Brother ScanNCut machine
Templates (download here)
Brother adhesive mat (standard tack)
Yellow ink (or alcohol marker)
Card
A penny (or other weight like a blob of Blu-tac)
Glue / double-sided tape
Step 1
First, download your free pop-up ghost templates. If a ScanNCut is still on your wish list – there is a PDF version for you to print and cut out using scissors – skip ahead to step 5. If you have a ScanNCut – download the SVG files – save onto a USB and plug directly into your machine. Or – you can import the SVG files into Brother Canvas and send wirelessly to your machine.
Step 2
Next – choose the card you want to make your pop-up ghost from. We’ve gone with kraft card for the box, black for the inner ghost, white for the outer ghost and black for the crate at the bottom. The inner strut is made from kraft card, and the outer handle is made from patterned card. To create a vintage aesthetic, we’ve also added some patterned card over each side of the crate, as well as on the corners. Once you’ve decided what colours to use – load up your standard tack cutting mat and burnish the card down well. The Brother ScanNCut 4" brayer/roller is very useful for this!
Step 3
Load up the SVG files – and instruct your machine to start cutting.
Step 4
Once you’re finished with one colour – load up the next colour to cut, and so on, until all the pieces are cut. Using the ScanNCut saves a lot of time!
Step 5
Now that all the pieces are cut, let’s start by assembling the ghost. The ghost is made up of two pieces – an inner black piece, and an outer white piece that slides over the top. Before you start folding the ghost together – stick a penny in the centre of the black piece. This adds weight and ensures your ghost drops back into the box when the lever is released. If you don’t have a penny – a blob of blu-tac is a great alternative. Once you’ve added a weight – fold the black part of the ghost together and secure using the adhesive of your choice. If you’re using thick card – PVA glue is a great option, otherwise, double-sided tape or Pritt Stick works well.
Step 6
Next, fold the white, outer part of the ghost, and apply adhesive on the tabs to secure. Slide over the black, inner part of your ghost. Use a blob of glue to secure the two sections together if you wish, although it’s not necessary.
Step 7
Now let’s make the cardboard box that the ghost sits in. The design for the box is slightly larger than A4 card, so it’s made from two sections. Glue the two pieces together to make a large cross shape. Then, fold the sides of the box up and secure together leaving four long flaps at the top. Fold down these flaps to make the flaps of the box and glue the last section of each flap inside the box – so that it covers the tabs.
Step 8
Next – let’s make the crate! Fold together the crate, then glue to secure. If you want to add decoration to the crate before you fold it together, as it will give you a hard surface to press down on, but it’s up to you. But if you want to add the corner pieces – it’s easier to do this once the crate is assembled as you need to fold them around the corners. We’ve cut the crate from black card, then covered it with patterned card, leaving a 5mm border around each piece, to give it a vintage aesthetic. Once you’ve added any decoration you want to the crate, glue the cardboard box on top of the crate. Line up the holes for perfect positioning.
Step 9
The ‘secret’ to making this pop-up ghost – is a hidden strut inside the box. As you push the external lever, the strut rises and pushes the ghost up. The strut can be made of any colour card as you won’t see it. We’ve gone for kraft card. Fold together your strut (it will resemble a long oblong), glue and leave to dry. Add the stopper to the end of your strut – this is the square piece – then leave to dry.
Step 10
The final part of the pop-up ghost is the lever. The lever is made from one piece, plus a handle (the round piece) and the cobweb to decorate the handle. Fold together the lever, and glue to secure. It will look like a look like a right-angle trapezoid. Glue the cobweb on top of the circle to create the handle, then attach this to the top of the handle. There are dotted lines on the lever to indicate where you need to attach the handle.
Step 11
Now we need to assemble the mechanism. Slide the internal strut inside the box and crate, from the bottom, so that the stopper is underneath the cardboard box. Glue the ghost on top of the strut – there are dotted lines on the bottom of the ghost to help you position it correctly. Use a strong glue (PVA is a good choice), as this part will be moving. Leave to dry.
Step 12
Finally, bend down the tab in the front of the crate and slide the lever through the hole (make sure the internal strut is lifted out the way). There is a dotted trapezium shape on the underside of the lever – apply glue in this area and attach to the tab. Use a strong glue (like PVA) here, as this part will also be moving. Once dry, let the internal strut fall back down and rest on the lever, and that’s it! You’ve completed your pop-up ghost. Press the lever to watch him pop up from the box! If you want to add strength to your construction – there is a base piece that you can add (the square with tabs on all sides), but as we used quite strong card for this model, we found we didn’t need it. If you want to add a finishing touch to your pop-up ghost, why not add a metal handle either side? We’ve also added a faux newspaper clipping – to make it look like the box is resting on papers.
• If you don’t have a penny to hand, use a blob of blu-tac or white-tac instead to weight the ghost.
• Don’t fix the white outer ghost to the black inner part of the ghost – and you can hide small treats inside the ghost!
• Use silver, gold or black adhesive gems in the corners of the crate to emulate screws or nails and add texture to your design.
• If you don’t have any mini handles for the sides of your crate, poke a hole and loop some ribbon or twine to make your handles.