Here's a nice little project if you're looking for a convenient way to store your trinkets. It is easy (and cheap) to make and you can tailor it to your own needs. Since it's Halloween season, I decided to give a bit of an evil twist to it. :)

Step 1: Tools and Ingredients

Not much is needed.

Here's a list of tools:

Scissors/Utility knife

A set square ruler

Pencil

A sewing needle

Black sharpie marker

A nail (2mm diameter)

Cordless drill (optional)

Printer (optional)

And the materials:

PU leather

Nylon sewing string

Plain cardboard (non-corrugated, 1 to 1,5mm thickness)

Universal glue

Plain paper (for printing a template)

Step 2: Preparation

First off, you'll need to choose a template for the tray base. I drew a pentagram and aligned it so that it takes the most of the A4 paper when printed. I've attached the design so you can print it right away. But you can also experiment with other templates and sizes. For example, while I was playing around, I also made a coffin shaped valet tray. So it's really up to your taste and creativity. :)

Step 3: Laying Down the Template

Once you've created your base template, it's time to lay it down on the cardboard. You can either draw it or print and glue the design down. I chose the second option and for this I used a universal glue. When positioning the base, make sure that you leave some room on the material for the flaps. These flaps will become the sidewalls once you fold up the tray. In this case, i decided to make them 4 centimeters tall, so I positioned the template 4 centimeters from the edge of cardboard.

Step 4: Drawing the Flaps

Once the base is set, it's time to precisely draw the flaps. You should draw lines parallel to the outlines of your template, with the same distance all around. The distance you chose will the determine the height of the tray.

The corners can be left as they are - this will give more a more pointy design when assembled.

If you trim the corners, the "horns" on the tray won't be as pronounced. This is totally up to you. :)

You can see the difference in the attached picture.

Step 5: Cutting the Cardboard Base

When you're done drawing the design, it's time to cu it up. Start first with the outline, and after that separate the flaps (five parts of equal size, in this case). The flaps should be separated from the base, as this will prevent PU leather from getting creases, after it's all glued together and formed into to the final shape.

After cutting is done that, you can score the flaps material with the dull end of the scissors, so it can be bent easier.

Step 6: Gluing It All Together

It's time to place the cut pieces on the PU leather and glue them in place. The flaps should be placed a few millimeters away from the base. This is done so the PU leather won't get creased when folding.

After the glue has dried, cut out the the piece of PU leather along the outline of the design. Place it on the piece of fresh PU leather and draw and cut the remaining piece and then glue it to the the other side of the cardboard design. You can cut out the excess PU leather with a utility knife.

Once this is done, it is time to start with the final steps.

Step 7: Final Forming and Stitching

In order to create a rigid tray shape, flaps must be fixed in some way. This can be done with bolts, rivets and similar means. But i decided to do this with nylon string.

First off, you have to prepare the the flaps (the little pointy pieces) for the stitching. As driving the needle through cardboard is pretty difficult, you'll need to drill the holes using a nail. This will make stitching work much easier.

The hole should be placed in the middle of the triangular piece. You can create it with hammer and nail or by using the cordless drill with the nail in the chuck. During drilling, keep the folded pieces tightly together, so the hole is positioned identically on both of them.

After this, it's time to stitch the pieces together. All you need to do is make four string passes from the hole to the edges of material. You can burn off the excess string with the lighter. Repeat this for each of the tray sides.

After bringing it all together, you can use the sharpie to cover the visible cardboard edges.