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Angel and stars shadow box SVG

An angel standing on a hill under one bright star, with clouds and a chapel on the far hills, two doves in the air beside her and candles and a lily at the front. 5 sheets of card, cut and stacked with a gap between each, make the picture. The files are free, and every part of the scene can be moved, swapped or resized below before you download.

Angel and stars shadow box: 5 layered sheets seen from the front

Download the SVG files

5 sheets at 8 × 8 in, zipped, with a note on putting them together.

Free for personal and commercial use, no sign-up. What you can do with it.

The 5 sheets

Sheet 1 is the back and sheet 5 is the front. Each one is a single piece with the same frame round its edge, so they line up when stacked. The colours shown are the “Snow” set; cut them in any card you like. Cut sheet 4, “Doves”, the slowest: at 0.9 mm it has the thinnest part in the scene, and sheet 5, “Candles and lilies”, fills the most of the view, 34% of it.

Sheet	What is on it	Narrowest part	Seen from the front
1. Star	A whole sheet with holes for: North star and 7 × Plain disc	over 2 mm	34%
2. Clouds and chapel	Rolling ground, with: Long flat cloud, Classic puffy cloud and Chapel church house with a bell	1 mm	9%
3. Angel	Rolling ground, with: Standing angel with hands together	2 mm	15%
4. Doves	Rolling ground, with: Peace dove with an olive branch and Dove silhouette	0.9 mm	8%
5. Candles and lilies	A gentle slope, with: Three candles, Lily silhouette and Bunch of grass	0.9 mm	34%

Measured from the files at 8 × 8 in. The narrowest part is the thinnest neck of card that holds anything on; sharp tips are not counted. “Seen from the front” is the share of the picture that sheet fills once the sheets in front of it are in place.

Will it cut at your size?

The download is 8 × 8 in. The scene maker above makes the same scene at any of these sizes; the thinnest part scales with it.

Frame opening	Each sheet	Narrowest part	Depth needed	Fits a 12 × 12 in mat	Rule of thumb
6 × 6 in	152.4 × 152.4 mm	0.7 mm	17 mm	Yes	Fine detail: sharp blade, slow speed
20 × 20 cm	200 × 200 mm	0.9 mm	17 mm	Yes	Fine detail: sharp blade, slow speed
8 × 8 in	203.2 × 203.2 mm	0.9 mm	17 mm	Yes	Fine detail: sharp blade, slow speed
23 × 23 cm	230 × 230 mm	1 mm	17 mm	Yes	Cuts easily
25 × 25 cm	250 × 250 mm	1.1 mm	17 mm	Yes	Cuts easily

Depth needed allows 3 mm of foam between sheets and 5 mm for the card itself and the backing.

Making this one

In the Snow colours the back sheet is dark blue and the angel white. The angel cuts easily, with nothing under 2 mm; the two doves on their threads are the finest parts, so lift the fourth sheet from the mat slowly. The arched window gives it the look of a chapel window.

Cut all 5 sheets from 160 to 220 gsm card at the same size.
Lay them out in order, sheet 1 at the back.
Put strips of 3 mm foam tape round the border of sheet 1 and press sheet 2 onto it with the edges level. Carry on to sheet 5.
Fit the stack into a deep frame with the front sheet against the glass. For a light box, run a strip of warm white LEDs round the inside of the frame behind the stack.

The zip includes these steps as a text file, each sheet as its own SVG and all 5 side by side in one SVG. More on paper, frames and lights is on the shadow box page.

The parts, on their own

Everything in the scene comes from the free SVG library, where each has its own page and file:

Questions

Is it only for Christmas?

No. There is nothing seasonal in it, so it also suits a christening, a confirmation or a memorial. Add a name and a date to the front border by hand.

How does the star light up?

The star and the small stars round it are holes in the back sheet. A light behind the box shines through them and falls on the angel.

Can I sell boxes I make with it?

Yes. Finished pieces are yours to sell. The files themselves may not be sold or shared; send people to this page. See the licence.

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