How to Make a Cube Out of Paper

A little girl holding up a cube made out of paper. — Origami is the Japanese art of making things out of paper; it has been around for a long time. Elva Etienne / Getty Images

Origami -- the ancient Japanese paper art -- is a fun way to make dice for playing games. The paper cube is also called a Japanese water bomb and is traditionally used as decoration [source: Origami Fun]. Follow the steps listed below and make a cube out of a few pieces of origami paper.

You'll need six square pieces of paper for this project. You can use any size paper. The bigger the paper, the larger your cube will be.

Here's what to do.

Fold one piece of paper in half to make a crease and then open.
Fold the top and bottom of the paper into the crease. You now have a rectangle.
Turn the piece of paper over so that the folds are facing down.
Fold one corner up, so that it touches the opposite side.
Fold one corner down, so that it touches the opposite side. You now have a trapezoid.
Fold the top and bottom corners of the trapezoid to the center of the opposite side to create a crease. You now have a square.
Open the folds so you once again have a trapezoid.
Repeat these steps with each piece of paper so you have six equal trapezoids.
Take two trapezoids. Insert a triangle from one trapezoid into the opening of the square of the other trapezoid.
Take another trapezoid. Insert a triangle from this trapezoid into the other side of the same opening of the square of the trapezoid.
Continue steps 8 and 9 with all the trapezoids. The structure will be loose until you connect all the trapezoids. When all the sides are connected, you'll have a cube [source: Origami Mommy].

It will take several attempts before you make a perfect cube. When you are an expert cubist, try using different color papers to create a beautiful piece of paper art!