Birthday cake shadow box SVG
A birthday cake with its three candles lit, balloons floating up behind it, a pile of wrapped presents on one side, a big bunch of balloons on the other and more presents 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 “Sunset” set; cut them in any card you like. Cut sheet 2, “Balloons”, the slowest: at 1.5 mm it has the thinnest part in the scene, and sheet 5, “More presents”, fills the most of the view, 25% of it.
| Sheet | What is on it | Narrowest part | Seen from the front |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Sparkles | A whole sheet with holes for: 3 × Four-pointed sparkle and 9 × Plain disc | over 2 mm | 36% |
| 2. Balloons | Rolling ground, with: 3 × Balloon with a string | 1.5 mm | 7% |
| 3. Cake | Flat ground, with: Birthday cake with three candles | 1.9 mm | 14% |
| 4. Presents and balloons | Flat ground, with: Stack of three presents and Bunch of balloons | 1.6 mm | 16% |
| 5. More presents | Flat ground, with: Gift box with a lid and bow and Square present tied with ribbon | 2 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 | 1.1 mm | 17 mm | Yes | Cuts easily |
| 20 × 20 cm | 200 × 200 mm | 1.5 mm | 17 mm | Yes | Cuts easily |
| 8 × 8 in | 203.2 × 203.2 mm | 1.5 mm | 17 mm | Yes | Cuts easily |
| 23 × 23 cm | 230 × 230 mm | 1.7 mm | 17 mm | Yes | Cuts easily |
| 25 × 25 cm | 250 × 250 mm | 1.8 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 bright card it is a birthday card that stays up all year; in white card with a light behind, the sparkles in the back sheet glow. It is an easy first box: nothing in it is under 1.5 mm at 8 inches, and the thinnest card is in the strings of the balloons.
- 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 change the number of candles?
The cake is one part with three candles. For an age, cut the numbers from the lettering in the library and glue them to the front of the cake or to the bottom border.
How do the single balloons stay up?
Each hangs from the top of its sheet on a thread of card 1.6 mm wide. The big bunch needs none: its strings run down to the table it stands on.
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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