Baby bear and balloons shadow box SVG
A mother bear sitting on a hill under the stars with her cub in front of her holding a big bunch of balloons, a hot air balloon drifting past the clouds, and a tricycle, a present and tulips 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.
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 “Sea” set; cut them in any card you like. Cut sheet 5, “Tricycle and tulips”, the slowest: at 0.8 mm it has the thinnest part in the scene, and sheet 5, “Tricycle and tulips”, fills the most of the view, 25% of it.
| Sheet | What is on it | Narrowest part | Seen from the front |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Stars | A whole sheet with holes for: 3 × Rounded star and 7 × Plain disc | over 2 mm | 36% |
| 2. Hot air balloon and clouds | Rolling ground, with: Fluffy cloud and Hot air balloon in the clouds | 1 mm | 7% |
| 3. Mother bear | Rolling ground, with: Sitting bear and Round tree silhouette | over 2 mm | 14% |
| 4. Cub and balloons | Rolling ground, with: Baby bear cub and Bunch of balloons | 1.4 mm | 17% |
| 5. Tricycle and tulips | A gentle slope, with: Tricycle with handlebar streamers, Square present tied with ribbon and Tulip border | 0.8 mm | 25% |
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 | 0.6 mm | 17 mm | Yes | Fine detail: sharp blade, slow speed |
| 20 × 20 cm | 200 × 200 mm | 0.8 mm | 17 mm | Yes | Fine detail: sharp blade, slow speed |
| 8 × 8 in | 203.2 × 203.2 mm | 0.8 mm | 17 mm | Yes | Fine detail: sharp blade, slow speed |
| 23 × 23 cm | 230 × 230 mm | 0.9 mm | 17 mm | Yes | Fine detail: sharp blade, slow speed |
| 25 × 25 cm | 250 × 250 mm | 1 mm | 17 mm | Yes | Fine detail: sharp blade, slow speed |
Depth needed allows 3 mm of foam between sheets and 5 mm for the card itself and the backing.
Making this one
Made for a new baby: cut it in pinks, blues or greens to match the nursery. The bears are bold shapes that cut easily. The tulips and the tricycle on the front sheet are the thinnest card, about 0.8 mm at 8 inches, so lift that sheet from the mat slowly, starting at the frame.
- 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
Can I add the baby’s name and birthday?
Not inside the maker yet. Cut the name from the lettering in the library and glue it to the bottom border, or write the name, date and weight on the back sheet.
How does the hot air balloon stay up?
It hangs from the top of its sheet on a thread of card 1.6 mm wide. The cloud on the other side grows in from the edge of the frame, so it needs no thread.
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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