Big wheel at the fair shadow box SVG
A big wheel at the fair in the evening: the moon, stars and a burst of fireworks in the sky, a big top and a tree behind, the wheel with its twelve gondolas filling the middle, a lemonade stall and a street lamp in front of it, and a fence and a bunch of balloons 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 × 10 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 “Halloween night” set; cut them in any card you like. Cut sheet 5, “Fence and balloons”, the slowest: at 1.1 mm it has the thinnest part in the scene, and sheet 5, “Fence and balloons”, fills the most of the view, 32% of it.
| Sheet | What is on it | Narrowest part | Seen from the front |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Moon, stars and fireworks | A whole sheet with holes for: 6 × Plain disc and Firework burst in one piece | over 2 mm | 29% |
| 2. Big top and trees | Rolling ground, with: Circus tent big top and Round tree silhouette | over 2 mm | 7% |
| 3. Big wheel | Flat ground, with: Ferris wheel with twelve gondolas | over 2 mm | 21% |
| 4. Stall and lamp | Rolling ground, with: Lemonade stand with a jug and glasses and Lantern on a lamp post | 1.5 mm | 9% |
| 5. Fence and balloons | A gentle slope, with: 2 × Picket fence with pointed tops, Three balloons and Bunch of grass | 1.1 mm | 32% |
Measured from the files at 8 × 10 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 × 10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 × 10 in | 203.2 × 254 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
The wheel is one piece: two rims, twelve spokes, twelve gondolas and an A-frame stand, with nothing under 2 mm at 8 by 10 inches, so it is easier to cut than it looks. Lift it from the mat slowly, from the stand upwards. The moon, the stars and the firework are holes in the back sheet. In the Halloween night colours the sky is orange and the fair runs from purple to black, which reads as dusk. The stall and the lamp are about 1.5 mm at their finest, and the fence and the balloons at the front about 1.1 mm. Nothing hangs on a thread.
- 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
How is this different from the County fair scene?
This one is upright, with the wheel close up as the subject, in the evening. The County fair scene is a wide one in daylight, with a tent, a barn and farm animals, and a smaller wheel in the distance.
Is there a scene with a carousel?
Yes. The Carousel scene has a carousel with three horses in front of a big top.
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.
County fair 
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Starry night sky 
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