I recently made a ton of Montessori math beads, and I needed a better way to store them. They no longer fit in the extra drawer of our language object cabinet, which wasn’t exactly ideal anyway. I know a lot of people use the divided boxes intended as tackle boxes or for craft storage, but I wanted something with the right number of compartments, and I didn’t want to have to look at different shops or order online. I really wanted, and needed, a tray for our Montessori beads.

Trying to make do with what I have, as I seem to do these days (me, a recovering craft and organization shopaholic), I decided to use my new favorite materials (thanks quarantine?) of cardboard and wood glue. I set straight to work making mine, and while mine is definitely the rough draft, today I want to share with a template and tutorial to make your own, perfectly sized version.

This divided bead container has 10 compartments, perfectly sized for your 1-10 beads. Below my simple tutorial, I’ll share with you how to make a lid for it as well, if your so inclined (I haven’t yet, but yes I plan to—I finally got some more cardboard).

Needed Tools and Materials

• Handy dandy printable template
• Cardboard (or foam board, or thin plywood) — you’ll need one piece 8”x8” but otherwise narrow pieces will be fine (2”)
• Wood glue (for foam board I believe hot glue works better)
• Masking tape for “clamping” (real clamps if you’re using plywood)
• Exacto Knife, Rotary Cutter or Box Cutter (I love my rotary cutter for cardboard, but it does dull blades quickly)
• Straight edge (I use an acrylic quilting ruler, but it’s just what I had already, though it does work perfectly)

How To Make Divided Bead Tray

1. Print and cut the template, at 100%.
2. Cut out the pieces as indicated on the template pieces from your choice of mayerials (I used cardboard).
3. Use page 1, the box layout, to mark locations of interior dividers on the bottom box piece.
4. Generously apply glue to lower (not the bottom) long edge of the 2” outside pieces. If you’re using boxes with markings on them, be strategic with which side is out and in.
5. Tape glued edge to the outside edges of the bottom box piece. Use masking tape or blue painters tape to tightly hold the pieces in place. You may have to trim one or two edges slightly, but it should fit pretty snugly. Allow to dry to touch.
6. Apply glue to bottom edges of long divider pieces (1.5”x8”) and snug them into their spots. Use tape to hold in place.
7. Apply glue to bottom edges of small divider pieces, snug them into place. Use tape to hold in place. I also used several long pieces of tape to cross brace (like a giant hash tag) the whole box at this point.
8. Allow to dry throughly for several hours. Remove tape. Add beads. Feel proud of your little handy make!

If you want to make a lid…

• Cut a piece 8 ¼” x 8 ¼”.
• Cut 4 pieces 8 ¼”x ½”
• Follow directions for flying outside box edges to bottom of box. Ta-da! A lid!

Well, that’s my super simple tutorial for you. I hope it makes your homeschool shelves just a little more organized, and more accessible. Let me know if you have any questions, and as always I would truly love to see the results if you do make this project. You can find me on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest, send me a photo, I can’t wait to see and hear how it goes for you!

P.S. I think my next project is a cardboard moveable alphabet box. I’m a little intimidated because, well, 26 letters worth of dividers, and I’m not 100% sure if my results will work for others (due to size differences), but I finally got a nice big box so I am looking forward to giving it a try! I’ll let you know how it goes.