![DIY Retro Modern Holiday Pop Up Cards](https://www.handmadecharlotte.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/houses-retro.jpg)
Airbrushing always meant three things to me — corny license plate art, tourist t-shirts, and fake tans. The thought of buying an airbrush never once crossed my mind. But when I recently came across the tiny and affordable Testors Blue Mini Airbrush Compressor. I simply had to try it for myself. Don’t knock it until you try it, right?
![vintage modern pop up cards testors airbrush](https://www.handmadecharlotte.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/4-testors-steps.jpg)
I’ll be the first to admit the little blue wonder won me over. The airbrush instantly elevated the finished quality of my crafting a notch (or few). My new take on airbrushing? It’s an indispensable tool for any craft studio. No mess, no brush strokes, and no cheesy license plate art. It opens a whole new world of crafting possibilities, from paper crafts to cake decorating, and yes, even fabric design.
![vintage modern pop up cards](https://www.handmadecharlotte.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/2-vintage-mod-house.jpg)
Inspired by the new tool I had at my disposal, I decided to make a series of pop-up cards for the holidays. These retro mod cottages are simple to make using cardboard and featuring colorful tissue paper windows that draw you to take a peek inside. The key to making the pop-up cards truly gift-worthy is the airbrush. It allows you to apply several light, successive coats of paint that give the facade a smooth finish. Yes, it’s definitely something to write home about!
Seal it in an equally awesome airbrushed envelope, slap a stamp on it, and off to grandmother’s house it goes! Get all the details in the step-by-step instructions below:
What You Need
![vintage modern pop up cards](https://www.handmadecharlotte.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/1-testors-materials.jpg)
- Cardboard
- Testors® Aztek® Airbrush
- Testors® Aztek® Blue Mini Compressor
- Testors® Aztek® Airbrushable Paint
- Tissue Paper
- Tape
- Craft Knife
- Large Envelopes
- Red & White Twine
- Retro House Pop-Up printable template (download here)
How-To
![vintage modern pop up card tutorial](https://www.handmadecharlotte.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/2-testors-steps.jpg)
- Download and print the Retro House Pop Up Printable. Glue it to the cardboard and cut out the shapes with your craft knife.
- Assemble your Testors® Aztek® Blue Mini Compressor kit and select your airbrush paint colors. Flip the switch and start spraying! Spray the cardboard with steady even pressure in a back and forth motion until the entire piece is covered. You shouldn’t need more than two coats of the airbrush paint. (For more airbrush tips, check out this handy ebook.)
- Use your tape to stick the colorful tissue paper on the back of the house for bright and cheery windows.
- Create a snowy airbrushed envelope by cutting festive shapes out of paper and gluing them to your envelope with repositionable adhesive. We used a Christmas tree, but you might consider little snowflakes or some other sweet holiday shape. Have a blast creating a winter wonderland with your airbrush and different airbrush paints, then peel the paper shapes off the envelope.
![vintage modern pop up cards](https://www.handmadecharlotte.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/9-vintage-mod-house.jpg)
Once you’ve finished, wrap all the pieces together with twine and pop it in your snowy envelope and send it to a friend. Congratulations, you have now entered the world of airbrushing! We hope you love it as much as we do. Click here to learn more about Testors® Aztek® airbrush systems.
This post is sponsored by Testors.