Flights of Fancy - My Favorite Pop-ups

I've always wanted to make a pop-up book – not design one, because my mind doesn't think this way – but I've always wanted to see how the mechanism worked just for the sheer magic of minimalism at its finest.

This swallow is a design by Jessica Tice-Gilbert who makes the most wonderful "how to" video that takes away any intimidation of making pop-ups. The wing rotates!

So when Paper Poet's Meet Up Group theme was Birds of a Feather, I interpreted it loosely and chose to make pop-ups I've admired over the years.

 

1) I used paper I had on hand. I had a stack of pre-cut metallic pearl colored card stock which I scored into an accordion fold for the spine. The inner page elements are all cut from Daiso's colored paper, which was perfect for colors and thickness.

2) I loved how inkjet printing on it still allowed the metallic sheen to come through, as if the blue itself was metallic.

3) The message of hopeful love is so obvious and engaging in Mari Kumada's Pop-Up Valentine.

4) Robert Sabuda's Bird comes flying out of its house.

5) The Angel by Robert Sabuda always evokes an "ahh" from my readers.

6) Even though most didn't think this dove silhouette qualified as a pop-up, I love it for it's minimalism and how it evokes a quiet peace for me. It's an invitation for Christian Blanken by Agitprop.

7) I thought the Ark by Robert Sabuda could be seen as flying the high seas, but anyway, I just loved how all the animals are on different planes yet it's all one sheet of paper.

8) I made line drawing outlines of each page and added credits to my book. I'm so grateful to all these amazing designers for sharing their work. I loved making my small version of their world.

If you haven't tried making your own pop-up book, I hope you'll be inspired by these examples.