Last cards from Warrenβs workbench β’ In 14 active carts β’ 23 left
Warren's Handmade Pop-Up Christmas Cards (Set of All 5)
Warren's Handmade Pop-Up Christmas Cards (Set of All 5)
Ships within 2β3 days
30-day money-back guarantee
Free US shipping with tracking
Couldn't load pickup availability
Warren's Handmade Pop-Up Christmas Cards (Set of All 5)
From a Main Street card shop, after 46 Christmas windows
Warren Truax, 75, has run Truax Paper & Post in Galena, Illinois, since 1980. He paints, cuts and folds every pop-up card himself at a workbench behind the counter, and every December he set one in his front window. His eyes have ended the work, and the shop closes after Christmas. These are his last 63 sets of all five.
βPeople throw away a card. Nobody throws away a little village. Three generations of kids stood at my window and said βoh!β Iβd like somebody to say it one more time.β
Warren Truax Β· Galena, Illinois
What comes in the set
One of each design, folded flat
One for every card, ready to mail
Space for your own words inside
Cut and folded by hand, packed at his counter
What makes Warrenβs cards different
The scene is built in layers, one behind the other. Train in front, houses behind, the moon at the back. It stands up like a little stage, not a flat picture.
The paper is cut as fine as lace. Garlands, snowy pines, church windows. Set it on a windowsill and the light shines through.
One move and the whole scene stands up. Close it and it lies flat in the envelope again. Nothing to build, nothing to glue.
It stands on its own on a table or mantel. Most people keep it out all December and put it back up next year.
Warren paints each scene, cuts every piece with a craft knife and glues the layers by hand. About six hours per card, the way he has done it since 1981.
Each design stood in his shop window once and drew a crowd. These are the five the town still talks about.
βPop-up cards go back a long way. Victorian families saved them in albums, and many of the ones in our collection survived exactly because nobody could bring themselves to throw them away. What makes a good one is the layering: the scene has to open in depth, not just stand up. These are cut finely and layered well. They will be standing on mantels long after the flat cards are gone.β
Margaret Ellison-Hoyt Β· Curator of Paper & Printed Ephemera Β· Midwest history museum
All five designs in every set
Perfect for
Why people keep Warrenβs cards for years
- Layered, not flat. The scene opens in depth, so it looks good from every side of the table.
- Fine-cut paper. Details you can see light through, not printed-on decoration.
- Folds back flat. Easy to store in its envelope until next December.
- Stands on its own. No stand, no tape, no propping it against something.
- Made by hand. Every tree, window and train car cut out by Warren himself, not by a machine.
If the cards donβt get an βoh!β out of somebody, one email to info@craft-folk.com is enough. Warren has stood behind every card he made for 46 years.
Tip from Warren: A pop-up card is thicker than a regular card, so put an extra stamp on it if you mail it. Ask at the post office counter, itβs worth it. And open it slowly the first time. Thatβs the best part.
Product details
| Contents | 5 pop-up Christmas cards (one of each design) + 5 envelopes |
| Material | Heavy card stock, hand-painted in watercolor, cut and layered by hand |
| Designs | Snowy Village Β· Santa on the Ladder Β· Gingerbread Village Β· Cocoa Mug Β· Merry Christmas |
| Inside | Space for your own message |
| Display | Stands open on its own on a table, shelf or mantel |
| Storage | Folds flat back into its envelope |
| Mailing | Thicker than a regular card β extra postage needed |
| Made by | Warren Truax, Truax Paper & Post, Galena, Illinois β about 6 hours per card, 63 sets remaining |
| Made so far | More than 4,000 pop-up cards since 1981 |
The Last Window
The Last Window
A note from the shop:
Warren Truax has run Truax Paper & Post, a narrow card shop on Main Street in Galena, Illinois, since 1980. Every December 1st since 1981 he opened one pop-up card in his front window, and three generations of kids pressed their noses to the glass. He paints, cuts and folds every one of those cards himself at a small workbench behind the counter, about six hours per card. Over 300 of them came back to him in the mail, years later, still standing on people’s tables. Macular degeneration in his right eye no longer lets him follow his lines with the knife, and the shop closes after Christmas. 63 sets are left, each with all five window designs. When they are gone, there will be no more.
Free US Shipping
Free US Shipping
Free shipping across the United States
- Delivery time: 3–5 business days
- Every card is painted, cut and folded by Warren, and every set is packed at his counter
- 5 pop-up cards, one of each design, each with its own envelope
- Folded flat, the scene stands up when you open the card
- Thicker than a regular card: add an extra stamp when mailing
- 30-day money-back guarantee — just email info@craft-folk.com
Frequently Asked Questions
Got a question? Hereβs how to reach us.
Got a question? Hereβs how to reach us.
Email us anytime at info@craft-folk.com. We answer Monday–Friday 9am–5pm and Saturday 10am–3pm (ET). Whether it’s about your order, the five designs, or just to say hello — a real person writes back.
Can I return it if itβs not for me?
Can I return it if itβs not for me?
Of course. 30-day money-back guarantee. Open the cards, set them out, and if they aren’t right for you, email info@craft-folk.com within 30 days for a full refund. No questions, and US shipping is free.
How is it made?
How is it made?
Warren paints each scene in watercolor, then cuts out every piece by hand with a craft knife: each tree, each window, each car of the little train. He scores every fold with a bone folder and glues the six layers in place with tweezers, so the scene opens in depth like a little stage. About six hours per card, the way he has done it since 1981.