Talking Frog Card
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Using a few simple folds and moving parts, you can make a greeting card talk. Okay, perhaps actual speech is beyond the scope of paper engineering, but making moving mouths or opening and closing beaks is a breeze. All you need is a single slit and some well-placed score lines. From fairy tales and jokes to singing puppets, talking frogs are a common theme. The following steps show you how to make your own version of a talking frog greeting card.
Figure shows what the completed moving-mouth card looks like. When you open and close the pop-up card, the mouth opens and closes in a delightful way. Ribbit, ribbit!
1. Using a pencil and ruler, mark out the lines as Figure 6-14 shows.
Note that the solid lines are cut lines and the dotted and dashed lines are crease lines.
2. Score along the dotted and dashed lines with the point of an open pair of scissors.
4. Draw your character onto the card, using the slit as a mouth.
The drawing is what transforms the simple slit into a mouth. Use colored pens or your choice of marking material (see Chapter 3) to draw your character onto your card. In the example, I’ve drawn a frog (Figure 6-14), but you may want to try a seasonal person Santa for Christmas or Cupid for Valentine’s Day. You may even want to try drawing one of your friends. If you’re careful, you can even glue a photograph into place with the mouth appropriately cut.
Doing so isn’t as hard as it sounds. Look at Figure 6-15 for extra help. As you fold the card shut, push the lips inward from the back of the card. They fold neatly because you’ve scored the fold lines. Fold the inner card completely flat and run your fingernails over the crease lines to give a crisp, sharp crease. You can now open and shut the inner card a couple of times to try out the moving-mouth effect.
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Figure shows what the completed moving-mouth card looks like. When you open and close the pop-up card, the mouth opens and closes in a delightful way. Ribbit, ribbit!
Tools and Materials
1. Using a pencil and ruler, mark out the lines as Figure 6-14 shows.
Note that the solid lines are cut lines and the dotted and dashed lines are crease lines.
2. Score along the dotted and dashed lines with the point of an open pair of scissors.
Template for the moving-mouth greeting card.
3. Carefully cut the solid lines.
Use your sharp craft knife to cut the slit in the middle of the card this will be the opening of the mouth. Cut around the outline of the inner and outer cards; you end up with two identically sized greeting card pieces — one with a slit, one without.
Use your sharp craft knife to cut the slit in the middle of the card this will be the opening of the mouth. Cut around the outline of the inner and outer cards; you end up with two identically sized greeting card pieces — one with a slit, one without.
4. Draw your character onto the card, using the slit as a mouth.
The drawing is what transforms the simple slit into a mouth. Use colored pens or your choice of marking material (see Chapter 3) to draw your character onto your card. In the example, I’ve drawn a frog (Figure 6-14), but you may want to try a seasonal person Santa for Christmas or Cupid for Valentine’s Day. You may even want to try drawing one of your friends. If you’re careful, you can even glue a photograph into place with the mouth appropriately cut.
5. Fold the inner card in half while pushing the lips inward.
Doing so isn’t as hard as it sounds. Look at Figure 6-15 for extra help. As you fold the card shut, push the lips inward from the back of the card. They fold neatly because you’ve scored the fold lines. Fold the inner card completely flat and run your fingernails over the crease lines to give a crisp, sharp crease. You can now open and shut the inner card a couple of times to try out the moving-mouth effect.
6. Glue the inner card into the outer card.
Use a glue stick to put glue on the back of the inner card, avoiding the lips. With both card pieces open, glue the two parts together (see Figure 6-15). After the glue is dry, fold the pop-up card closed.
