Make a cube from 3 strips of paper

NOTE: GREEN, GOLD and RED strips are used in the photos and instructions.

STEPS:

1. Fold a "paper accordion" out of long strips of sturdy paper.
   
2. Unfold the strips and cut into pieces. You will need three 6-section strips.
   
3. Adjust the folds so they all go the same direction.
   
4. Place the first strip GREEN on the table vertically (in a line pointed away from you).
   
5. Make a cross. Place the second strip GOLD underneath, horizontally. Leave one GREEN square at the top and two GOLD squares on the right side.
   
6. The center of your cube is where the GREEN and GOLD strips cross. Fold the ends of the GOLD strip UP.
   
7. Make the cube walls from the RED strip. Because the strip is 6 squares long, it will overlap on two places.
   Make the final over-lap closest to you, just above the long GREEN tail.
   
8. Stabilize the cube by folding the GOLD strips over the RED walls.
   
9. Close the cube starting with the GREEN square at the top. Then take the long GREEN tail over the top and tuck it into the pocket at the bottom of the cube.
   
10. To finish the cube, fold the single GOLD square across the top of the cube. Fold the last two GOLD squares into place and tuck the end into place.
    

TIPS:

• As a recycling project, use postcard-weight paper from advertisements, or strips of paper grocery bags.
  
• Strips should be of uniform width.
  
• Each strip must have six units, but only the middle four need to be full-sized. (The ends are tabs and overlaps).
  
• The length of the paper strips should be about 5 to 6 times the width.
  
• Index-weight copy paper can be cut into half-sheets and then into 1-inch strips.
  
• If using shorter strips, fold two strips in half and start the accordion from the center points.
  

BACKGROUND:
I find something of interest and then explore the possibilities. Paper cubes and other geometric shapes are particularly intriguing. On a visit to the Vancouver Art Museum, I found a great "folding cube" in the gift shop. It was wonderful, a sort of mechanism made out of wood cubes, covered with museum photos. Structured from eight smaller cubes, it looked like something that could be reproduced, adapted, replicated.

But how???

I fiddled with it for a while and then made a sketch of the hinged points of the cubes.

My husband and I spent the afternoon looking around the city for cubes and tape. Finally found them at a Looney store. (Canadian dollar coins have a loon/bird on them, and this was what I was familiar with as a Dollar Store). They had a small package of children's blocks and some white duct tape. Ah, that should do the trick!

We returned to our room at the YWCA Hostel with a project to work out. And it worked! My little sketch gave enough information about where to locate the hinges to join the cubes correctly.

Upon returning to Seattle, I searched the Internet for ideas of how to make cubes. I didn't want to cut the cross-shape and then glue the thing together, nor did I want the origami waterballoon shape, which was too lumpy when inflated.

Then I happened upon some German paper folding sites and found the idea for making a cube out of paper strips.