Howdee, fans!
A colleague of mine invited me to her birthday party. Time was short but I did not want to show up empty-handed. So I had to come up with a suitable and effective present. Since my friend is a very creative person and loves handcrafted gifts I decided to make something special: A magic photo cube. This is a combination of cubes which are attached to each other in a special way so that they can be rotated and turned around, similar to a Rubrik's cube. The real effect is created when a series of photos are laminated to each side of the cubes. With every turn a new image is shown. This can be repeated endlessly and you can tell a story with it. This tutorial shows you how to do it:
I started with the cubes. Eight of them have to be made. I chose a size of 4x4x4cm.
![DSCF0510.jpg DSCF0510.jpg](https://www.zealot.com/data/attachments/183/183784-054692d2fc0a527cf14d84fa6ca1649a.jpg)
![DSCF0514.jpg DSCF0514.jpg](https://www.zealot.com/data/attachments/183/183785-c8edf16d79b42cf8af66d3af85d3df53.jpg)
![DSCF0524.jpg DSCF0524.jpg](https://www.zealot.com/data/attachments/183/183786-4565812da84218ff2b326e5ae77d1299.jpg)
The cubes were taped together as shown in the vid.
Since I did not have many pictures of my colleague I decided to use birthday wishes and greetings from various sources. Some of them were personalized to give them a personal touch.
![DSCF0526.jpg DSCF0526.jpg](https://www.zealot.com/data/attachments/183/183788-0dbadbf9e56485be6e4cd35caa26fdf5.jpg)
The images were scaled to fit the 8x8cm big sides of the assembled cube. In CorelDRAW I created several lines which I placed behind the images. Those lines served as cutting lines.
![DSCF0527.jpg DSCF0527.jpg](https://www.zealot.com/data/attachments/183/183789-fe08924f0ea0e5416f366903a1939046.jpg)
Here you see all the parts cut to pieces. These were then attached to the cube with double-sided tape.
![DSCF0528.jpg DSCF0528.jpg](https://www.zealot.com/data/attachments/183/183790-e21224c4d2cd33b3b1fa555f12ccc98f.jpg)
![DSCF0530.jpg DSCF0530.jpg](https://www.zealot.com/data/attachments/183/183791-3b29d08c6a044acfde6a7b64fb7cfc75.jpg)
A small rubber band kept the front end together since it wanted to splay a bit.
A check of the rotation:
![DSCF0536.jpg DSCF0536.jpg](https://www.zealot.com/data/attachments/183/183792-00c467eaa5ccde4029b722f51399315b.jpg)
![DSCF0537.jpg DSCF0537.jpg](https://www.zealot.com/data/attachments/183/183793-1b319d0f663f50910b857d87e3735774.jpg)
![DSCF0538.jpg DSCF0538.jpg](https://www.zealot.com/data/attachments/183/183794-2bbac869e4d46bf2800acab83d1d5cdb.jpg)
![DSCF0540.jpg DSCF0540.jpg](https://www.zealot.com/data/attachments/183/183795-6f3c590316326cf88218acdb9f3d23c6.jpg)
Everything worked like a charm.![Smile :) :)](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
When the cube was finished I had the idea to add a small in-joke - just for laughs. Since my friend and I work at an old people's home I used a spoof picture mocking the logo of a well-known discount supermarket chain to conceal the top of the cube.
![DSCF0544.jpg DSCF0544.jpg](https://www.zealot.com/data/attachments/183/183796-698979956c1add0aec6ee32aabbe5f82.jpg)
![DSCF0545.jpg DSCF0545.jpg](https://www.zealot.com/data/attachments/183/183797-da6af48edee7d507b535973e125dec04.jpg)
Finally everything was wrapped up nicely.
![DSCF0546.jpg DSCF0546.jpg](https://www.zealot.com/data/attachments/183/183798-4caba627ed3299b1723907da017a17b7.jpg)
![DSCF0547.jpg DSCF0547.jpg](https://www.zealot.com/data/attachments/183/183799-277358b40f2e54164aa1841bb34d3a7e.jpg)
When I gave it to my friend I had no idea that the cube would become such a hit at the party. Everyone was talking about it, even several days later. Many thought the cube was a commercial product and wanted to know where they could get one. They could not believe that I made it myself.
Thanks for watching!![Smile :) :)](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
A colleague of mine invited me to her birthday party. Time was short but I did not want to show up empty-handed. So I had to come up with a suitable and effective present. Since my friend is a very creative person and loves handcrafted gifts I decided to make something special: A magic photo cube. This is a combination of cubes which are attached to each other in a special way so that they can be rotated and turned around, similar to a Rubrik's cube. The real effect is created when a series of photos are laminated to each side of the cubes. With every turn a new image is shown. This can be repeated endlessly and you can tell a story with it. This tutorial shows you how to do it:
I started with the cubes. Eight of them have to be made. I chose a size of 4x4x4cm.
![DSCF0510.jpg DSCF0510.jpg](https://www.zealot.com/data/attachments/183/183784-054692d2fc0a527cf14d84fa6ca1649a.jpg)
![DSCF0514.jpg DSCF0514.jpg](https://www.zealot.com/data/attachments/183/183785-c8edf16d79b42cf8af66d3af85d3df53.jpg)
![DSCF0524.jpg DSCF0524.jpg](https://www.zealot.com/data/attachments/183/183786-4565812da84218ff2b326e5ae77d1299.jpg)
The cubes were taped together as shown in the vid.
Since I did not have many pictures of my colleague I decided to use birthday wishes and greetings from various sources. Some of them were personalized to give them a personal touch.
![DSCF0526.jpg DSCF0526.jpg](https://www.zealot.com/data/attachments/183/183788-0dbadbf9e56485be6e4cd35caa26fdf5.jpg)
The images were scaled to fit the 8x8cm big sides of the assembled cube. In CorelDRAW I created several lines which I placed behind the images. Those lines served as cutting lines.
![DSCF0527.jpg DSCF0527.jpg](https://www.zealot.com/data/attachments/183/183789-fe08924f0ea0e5416f366903a1939046.jpg)
Here you see all the parts cut to pieces. These were then attached to the cube with double-sided tape.
![DSCF0528.jpg DSCF0528.jpg](https://www.zealot.com/data/attachments/183/183790-e21224c4d2cd33b3b1fa555f12ccc98f.jpg)
![DSCF0530.jpg DSCF0530.jpg](https://www.zealot.com/data/attachments/183/183791-3b29d08c6a044acfde6a7b64fb7cfc75.jpg)
A small rubber band kept the front end together since it wanted to splay a bit.
A check of the rotation:
![DSCF0536.jpg DSCF0536.jpg](https://www.zealot.com/data/attachments/183/183792-00c467eaa5ccde4029b722f51399315b.jpg)
![DSCF0537.jpg DSCF0537.jpg](https://www.zealot.com/data/attachments/183/183793-1b319d0f663f50910b857d87e3735774.jpg)
![DSCF0538.jpg DSCF0538.jpg](https://www.zealot.com/data/attachments/183/183794-2bbac869e4d46bf2800acab83d1d5cdb.jpg)
![DSCF0540.jpg DSCF0540.jpg](https://www.zealot.com/data/attachments/183/183795-6f3c590316326cf88218acdb9f3d23c6.jpg)
Everything worked like a charm.
When the cube was finished I had the idea to add a small in-joke - just for laughs. Since my friend and I work at an old people's home I used a spoof picture mocking the logo of a well-known discount supermarket chain to conceal the top of the cube.
![DSCF0544.jpg DSCF0544.jpg](https://www.zealot.com/data/attachments/183/183796-698979956c1add0aec6ee32aabbe5f82.jpg)
![DSCF0545.jpg DSCF0545.jpg](https://www.zealot.com/data/attachments/183/183797-da6af48edee7d507b535973e125dec04.jpg)
Finally everything was wrapped up nicely.
![DSCF0546.jpg DSCF0546.jpg](https://www.zealot.com/data/attachments/183/183798-4caba627ed3299b1723907da017a17b7.jpg)
![DSCF0547.jpg DSCF0547.jpg](https://www.zealot.com/data/attachments/183/183799-277358b40f2e54164aa1841bb34d3a7e.jpg)
When I gave it to my friend I had no idea that the cube would become such a hit at the party. Everyone was talking about it, even several days later. Many thought the cube was a commercial product and wanted to know where they could get one. They could not believe that I made it myself.
Thanks for watching!