How to Make a 3D Square Out of Paper
You can make a 3D square (otherwise known as a cube) using paper in several ways. The most basic is to draw a pattern, cut it out and glue it together in the shape of a cube. If you're up for a slightly bigger challenge, you can create an origami paper cube from several sheets of paper, which does not require scissors or glue.
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Instructions
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Cut and Glued Paper Cube
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1
Decide how big you want your cube to be, then find a sheet of paper that is slightly longer than four times the length of each side of the cube and slightly wider than three times the length of each side.
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2
Draw a cross made up of six equal squares, four squares long and three squares wide.
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3
Draw a tab at the end of the bottom square of the cross and the ends of the two side squares, plus on both sides of the top square of the cross and the one directly above the bottom. Cut out your pattern. (You can also print out a ready-made pattern; see References.)
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4
Fold the squares and the tabs inward. Add a few dabs of glue to the outside of each tab, then use them to secure the squares together to form a cube.
Origami Paper Cube
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5
Fold a paper square in half lengthwise. Unfold it, then fold two sides in to the center, creating a rectangle. Unfold everything.
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6
Fold down one corner of the square to the nearest fold, creating a small triangle. Repeat this with the opposite corner. Fold the two sides back to the center.
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7
Take the corner of the paper next to one of the corners that was already folded into a triangle. Fold it to the opposite side of the paper, creating another triangle. Do the same to the other side of the paper; this should leave you with a parallelogram.
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8
Tuck the triangles you just folded under the flap next to it. This should produce a parallelogram that stays flat. Turn it over and fold down the points, creating a square, then unfold them.
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9
Repeat steps 1 through 4 five times to create six parallelogram pieces. Join the pieces together into a cube shape by inserting the points of the parallelogram into the flaps on the back of the adjacent parallelograms.
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