We love creative and cute ways to display our pictures and projects! Photo cubes add a wonderful touch to any room’s decor—on a shelf, end table, mantle, or dresser. Once you get the hang of designing and making them, you just might want to make a set for each room and season! They’re really pretty simple to make. Here’s how.
To make three 4-inch photo cubes:
To make three 4-inch photo cubes:
1. Obtain three 4-inch* cubes made of wood or paper mache. These can be found and purchased from online craft stores and some local craft stores.
2. Create two 12 x 12 scrap pages with 9 squares on each page. Each square should be 3.75-inches. The squares can be photos, patterned papers, word art, etc., in any combination that you wish. Begin with “Baby Girl Photo Cubes” or “Baby Boy Photo Cubes” (templates 107467 or 107468) for an extra head start. Just drop your own photos into the squares and exchange the art and embellishments to suit you.
3. Publish and order your scrap pages. Choose any paper option you like.
4. Prepare your cubes. Sand, paint, stain, etc., as you see fit. Make sure cubes are thoroughly dry and free of debris before you glue on paper squares.
5. Carefully cut around the edge of each square printed on your pages. Plan which square will go on which side of your different cubes.
6. Use spray craft adhesive** or strong double-sided adhesive** to glue paper squares to cube surfaces. Make sure adhesive is applied all the way to the edges of each paper square to prevent them peeling up. Keep your fingers free of adhesive so you don’t leave sticky marks on the printed surfaces of your paper squares.
7. Add extra touches like buttons or ribbons to finished cubes.
8. Display and enjoy!
*If you cannot find 4-inch cubes, just adjust the squares on your scrap pages accordingly. Design your squares to be about 1/4-inch smaller than the surface sizes of the cubes.
**We are often asked about using liquid glue or Mod Podge for crafts such as this. When you apply a liquid glue to paper, especially that of thicker quality, the paper will soak up a certain amount of the glue and will often warp or bubble. That’s why we don’t recommend liquid adhesive unless you have prior experience using it to apply paper to wood, painted or other surfaces. It can be a tricky medium to use and can sometimes give less than ideal results. If you want to experiment with different glues, be sure to order more than one set of printed scrap pages so you have replacement pieces if you need them
If you don't already have a Heritage Makers account, just go to www.digitaldreambooks.com to create one. I'd love to see what you come up with! Let me know if you want help getting started.
