At our next Bookish Papercraft night at Newton Public Library, January 13 at 7 p.m., we’ll be making an easy but striking Valentine’s card with papers from books that are in poor condition or scrap papers we’ve found languishing in forgotten corners. Our Papercrafts nights are always free, no registration necessary.

I call this a pop-through card because the design begins on the front of the card and spirals through the heart cut-out to the inside of the card.

Materials needed: Paper, scissors, and craft glue.

This card is square, measuring 5.5 x 5.5. Unfolded, the paper measures 5.5”h x 11”w.

The paper heart is cut in a spiral pattern. Place the pattern below on your chosen paper and cut along the solid lines.

It will look something like this when you’ve completed your cuts:

Center the heart pattern on the card front. Bend back all but the outside edge and trace around the inside of the heart.

Cut along this tracing line.

On the back side of your spiral heart, draw a bead of glue around only the outside spiral and the inside heart. Carefully place the heart, glue side down, around the border of the heart on the card front, gluing the small center heart to the inside right pane of the card, through the front heart opening, keeping the original heart shape.

I propped open the card to make sure any stray glue bits did not prevent the card from opening to its full spiral.

Voila, a Valentine’s card that’s sure to please!

–Susan