DIY: Paper Cube String Lights

December 17th, 2010

I love string lights and their endless possibilities. I wanted a little something special to drape over our headboard, and a row of glowing paper cubes turned out to be just the thing!

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First get a string of 20 lights (use LED lights if you are worried about this being a fire hazard) and 20 square pieces of paper (I used 8.5″ x 8.5″).

Then fold 20 cubes like this. (Click the image to zoom.)

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Then poke each light into a paper cube. No glue necessary!

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Easy and lovely! What more could you want?

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34 Comments

  1. Annie
    December 18, 2010 at 7:28 am

    What a fantastic idea! Thanks for sharing the detailed how-to.

    Reply
  2. Shawn
    December 18, 2010 at 8:07 am

    Incredible and beautiful. I love them.

    Reply
  3. Aaron
    December 18, 2010 at 8:13 am

    Wow, these are pretty awesome!

    Reply
  4. Chewn
    December 22, 2010 at 1:08 am

    Love It!

    Reply
  5. abigail
    December 27, 2010 at 11:29 pm

    I was just trying to remember how to make an oragami box this afternoon!
    this is a great idea!

    Reply
  6. Emily
    March 5, 2011 at 11:08 am

    Dear Wit and Whistle,

    I have featured this DIY project on my blog as I loved it so much and wanted to share it with my friends! I hope this is ok with you. Please contact me if it is not, and I will gladly remove the post. :)

    x Emmy

    Reply
    • Wit & Whistle
      March 5, 2011 at 11:45 am

      No problem Emmy, share all you want! :)

  7. mismikado
    March 26, 2011 at 7:09 pm

    I am the editor-in-chief of the monthly art newsletter, Balch Springs Unbound {balchspringsartsalliance.org/unbound.html} and I would love to feature this tutorial in our April issue. I hope that is ok? :)

    Reply
  8. Josee
    April 26, 2011 at 9:57 pm

    Wow! Magnifique! Thank you for sharing this great project.

    Reply
  9. Alison Fennell
    May 7, 2011 at 8:43 am

    What a clear and exciting demo – very very good and such fun. I lov ethese atmospheric yet simple lights! So bewitching! Alison

    Reply
  10. Claudia
    May 22, 2011 at 2:47 pm

    Thanks. What a great DIY. I followed your great instructions and this is the result: mirtilocrafts.blogspot.com/2011/05/cube-lights.html

    Reply
    • Wit & Whistle
      May 22, 2011 at 3:18 pm

      Looks great Claudia!

  11. fine little home
    May 25, 2011 at 2:56 am

    a must on my DIY day tomorrow, hope that’s okay! so sweet!

    cheers!

    Reply
    • Wit & Whistle
      May 25, 2011 at 7:48 pm

      Sure! :)

  12. Hannah
    August 8, 2011 at 2:50 pm

    these are so cute! i really want to make them for my apartment. I was wondering though if there is any danger of the paper burning?

    Reply
    • wit & whistle
      August 8, 2011 at 4:18 pm

      Mine haven’t caught on fire, but I don’t leave them on for very long, and I don’t leave them unattended. You can always use LED lights to cut down on the fire risk, since LED lights don’t put off as much heat.

  13. Daniel
    August 9, 2011 at 6:12 pm

    i love it,but i can´t do step 15!! can someone help me??

    Reply
    • wit & whistle
      August 9, 2011 at 6:20 pm

      To get to step 15 you just unfold what you have for step 14 a little bit. Essentially step 14 is just a squished version of step 15. You could probably just find the hole in step 14, blow in it, and skip 15 all together. Hopefully that helps!

  14. Daniel
    August 9, 2011 at 7:24 pm

    thanks for the help, it really works

    Reply
  15. Jeau
    September 7, 2011 at 10:11 am

    beautiful! I’ve linked to this post on my blog.
    jolifetoday.wordpress.com/2011/09/07/10-bits-of-awesomeness-diy-wishlist/

    Reply
  16. Frances
    September 14, 2011 at 9:22 pm

    I can’t seem to get my flaps to fit neatly in the folds like 13 and 14. What am I doing wrong?

    Reply
  17. belen (from Argentina!)
    September 17, 2011 at 7:23 pm

    Hey! I love this! Thank you so much. I’m doing a bunch at the moment but I can’t seem to understand step 13. Anybody? Could you help me? Thanks!

    Reply
  18. wit & whistle
    September 18, 2011 at 10:46 am

    It’s kind of hard to describe how to fold things aside from showing a picture, so for those of you that are having trouble try Googling “origami balloon” for more tutorials. Maybe looking at a different set of instructions will help clarify the steps you’re stuck on.

    Reply
  19. belen (from Argentina!)
    September 18, 2011 at 3:53 pm

    Did it! Thanks a lot!

    Reply
  20. sara
    October 5, 2011 at 8:39 pm

    I put these on my patio lights and the turned out awesome! thanks! the instructions were easy to follow as well :)

    Reply
  21. Naomi
    October 22, 2011 at 2:53 am

    These are so lovely! I made a bunch tonight and shared them and this tutorial on my blog. Thank you!
    morenumerousthansand.wordpress.com/2011/10/21/31-diy-projects-in-31-days-day-twenty-one/

    Reply
  22. Jacob
    November 14, 2011 at 1:46 pm

    Loving this creative diy idea using normal string lights. Curious to know what other origmi shapes could be used – dragons, roses, endless possibilities. Such a versatile idea.

    I shared your tutorial on my blog here:

    www.lightsandlights.com/diy-lighting-paper-origami-and-outdoor-string-lights/

    When I fly home I am definitely going to be trying your other string light diy project, the one with the wine bottle. With so many different wine bottle shapes and colors, there will be a nice variety of lighting effects.

    Reply
  23. lilai@foammattress
    November 22, 2011 at 4:15 am

    You’re very creative! It’s very easy. and It’s perfect because Christmas is coming! I love it.

    Reply
  24. Melissa
    November 28, 2011 at 4:42 pm

    Awesome idea! Can’t wait to share this with our friends on the JICC, Embassy of Japan’s Facebook page (>_<)Arigatou, ne!

    Reply
  25. Murmelly
    December 11, 2011 at 12:22 pm

    Thanks for the idea & easy instructions! I followed them and got nice christmas lights: prime-time-anytime.blogspot.com/2011/12/diy-paper-string-lights.html (I added a link to your blog in the text).

    Reply
  26. Claire
    December 18, 2011 at 9:13 am

    Wow. Perfect thing to discover on a Sunday – going to make them today! And I normally dislike little fairly lights. Thank you :)

    Reply
  27. Pat
    December 20, 2011 at 12:32 am

    Amazing!!! Thank you :)

    Reply
  28. Rebecca Skelton
    January 1, 2012 at 10:12 am

    i love these… im in the process of making them now… but will they set on fire??? xx

    Reply
    • Amanda (wit & whistle)
      January 1, 2012 at 4:47 pm

      Mine haven’t, but if you are worried just use LED lights since they don’t get hot.

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