds work easily.

Folding Instructions

Cut wreath apart at the bottom, as shown. Glue joining tab to back of wreath, triangle to triangle, as shown in the diagram.

pop up house

Take a moment to practice folding up the wreath now, before you glue anything to it.

Notice there are three types of folds: folds down the center of a trapezoid, which are valley folded; folds on the two sides of a square, which are mountain folded; diagonal folds across a square, which are valley folded.

Start at the trapezoid at the cut edge and work clockwise around the wreath.

Hold the cut edge down on the table with your right hand. Flip the loose part of the wreath to the right, making a valley fold vertically on the first trapezoid.



Holding down the crease you just made, flip the rest of the wreath to the left, making the fold on the right hand side of the first square.



Hold this fold and flip the wreath down, toward you, to make the diagonal fold across the square.



Hold the previous fold and flip the wreath up, away from you, to make the fold on the left hand side of the first square.



Turn the piece 90° counter-clockwise. You have finished one set of folds.



Keep folding around the wreath in the same way.

Got it? Now unfold it, 'cause you need to glue houses to it.


Glue the houses to the wreath

Collapse your houses like this, with the glue tabs lined up.

pop up house

The tabs on the houses will be glued to the squares on the wreath at the places shaded in grey.

pop up house

pop up house

Turn the wreath so one square is centered at the top.

pop up house

Spread glue on both tabs of the house. Glue as shown.

pop up house

Crease the square on the diagonal. Check to make sure the tab creases (at the base of the house) are lined up exactly with the two edges of the wreath square.

pop up house

Weight or clip and let dry.

Repeat for the other five houses.

Once the glue has dried, unfold the diagonal folds and the houses will pop up.

pop up house

On to the flowers!

Pop Up Village Tutorial Part 3