Magic Folding Photo Cube
Intro: Magic Folding Photo Cube
Like probably every other mother my mum loves getting photos for Christmas, but in my opinion normal photo cubes or books are a bit boring.
Being fascinated by instructable member golics "Unbelievable! White Or Black. Crazy Paper Cube", I had the idea of combining it with photos. The pictures work as hinges, so that you can unfold more of them on the inside of the cube.
Every year we are celebrating Christmas with my whole family (including cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents). My mum organizes everything, so I took photos from last year, to thank her for that.
STEP 1: Stuff You Need
Material
- Self-Adhesive Film to produce stickers (Avery® White Full-Sheet Labels for Inkjet Printers
)
sdudley suggests in his comment to use adhesive-backed laminating paper, which sound like a good idea to me, in order to use them you will need a laminator, I tried this and liked the result, but this only works with cubes bigger than 4cm, else the cube will not close properly.
mastover was so kind to document his efforts, so if you don't have/ can't effort a laminator or the Self-Adhesive Film please take a look at step 5.
- 8 wooden cubes (best is a side length between 3 and 4 cm)
Tools
- Printer
- Box cutter
- Ruler
STEP 2: Select the Pictures
First you will have to find pictures that you would like to use, you need eight square ones of the length of two cubes and two images of the length of four cubes and the height of two. If you want you can put text on it, so that it tells a story.
Print them onto Self-Adhesive Film and cut them to the right size.
Print them onto Self-Adhesive Film and cut them to the right size.
STEP 3: Outside of the Cube
We are going to start with the outside of the cube. You will need 6 of the square photos. The second image shows, how to cut the pictures for the top, front and right side (cut along the green lines and fold along the blue lines). After you are done cutting stick them onto the cube.
Now turn the cube so that the front is in the back and the top in the bottom. Cut the pictures for the back, left and bottom as shown in the fourth picture and stick them on the cube.
Now turn the cube so that the front is in the back and the top in the bottom. Cut the pictures for the back, left and bottom as shown in the fourth picture and stick them on the cube.
STEP 4: Inside of the Cube
Place the cube, so that the top is on the top again and open it as shown in the first picture.
For the middle you will need a picture that has length of 4 cubes and the height of two. Cut it and fold it as shown it in the second picture and stick it onto the cubes.
Open the cube as shown in the third picture, cut your second big picture as shown in the fourth image. Open it up in the middle again, cut a smaller image as shown in the fifth picture and stick it on the cube. Turn the cube around and stick the last picture on the cube.
Congratulations, you've made it. Please, don't forget to comment, rate and vote.
For the middle you will need a picture that has length of 4 cubes and the height of two. Cut it and fold it as shown it in the second picture and stick it onto the cubes.
Open the cube as shown in the third picture, cut your second big picture as shown in the fourth image. Open it up in the middle again, cut a smaller image as shown in the fifth picture and stick it on the cube. Turn the cube around and stick the last picture on the cube.
Congratulations, you've made it. Please, don't forget to comment, rate and vote.
STEP 5: My Try With Tape (by Mastover)
I have given this a try myself using tape and 3m 77 spray adhesive. I found it does in fact work, but there are a few issues you need to watch out for. Here in the States you can find the 3m 77 spray at just about any hardware store e.g. Home Depot or Lowes. I used packing tape that I purchased at Walmart and blocks I found at Hobby Lobby. I've included pictures of each.
I began by finding pictures I wanted to use and put them into photoshop to resize to the exact size of the blocks and printed them on photopaper. I planned to simply cover each picture with the tape then cut them out leaving a sealed picture. Well, here is where I found my first issue. The tape isn't wide enough to cover the full picture. I had to decide how the picture would need to be cut then make the first cut followed by covering the halves with tape. This was more of a pain, but worked fine.
My biggest issue with using the spray glue was that it is a contact cement. You spray it on the block then spray the back of the picture and let both sides dry. Once you are ready, you put the picture on the block and its stuck permanently. It works great, but if you did like I did and spray all sides of the blocks first, you will have issues when trying to line up the blocks and attach the pictures. You see if a block touches another block that has been sprayed, they too will be permanently bonded. You have to use something in between such as tinfoil as I did. (See the picture using-tin-foil below) It works, but you have to be Very careful.
Also, I would HIGHLY recommend if you go this route that you purchase a good cutting system. I tried to use a razor knife and a straightedge, but the packing tape is very tough. I had many issues with my straight-edge slipping causing the pictures to not fit the blocks correctly (see the pictures below). When I try this again, I'll get an X-acto razor paper trimmer from Staples which costs about $15. That way you get perfect cuts that will fit your blocks perfectly.
One last word of advice. The photopaper with tape covering it is tough. Before you would give this away you need to play with it a bunch of times to get the creases set between the blocks or the whole cube wants to unfold. Just squeeze it hard and use it and you will find it works great.
I've included the following pictures that I hope explain further what I did.
I began by finding pictures I wanted to use and put them into photoshop to resize to the exact size of the blocks and printed them on photopaper. I planned to simply cover each picture with the tape then cut them out leaving a sealed picture. Well, here is where I found my first issue. The tape isn't wide enough to cover the full picture. I had to decide how the picture would need to be cut then make the first cut followed by covering the halves with tape. This was more of a pain, but worked fine.
My biggest issue with using the spray glue was that it is a contact cement. You spray it on the block then spray the back of the picture and let both sides dry. Once you are ready, you put the picture on the block and its stuck permanently. It works great, but if you did like I did and spray all sides of the blocks first, you will have issues when trying to line up the blocks and attach the pictures. You see if a block touches another block that has been sprayed, they too will be permanently bonded. You have to use something in between such as tinfoil as I did. (See the picture using-tin-foil below) It works, but you have to be Very careful.
Also, I would HIGHLY recommend if you go this route that you purchase a good cutting system. I tried to use a razor knife and a straightedge, but the packing tape is very tough. I had many issues with my straight-edge slipping causing the pictures to not fit the blocks correctly (see the pictures below). When I try this again, I'll get an X-acto razor paper trimmer from Staples which costs about $15. That way you get perfect cuts that will fit your blocks perfectly.
One last word of advice. The photopaper with tape covering it is tough. Before you would give this away you need to play with it a bunch of times to get the creases set between the blocks or the whole cube wants to unfold. Just squeeze it hard and use it and you will find it works great.
I've included the following pictures that I hope explain further what I did.
55 Comments
sdudley 13 years ago
1) Use adhesive-backed laminating paper (need a laminator). I use it all the time for all kinds of projects. It's awesome because not only do you get a great adhesive bond, but the laminate protects your original photo from fingerprints, etc.
http://www.jhlaminating.com/adhesive-backed.shtml
2) Try sticky dots. Below is a link to buy sheets of it. The sheet of paper is covered with little glue dots. You simply place the picture or item on the sheet, then peel it away. The glue dots will stick to the back of your photo turning it into a sticker. I personally have not used it but I understand it works great.
http://www.thermowebonline.com/dyn_prod.php?p=4051&k=86237
BrittLiv 13 years ago
sdudley 13 years ago
To show you how nice they can make your printed images look I am attaching a picture of a couple mini-arcade game cabinets I made using the laminates to make the decals.
I designed the artwork in my layout software, printed it to standard white paper and laminated it with the adhesive-backed laminate. Then I cut them out and applied like I would any other sticker.
They look great and are somewhat scratch resistant too. So if you have projects that will be used by kids they will hold up quite nicely.
I typically use the glossy laminate, but they make a matt finish also in case you don't want it to shine.
jacinpgh 9 months ago
sdudley 13 years ago
I think the laminates would work extremely well for a project such as this photo cube because people are always touching it and you'll never have to worry about the oil from the fingers messing up the photos.
sdudley 13 years ago
I originally misunderstood what you meant by "bend". After looking further at your instructable and the comments I realized you were asking if the laminate is foldable.
So... to find out, I printed a picture and laminated it. Then I folded it back on itself it to see how well it works. Attached is a photo showing three images. The top image is one side, the middle image shows the fold and the bottom image is the other side.
I hope this answers your question.
BrittLiv 13 years ago
sdudley 13 years ago
If you are a hobbiest who likes to mess around with crafts and such, a laminator just seems to be a perfect addition to the toolset.
Soose 13 years ago
babyruthless 13 years ago
hn.morris29 5 years ago
rie20051978 1 year ago
LokeL2 5 years ago
the poodleo 13 years ago
BrittLiv 13 years ago
hn.morris29 5 years ago
ChakkaS 7 years ago
Hi, I made the cube and each side is 5cm x 5cm. I would like to know where can i size images to the cube side size online and where can i print them
BrittLiv 7 years ago
I am sorry, I don't know. I printed them at home and sized them in Word, as far as I remember,
lauren.yoona 11 years ago
amenhotep4 13 years ago
You have to be really good about it not sticking to itself and the bubble, but it's a lot cheaper than the sheets and gives a really nice presentation. Waterproof too. (I started using it on recipe cards when I figured that one out!)
Love the spray adhesive idea, too!