A peekaboo ghost with a paper slider

STARTER GUIDE · AWAITING MAKER TESTING

Let’s make something lovely.

Before you begin: An adult cuts the window and supervises scissors. Keep paper offcuts away from young children; use a blunt finger grip rather than adding small beads or cords.

Four illustrated steps, from the first cut to the finishing touch. The cover is an AI-generated concept; the diagrams show the planned construction. This guide awaits physical maker testing.

Drying & finishing: Let the guide rails and frame dry before testing the moving strip.

1. 01

   Cut the window and ghost

   On the front rectangle, draw an arched window about 6 cm wide × 7 cm tall, centered horizontally with its bottom 6 cm above the lower edge. An adult cuts out the window. Cut a friendly white ghost about 4 cm wide × 5 cm tall and draw a face. Keep the back rectangle uncut.

   

2. 02

   Build two guide rails

   Turn the front face down. Center the 3 cm slider vertically behind the window, with its top protruding above the card. Fold each 1 × 9 cm guide strip in half lengthwise to make a shallow L. Glue only one flange of each guide to the front's reverse, just outside the slider edges, leaving about 2 mm clearance.

   

3. 03

   Attach and test the slider

   Glue the ghost to the front-facing side of the slider so it appears through the window when the tab is raised and hides behind the lower front panel when lowered. Test the travel before closing the card. Add a small folded paper stop to the slider's bottom end if needed so it cannot pull out of the top.

   

4. 04

   Close the card edges

   Glue the back rectangle to the outer edges of the front only, keeping adhesive away from the slider and leaving a gap at the top for the tab. Let it dry flat without pressing the moving channel shut. Add an orange window border, pull gently and adjust any catching edges. It is a flat mechanism card, not a folded greeting card.

   

Make it personal

Swap the ghost for your own drawn cat, moon or little monster while preserving the same slider width.

The cover is AI-generated concept imagery. Step diagrams are original instructional illustrations, not photographs or measured cutting templates. Allow additional drying time. Estimated materials cost excludes equipment. Check your equipment and material instructions, verify template dimensions, and make a sample before a batch.