Star Gift Box
A usable shallow five-point star tray with ten straight walls, five concave valleys, and a separate lift-off star lid.
Materials
- 180-220 gsm cardstock, measured thickness 0.20-0.30 mm
- Scissors or craft knife and cutting mat
- Ruler and blunt scoring tool
- Thin PVA glue
- Tweezers for corner laps
Finished size: 117.99 x 112.22 x 23 mm nominal closed; 22 mm tray depth; 8 mm lid skirt
Steps
CutValley foldMountain foldGlue area
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Print and cut 22 pieces
Print at 100 percent actual size and measure the 50 mm ruler. Cut two star panels and twenty wall nets, retaining every foot and end lap. Score only the marked folds; do not round the star points or valleys.
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Number the perimeter
Place B0 with one outer point straight up. Viewed from the open side, edge 1 goes from that point counterclockwise toward the upper-left valley; continue edges 2-10 counterclockwise. Mark these numbers lightly on the inner face. Base walls B1-B10 are each 39.844 mm long and 22 mm high.
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Pre-fold base feet and corner laps
Fold the central 4 mm feet inward 90 degrees. End laps on odd-numbered walls turn outward through 55.46 degrees at concave valleys; even-numbered laps turn inward through 127.46 degrees at pointed tips. These are changes from straight continuation, not interior angles. Match the floor outline rather than forcing all corners to the same angle.
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Glue base walls to the floor
Rest B0 on the inward feet with its edge exactly at each wall/foot fold. Apply glue to the upper face of each foot, underneath B0, and keep all walls vertical. Work B1 through B10 around the floor. The 12 mm setbacks leave the points and valleys free of foot collisions. Let the feet set before closing corner seams.
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Close the ten base seams
Glue each 4 mm terminal lap to the INSIDE of the next numbered wall; B10 joins B1. Place the next wall start exactly on the lap fold, not at the lap tip, so no wall length is lost. Laps occupy heights 6-20 mm above the floor. Pinch each tip and valley from both sides without bridging the valley mouth. Keep exterior walls free of glue and let dry.
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Build the lid upside down
Lay L0 outer face down, with a point up, and number its edges counterclockwise as for B0. L1-L10 each have 41.194 mm of wall length and 8 mm skirt depth. Fold feet inward 90 degrees and glue them onto the exposed underside of L0, following its exact larger perimeter. Walls stand up during this operation; roof feet lie above L0 while inverted.
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Join the lid skirt and dry separately
Join each lid lap inside the next wall, L10 to L1, using the same alternating valley and tip turns as the base. Laps extend 4 mm along the next wall and lie 2-6 mm from the roof. Keep the five concave valleys sharp and open. Dry the lid separately from the tray, then turn it over; the feet are now under the roof.
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Fit the removable lid
Align all five lid points and valleys over the tray. Slide down gently with about 7 mm skirt engagement, leaving about 1 mm above the base rim. The 0.9 mm parallel offset provides thickness clearance, including room for thin inner laps; remove dried glue lumps rather than forcing the fit. Never glue the lid to the tray. Lift it off to access the shallow cavity. Actual fit and gift load require physical verification.
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.
- Original open tray with removable lid, not the closed faceted five-point-star ornament. Physical printing, cutting, assembly and lid fit remain pending.
- Base alternates radii 60 and 30 mm. Each of its ten straight edges is 39.8439 mm; each lid edge is 41.1944 mm. Wall widths exclude the separate integral 4 mm end laps.
- The lid perimeter is a true outward parallel offset of 0.9 mm, including at the five concave valleys; it is not a scaled star. For 0.20-0.30 mm card, nominal opposing-surface clearance is 0.60-0.70 mm per edge before glue. An inward lid lap locally consumes another card thickness.
- Floor/roof feet are 4 mm deep, start 12 mm from either wall endpoint and taper another 1 mm. They avoid acute point collisions; no continuous unrelieved flange crosses a concave corner.
- All twenty wall nets include their floor/roof feet and corner laps in exact piecewise-rigid meshes with flat correspondence. Paper and glue thickness are not simulated; intentional glue overlaps share ideal planes.
- Closed display pose: tray rim z=22, lid roof z=23, lid hem z=15 mm. This gives 7 mm wall engagement and 1 mm roof headroom. Seating depth is manual, not a hidden stop or latch.
- Fold symbols refer to the face that will face the cavity when each tray is built open-side up. Construct the lid upside down as a second, shallower tray, then invert it.
- All pieces fit the 180 x 204.4 mm shared printable envelope at full scale. Lightweight dry gifts only; physical load capacity has not been tested.