Accordion Fold Card in a Box

This accordion birthday card comes in a little box and unfolds into a surprisingly long card. The "Happy Birthday" letters flip up from the accordion pleats in opposite directions, like a flag book.

The finished size is slightly larger than 2.5" x 3.5";  and 5/8" tall.

Don't mind the funky color scheme of the sample.  I used contrasting colors to help you see the construction of the box and the birthday card.

How to make an accordion fold card in a box


Make it!

Click to download file set: Silhouette Studio, PDF, SVG (how to use my SVG files in Cricut Design Space).

Files download for free. A huge thank you to the many readers who support my site with a small contribution when downloading.  Pay what you wish for the tutorial and to support this site.   Suggested contribution for this project is $1.00.

Cut out the box bottom and lid.  Score along fold lines.

Assemble the box as shown in the video below.

Cut letters and drop shadows.  Adhere letters to drop shadows.

Cut and pleat the three accordion sections.

Arrange the accordions so that, left to right, the first fold is a valley fold (looks like a V).
Cut off the far right-hand half pleat section.  Now the last fold on the right should also be a valley fold.

Adhere accordion sections together with the half pleats on the wrong side.

On the front side of the accordion, lay out the letters.

Adhere half of each letter to its pleat on either side of the mountain folds.
The other half of each letter will hang free from the pleat.

Red arrows point to the glued sides.

When the letters are glued, it will look like this.

Lay the accordion ends into the box top and bottom.

If your recipient is right-handed, the top of the box goes on the right (blue box half) and the bottom goes on the left (yellow box half).  Reverse for lefties.

The valley fold on the left side of the accordion goes all the way into the right inside edge of the box bottom.  Adhere only that first section of accordion into the box bottom.

The valley fold on the right side of the accordion goes all the way into the left edge of the box top. Adhere only the last section of accordion into the box top.

Pleat the accordion into the box.

Hold closed with a ribbon, rubber band, or paper belly band.