One of our most popular projects is our “magic” folding photo cube, which is a really fun way to display lots of photos and makes a fantastic, personalized gift for just about any occasion.
The one drawback to the design, though, is that you have to print the photos on thin paper in order for them to bend, but thin paper offers little resistance to wear and tear and fingerprints. Jo and I have thought about this problem for a while and have come up with a great solution… embossing!
Start by assembling a photo cube according to our previous directions. When you’re all done, grab some clear embossing ink,
Dab the ink pad thoroughly on one side of the cube, taking care to cover the entire surface.
Before the ink has a chance to dry, sprinkle it liberally with clear embossing powder and shake off any excess (let the excess fall on a piece of paper that you can fold to funnel it back into the container to use again).
Use the embossing heat tool to melt the embossing powder, turning it into a clear finish.
Give it a minute to cool down, then move on to the remaining sides of the cube and repeat the process until the entire cube is embossed.
The finished result will be a glossy look with a texture that’s almost like an orange peel. Don’t give in to any temptations to put a second or third coat of embossing powder on the surface in order to smooth it out — doing so will cause a build-up that will crack on the hinges and cause the cube to not fold properly.
This glossy finish will help protect your cube and make it last longer, and it’s crystal clear. Cool, huh?
21 comments so far:
Hi! I just found your site and I love it! I’m a mixed-media artist and also teach art, cooking, and other things to kids ages 8-15. Your site will provide great ideas! I really liked your idea about the embossing powder for the photo cubes. I also wanted to tell you about a product that would also work well and I use it for so many things! It’s called PYM II (Preserve Your Memories) but just recently had a name change to I think Super Seal. It is very innovative! It is a sealer but is water resistant, finger print resistant, will keep newspaper clippings from yellowing,and so much more! Oh, it will also keep the texture of the project while providing the sealant protection!
I’m not associated with this company or anything, I just love this product! There is a video on their site that shows more about it. Here is the site if you’re interested in checking it out. http://www.precision-blue.com
I have bookmarked your site and will visit regularly! Thanks for all the great info you offer!
Thanks for the great feedback, Shauna. I’m so glad that we can inspire you with ideas for teaching your kids.
Actually, Jo and I saw Super Seal
in the store a few weeks ago and almost bought it for this project, but weren’t sure if it would work or not. Having read your thoughts and watched a few of the videos, though, I think we’ll definitely have to give it a try. I’ll let you know how it works out!
Cool project!
I was just wondering why you decided that the embossing technique would be better than something like Mod Podge, which you obviously use a lot of, for sealing these photos.
Have you tried the Super Seal yet? I’m also curious how that works.
Hi Rahm. I never thought of using Mod Podge as a finish for this. I think it might work, as long as you keep it thin enough so that it doesn’t crack along the hinges. One down side is that it would take several days to do because you would want to wait for each side to dry completely before turning it to coat the next side, or else your cubes would get glued together!
We have not yet tried the Super Seal, but it’s on my to-do list
Rahm, I tried the Mod Podge on a sample block, and it worked quite well. A thin coat gave the photos a nice smooth finish and I didn’t see any cracking along the hinges. Great suggestion!
I do still think it would take a really long time to apply to the whole cube, though… There are 10 photo surfaces on the cube and each one would have to be coated individually and then allowed to dry fully before moving on to the next. That would take several days to do.
Jo and I finally got our hands on some Super Seal and tried it out on one of our photo cubes.
The good news: It provided a nice water-resistant seal and removed any chance of ink smudges from fingerprints. It dried quickly, too. We can see lots of great uses for this product in our future!
The bad news: The surface of the paper looked exactly the same after applying the Super Seal. This is generally considered a feature of the product — it retains the original texture of whatever you apply it too — but in THIS case, we wanted a solution that not only protected the cubes, but gave them a nice glossy look as well. Unfortunately, Super Seal did not provide any glossy finish at all, and the finished cube looked like we hadn’t even done anything to it.
So if you want the photos to still look like paper but just want to protect them from smudges, then Super Seal is just what you need. If you want a glossy finish, though, we suggest using the embossing technique or the Mod Podge finish.
(We still love Super Seal and will be coming up with projects that use it, so keep watching!)
Hey guys, I just found your site today, and I really like what you guys are doing!
I just wanted to drop you a hint, and it’s as simple as a single word: Future!
(as in Future Floor Wax)
This stuff is basically brush-on acrylic. Once it dries, it’s VERY resistant to smudges, rubbing, etc – after all, it’s intended to be WALKED on!
It works for anything you want ot make waterproof and / or shiny. It goes on EXTREMELY thin, but can be built up for various layers of thickness, and a single bottle is going to last a really, REALLY long time (and cost less than 5 bucks). Try it in some of your projects (like this one). You’ll never go back! Note, that in the case of this project, you’ll probably want to do something to keep the paper from warping first – what I’ll often do is put either the Future Floor Wax or a mixture of thinned white glue (Elmer’s style) in a spray bottle and VERY THINLY mist the object and let it dry several times – this way you get the effect without warping the paper. Once you’ve put enough VERY THIN layers of white glue (pva) mixture (misture?) or Future Floor Wax on it and it becomes waterproof, you can brush the stuff on a lot more heavily to speed things up.
Give it a try – even if you don’t like it for this project, I’m sure that with your crafty little minds, you’ll find a million uses for it!
What if you used glossy, self-adhesive photo paper and also used the red line adhesives sheets for strenth (so it wouldn’t tear??)
Hi Angela! I like the way you think, but I have yet to see a “photo” paper that is thin enough to work for this project. Most of them (especially glossy ones) are quite thick (which is what you want in a photo!) and don’t fold well at the hinges, leaving nasty creases.
Actually I was thinking of this paper I saw online advertised as a “print your own sticker” paper. It was described as high gloss photo quality, self-adhesive paper. So I was thinking it would be the thickness of a sticker but printable. Also, I was wondering if you could use glossy presentation paper… the kind they use for brochures/flyers and use the adhesive to strengthen it?? Just some thoughts =). I plan to try these and I’ll let you know =)
Sounds like a couple of good possibilities. Please let us know how it works out! (Be sure you adjust your spacer’s thickness to match the thickness of whatever paper you use.)
Okay, i’ve tried both photo sticker paper and Brochure paper. The photo sticker paper looked a little better (more glossy) but the picture showed scratches as I worked with it… so a no on that (or at least the brand I tried). But I’ll give a thumbs up to the HP Inkjet Glossy Brochure paper. It’s definitely glossy even if it’s less glossy than photo paper but it’s thinner so you can work with it. I’d recommend giving it a try yourself to see how you like it. Thanks again for all the great instructions!
Where do you get the wooden cubes to make the magic photo cube? I ahve searched high and low for small identical cubes and they are impossible to find!
You can either make them yourself like outlined in the instructions above or you can buy one of our photo cube kits from our store that will give you everything you need to make one.
Hi Chica and Jo,
I just came across your blog from oneprettything.com, and I’m really impressed. Your address went right into my bookmark folder
As for the photo cubes: Sometimes you find children’s cube puzzles at toy stores. If you take a cheap one, you can simply use it as the base for your own photo cube – just make sure that the set has 8 or more cubes.
Greetings from Germany
Anke
Hi Anke! Welcome to our site, and we hope you continue to enjoy our projects. Why not subscribe via e-mail or RSS so you don’t miss a thing?
That’s a great idea about kids cube puzzles. You never know what you can find if you keep an eye out!
I made photo cubes for Christmas for my extended family (a lot of time involved…) before I found your web site directions. I used a commercially made “Philladelphia Souvenier” cube I had purchased as a sample. I did use photos on glossy paper, and they were difficult to hinge, but the end result was okay. To strengthen the hinges, I covered the photos with clear Contac paper before I cut them to size. Worked pretty well. I am going to try again with new family photos and your plans, but the contac paper might still work to add strength.
I’ve made the cube many times. I use a full size
8.5 x 11 shipping label. I can use an inkjet or laser printer to copy my design. These cover the blocks with a self adhesive. However they are matte not glossy.
Also wood blocks can be found from NASCO, an educational supplier.
Hi Bonnie. We’re so happy you’ve enjoyed making several photo cubes! Using giant shipping labels (or sticker paper) is a clever solution, but keep in mind that it won’t last as long. The adhesive paper doesn’t make very strong hinges and as you open and close it repeatedly, the paper will eventually wear and tear. The double-sided adhesive we recommend is incredibly strong and won’t tear, so using it will make a cube that’ll last for ages
Thanks for the tip on blocks, too!
I love your instructions for making the photo puzzle cubes. They are the most detailed I’ve seen yet and easy to follow! I’ve made cubes in the past using color copies and I’ve still had trouble with the pictures developing heavy creases where they fold at the hinges. Are you saying that the embossing method will prevent this from happening at all or just slow down the process? I am looking forward to hearing back from you because I am considering making cubes for the staff at my childrens’ school as an end of the year gift since the school is closing. Also, can I use the Super Seal AND embossing powder on the cubes to make them more durable? Thanks!
Hi Annette. Thanks for the compliment about our tutorial! The heavy creases you’re describing are most likely due to the thickness of the paper you’re using. The paper has to fold at those hinges, and a fold is going to make a crease no matter what — but thicker paper will make a more noticeable crease. We recommend a fairlythin paper in our tutorial, and compensate for the loss of strength by using really strong double-sided tape. Our embossing technique doesn’t really address the creases at all, but is intended to make the flat surfaces of the cube glossier, which helps avoid smudges. The embossing coats the paper and changes the feel of it. Super Seal, on the other hand, makes the paper water resistant but doesn’t change the look of it at all. If you want glossy, you’ll need to go with a finish like embossing (or maybe Mod Podge). If you still want the paper-y feel but want it smudge-resistant, Super Seal will help. I see no benefit to using both, because the embossing would just cover the Super Seal entirely. Hope that helps!