Papercraft Campfire

• Hello! I see you found one of my Instructables. There are many kinds of instructions to help you make something, but with this one, you can make a campfire out of paper. I might even toss in some tips on making a real campfire as well as fire safety rules. So pay attention, and don't make a real campfire at home without the help and consent of your parent or guardian ( unless you're the parent ). This is so you can make paper props from your imagination. Also, if you think about it, this can be a productive form of education to teach you how to make a campfire in real life. Now that we have that settled, let's get on with it!

Ok. Here is the most important step of the entirety of Instructables... Gathering your tools and materials! Seriously, that is the important step. If you don't have all your materials or have the right tools, you might want to put your project on hold so you can find what you are missing. Fortunately, there's not that much you need to gather, although some of the items listed will have alternatives if you either don't have that item or just wanted to do something different.

That aside, here is the list:

Materials

• Paper { multi-purpose, construction, tissue, homemade, colored, cardstock (possibly cardboard?) whatever that can be folded }
• Glue { liquid or stick, either works ( hot glue is the best choice ( and only choice ) for cardboard.) }
• Paint { this is optional}
• Crayons or Colored Pencils { this is also optional }

Tools

1. Pencil { plus a pencil sharpener, or use a pen }
2. Scissors { or an x-acto knife, please be careful and cut away from you! }
3. Ruler
4. Cutting mat { for the x-acto }

... And that's about all you need.

Now that we have our tools and materials, let's start by making the rocks that surround the firepit. The reason for the rock circle is so the actual fire doesn't spread beyond the pit. Smokey the Bear did tell us that only we can prevent forest fires.

So here's how we are going to make the rocks. The first step is to grab your ruler, pencil (or pen ), and the paper you'll use ( for my part, I'm using construction paper ). We'll start by aligning the ruler with the side of the paper. Remember Length x Width = Area from Math, you'll need it. To start, we'll do 1 inch squares, line up your ruler to the edge of the paper, starting with the corner, and mark your points 1 inch apart from each other as shown in the photo. You can cover the entire paper with the 1 inch grid. The biggest you can get is 2 inches on a paper with a Width of 8- 9 inches or Length of 10-11 inches, unless you have bigger paper.

Once you have made the grid, cut a 3 x 5 piece from the grid. For this step, I'll show you a technique in a way that you won't have to cut off any squares to make a cube shape. See the lines in the five squares on the sides (That's Width for future reference in a later step)? Cut only those lines up to where they intersect with the perpendicular line. Specifically, those half circled points on the photos.

Now the next thing to do is to fold along all the lines once and unfold. Take your glue and use it on the tabs of the second row. Lift the first row upright and fold the tabs 90 degrees to glue the second tabs in place. Hold for at least ten seconds before moving on to the next row. Once you make it to the last row, glue the middle tab to the cube, then glue both tabs to the sides and hold all glued sides for 15 seconds.

And there you have it, one paper cube stone... and just however many more you want to go. I hope you understand how to make those cubes now, because the next step involves the same technique, just with a few different details.

Dry wood is necessary for making a fire. If the wood's wet, it can't burn. In case you don't know, there are three components for making a fire; Fuel, Heat, and Air or Oxygen. Without at least one of these components, you can't ignite a flame. With that in mind, let's start by finding wood, or a dead tree, and turn it into firewood.

The layout of the logs are actually similar to the one for the rocks. The only difference of the two grids is the Length of the 3x5. You can extend the length of the middle square by however much you want, so long as the outer squares are within the paper's parameters. Then you can use the same technique you used for the rocks. But if you want the log to have that light colored inside, you're going to have to do something different, by using TWO different colored sheets of paper. For making the pattern of the log, you don't have to add the two outer rows for your Width. But on the other sheet of paper, you are going to need to make a grid the same Width as the log. You only then need to cut out two 2x5s and glue them in alignment with the log pattern, with one row sticking out.

Then, like Step 2, you need to cut the lines on the Width rows, up to that intersecting spot. Use the glue on the tabs of the second row of Length to the tabs of the first row. Hold them together for ten seconds, and then do the next row before moving on. Again, like the previous step, glue the middle tab to the shape, the tabs to the sides, and hold all three for at least 15 seconds. Now that you're done with putting together the log, you can add details to it. Use a pen or pencil ( It doesn't matter if it's colored ) to draw circles on the light-colored wood or bark on the dark-colored wood, and you're done.

In a real fire pit for a fuel source, there are three stacks of wood in the pit, the main stack( the logs), the kindling( wood chips and sticks), and the starter( pine needles, dry leaves, or paper ). If you want to make some kindling or starters, you can use the same technique for the logs or you can roll up leftover pieces of paper( horizontally or vertically) and glue them to keep their shape. It doesn't even hurt to make a container to keep them all in, or find a shoebox.

Now that you have the wood, sticks and stones, you can make the start of the campfire. But hold on a minute. Did you know that fire can expand or grow more dangerous if there is a significant amount of fuel, say a house, a wheat field, or even an entire forest? There is a reason why firefighters, teachers, parents, and more ( even Smokey Bear ) tells us to be careful around fires as well as preventing things from catching on fire. So, to prevent fire from stretching beyond its necessary fuel source, people would dig a hole at least 2-3 inches deep and 1-2 feet at the most from the campfire. Some people would even use a slab of stone as a base for the campfire. These two boundaries help keep the fire stable. As long as you are being careful you shouldn't have to worry about getting burned.

In this step, we are going to make the stone slab and here is how to start. Take one or two sheets of paper and use your ruler to draw a square or a rectangle, a 1/2 inch away from the edges of the paper. This will be the deciding shape for your slab. Place you ruler on the shape and mark 1/2 inch lines in the middle of the shape like the photo above. Be sure to connect the parallel lines with each other so you know where to fold in a later step.

Once you're done, take your scissors and cut only one line on each corner to the interconnecting points. Cut the two middle lines to the interconnections but don't clip them off, you might need them. Fold inward along the lines once and unfold. Now here you need to fold one side upright. take your glue and stick the tabs on the sides together. Do the same for the other side. Now you need to glue both tabs on the same side. Clip one of the side's inner corners so the other side can fit over the now bottom side.

And another one done. A stone slab or two for the fire. It's also a box. Now no one else will know where you hid your secret thing, unless it's too big for it to fit. But other than that, you learned something new.

Onto the Next Step!

Ok. We have our tools, we have our materials, our pit or stone slab, our logs, sticks and stones, and now we are ready to make a fire. Quick disclaimer, do NOT try to make a real campfire or play with real fire without a parent/guardian, teacher, or a responsible adult. Now there are ways to start a fire, some ways involve friction, a magnifying glass, and flint and steel.

This fire can be made with tissue paper if you want to have a good light-shadow effect. A light-shadow is a visual effect created by layered sheets of a single material (i.e. paper) with shapes, writing, or drawings on each sheet, stacked together in a specific order to reveal an image, collaborated together by the details of each and every sheet. It's practically a kind of art puzzle that includes light.

For this fire, you only need a couple of strips (at least 3 inches wide) of the colors of paper you want to use. Take your ruler and one strip, mark a half inch parallel on both sides, and draw a line across the Length of the paper. Take two more strips and do the same thing, but mark 1 inch on both of them. Then you draw your own flame pattern on your half inch and one 1 inch strips above the line. The last one you don't have to do if you don't want to, you can just use is as a background.

When you have made you flame patterns, use your scissors or an x-acto knife to cut out your pattern. If you are using the x-acto, be sure to have a cutting mat underneath as to not scratch your desk, table, or countertop.

When you have that done, you can glue the strips together in two ways, 2-D or 3-D. For 2-D, you can glue the lower parts of the strips together. For 3-D, you need to fold the tabs under the line. Glue the half inch tab over the 1 inch tab that will be the front of the fire, then glue the last 1 inch tab underneath the combined tabs, like the photo shown above.

And there you go, a paper fire good for telling ghost stories with. If you want to put it away, simply fold the bottom up. If you need to put out a real fire, you can use water, dirt, sand, and mud to put the flames out at its source. They can cut off the oxygen and dampens the fuel the fire needs to stay lit. You can also use a fire extinguisher. Oh, and one more thing, if you ever catch yourself on fire, just STOP where you are, DROP to the ground, and ROLL around to put the fire out. Firefighters teach children this should a situation like this ever happen to them. Safety First, Kids!

This step is completely optional if you ever want to be fancy with your campfire. If you want, you can make some roasted marshmallows on a stick using the same techniques you just learned. You can even add some details to your pieces, some bark on your firewood, several spots and gradients on your stones, in all honesty you can do just about whatever you want to make your campfire more fun and enjoyable.

If you're using paint for your finishing touches, keep in mind that there are different types of paint for different surfaces and effects. For a gradient, faded look on the rocks, watercolors are a good thing to use. Detailed knots and bark on the wood, there are paintbrushes with different styles for some more unique designs.

If you are using crayons, colored pencils, or pastels, you can use some drawing techniques you learned in art class, or you can just do your own thing. Whatever it is you want to do for your campfire, use your imagination. Now that you have reached the end of this Instructable, I leave you with these words, remember the safety tips, ask when you need help, have fun, and a good day.