SnipFold

Sliding Keepsake Drawer

A small decorative storage drawer: open four-wall tray sliding inside an open-ended sleeve with a semicircular thumb notch and an exterior bottom seam.

Materials

  • 180-220 gsm card, measured thickness 0.20-0.30 mm
  • Scissors or craft knife and cutting mat
  • Ruler and blunt scoring tool
  • Thin PVA glue
  • Small clips

Finished size: Approx. 44.3 x 68.3 x 18.6 mm closed; 44.3 x 90.3 x 18.6 mm shown 22 mm open

Steps

CutValley foldMountain foldGlue area

  1. Print, measure and cut

    Print at 100% actual size and confirm the 50 mm ruler. Use card 0.20-0.30 mm thick. Cut one T1 and one S1 on solid outlines, including the 14 mm wide, 7 mm deep semicircular notch on S1. Keep all four T1 tabs and the S1 seam lap attached.

  2. Score the tray

    Place T1 with its future inside facing you. Score the 42 x 68 mm base boundary and the four short tab hinges. Valley-fold all four 16 mm walls up 90 degrees. Fold each 7 mm corner tab inward 90 degrees from its end wall, toward the inside of the adjacent long wall.

  3. Glue four inside corners

    Apply a thin film to the tab faces that contact the inside of the long walls. Each tab extends 7 mm along a long wall and sits 2-14 mm above the base, with beveled corners. Raise end walls, place tabs inside, then press long walls onto them. Keep the base flat and corners square; retain 42 mm between long-wall score lines and 68 mm between end-wall score lines. Let dry fully.

  4. Form the sleeve

    With future inside facing you, score parallel lines at 44, 62, 106 and 124 mm from the straight bottom-panel edge. Valley-fold each 90 degrees to make a 44 x 18 mm rectangular tube, 68 mm long. The 44 mm panel with the notch is the top; the notch opens at the front. Both short ends remain open.

  5. Close the exterior seam

    Bring the 8 mm tapered lap at 124-132 mm underneath the OUTSIDE of the first 44 mm bottom panel. Apply thin glue to its contacting face and overlap 8 mm along the full bottom-left seam. Keep the inner bottom smooth. Hold the rectangular section square at 44 x 18 mm score-to-score and let dry fully before inserting T1.

  6. Slide together and display

    Face the sleeve notch toward you. Insert the dry tray open side up from this end, with its plain end wall toward you. Center it laterally; nominal clearance with 0.30 mm card is 0.70 mm per side and about 1.40 mm vertically. Slide gently until end walls align with sleeve ends; never glue the tray to the sleeve. For the pictured display pull forward 22 mm, retaining 46 mm engagement. Use the top notch to grip the tray rim; support it because no stop is fitted. Physical sliding fit remains to be verified.

Notes

The 3D model shows each piece in its finished, idealized shape; the exploded view only spreads the pieces apart. It is not a paper-physics simulation: curved shapes are forming guides, not exact physical folding or proof of developability, and intermediate fold shapes are not supplied.