I had forgotten that I took step-by-step shots as I made this interactive ATC for
WideEyedLife's "Scared Fish" theme in the ongoing ATC swap this fall!
Little Fish is just chillin'....
But gets scared....
And darts behind some seaweed!
Sometimes people ask how I have made these, so here it is!
(First of all, I want to credit this book:
http://www.amazon.com/Elements-Of-Pop-Up-Engineers/dp/0689822243/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1355456532&sr=8-5&keywords=how+to+make+pop+up+books The Elements of Pop Up which I had gotten back in college and remember to dig out from time to time. The mechanism in the ATC is inspired by one sample design in the book.)
It's basically a little pulley system.
I started off with two ATC-sized (2.5 x 3.5") pieces of cardstock. (You will need at least another ATC's worth of cardstock later for the backing on the card)
One of the pieces will be the background, and the other is for the 3-D/ moving bits. I use an ATC to start, so that I don't make the pieces so big they don't fit on the final ATC. It also gives me a sense of the layout of the card.
First, I drew my little fish (and colored him in).
and cut it out with an Xacto blade.
Then, I drew my seaweed patch and made sure it was big enough to hide Little Fish (with perhaps a little wiggle room).
(colored in):
Then I cut it out and placed both on the other blank ATC to make sure sizing and locations worked. (and because I do everything backwards, I also cut out the pull-tab notch, even though it's probably better to cut that out after you make the pull tab.)
Then, I made a pull tab by folding a piece of cardstock in thirds (approximately-- it's okay if it's not perfect!)
And I colored in the background (it's not necessary to color in the spots that won't be seen
)
(I also marked the spots where the holes for the string will be.)
I used a small hole punch for the pulley holes, but you can probably use a knife. Just make sure the holes lie flat!
Next, I found my string (make sure it's strong enough to be yanked on a little) and little fish. I put a glue dot on a small circle of paper...
and stuck the string on the back of the fish with it:
This way, the little guy stays secure in the same place on the string!
Next, put the two ends of string into the holes. (Make sure the fish is right-side-up!)
Pull the fish to the hole farthest away from its hiding spot:
Turn it over. I found the easiest way to do this is with another glue dot. First, put the glue dot on a circle of paper or cardstock, and then lay the string ends on top of it, making sure they are not loose.
Trim the ends:
Now, remember that pull tab? Line the "pull" end up with the notch in the card and lay it straight over the glue dot:
Cut thin strips of double sided foam tape to use as a "track" for the pull tab.
Put the tracks around the sides of the pull tab so it doesn't move all wonky-like.
At this point, go ahead and put a border of foam tape around the edges of the card as well, to create a uniform depth on the back of the card.
I like to put it on a larger piece of cardstock and cut it out; this way, I don't have to be super careful about lining it up with another card of the exact same shape and size!
Check to make sure little fish moves!
Now, find your seaweed and make a border with foam tape, but be sure to leave the side empty where the fish will swim in! (the drawing on the back is just because I used the other side of paper where I messed up!)
Stick it on the card, and test it out!
Enjoy, and happy crafting!!
