Zelda Valentine Build

As promised, we're going to link you to a printable version of the Zelda Valentine. This post will be pretty brief, as we're on a borrowed laptop in Arizona, but you should be able to get the help you need to make one of your own.

You'll Need:

• Cardstock, white
• Razor knife or Xacto
• Burnisher or empty ballpoint pen
• Double-stick tape
• Quarter Page envelope (at least 4.25" x 5.5")

First up, grab the pdf. Print it out on white cardstock. Paper might work, but the large black field on the front of the card might wrinkle the paper pretty good. Cut it in half to get an interior and an exterior half (so right down the middle, 5.5"). Take the outer half and fold it in half as seen in the above picture, right across the 4.25" middle.

Now the hard part: the heart pop-up. I've provided a helpful diagram for this step.
 

A told me not to throw Zelda Raves when she saw this.

Everything in green gets cut. From the corner of the pixel all the way to the other end, as straight as you can cut, with a very sharp blade. Work carefully and use a good steel ruler to keep things in order. The notch at the top of the heart usually get hidden by the ruler when I do it, so I flip it around and do those little parts last. The last bit, scoring the folds, will take a bit of doing. If you have some small burnishers for clay or metal work, those can help. An empty ballpoint pen is good, too, just make sure its completely empty so it doesn't start writing on your card unexpectedly later. But let's face it, everyone has a dead ballpoint pen somewhere.

Anyway, using your steel ruler and your scoring tool of choice, press the purple lines on your card along the edges of the horizontal seams. Just enough of a crease that when it comes time to fold it, it'll fold along the creases and not the middle of the heart. Note that the purple lines extending out from the heart in the above diagram should actually go all the way across the card. I just didn't include it in the diagram because it's more of the same. Try on a cutting mat or graph paper to square up the long horizontal seam at a right angle to the edge of the card so it doesn't fold crooked.

Once it's all pressed down, the trickiest bit of all: folding it. Origami enthusiasts will understand what I mean when I say that the long horizontal and exterior creases are all valley folds, and the bottom of the heart graphic (black to gray seam) are mountain folds. Be careful as you do this to not fold the middle of the heart as you go, but fold the card in half, press down the tops of the heart, and then make sure that all the little folds along the bottom of the heart happen at once. If your cuts were straight, it's pretty much automatic.

The hint I'll offer for that last bit is to lay a sheet of paper between the printed graphic and the white of the facing card for when you really press those seams flat. It keeps the facing part protected from ink smudges and pressing the shape of the heart into it while you burnish all those folds.

Lay strips of double-stick tape down between the front and inside of the card, three strips in all. Line it up, smooth it down, and then lay strips down the three edges of the other side. Once it's all taped up, you'll notice the inner printed part is just a little bit longer than the outside (between 1/32 and 1/16"). Lay your ruler even with the bottom of the front of the card, and slice it off.

Done! Write a note to your loved one, slip it in an envelope, and make somebody's day. If you make one, please let us know how it was received. Happy Early Valentine's, everybody.