Christmas market shadow box SVG
A Christmas market in the square in front of the cathedral: the two spires against a sky of stars, a carousel and a tall tree with its star, two market stalls, one under a striped awning and one under a string of flags, and a street lamp, a snowman and a pile of 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 “Lit from behind” set; cut them in any card you like. Cut sheet 4, “Stalls”, the slowest: at 0.9 mm it has the thinnest part in the scene, and sheet 5, “Lamp and snowman”, fills the most of the view, 28% of it.
| Sheet | What is on it | Narrowest part | Seen from the front |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Moon and stars | A whole sheet with holes for: Crescent moon and 8 × Plain disc | over 2 mm | 28% |
| 2. Cathedral | Flat ground, with: Cathedral church with two towers and 2 × Village row of five houses | 1 mm | 14% |
| 3. Tree and carousel | Rolling ground, with: Carousel silhouette and Christmas tree with a star on top | over 2 mm | 15% |
| 4. Stalls | Flat ground, with: Market stall storefront with fruit and vegetables and Lemonade stand with a jug and glasses | 0.9 mm | 14% |
| 5. Lamp and snowman | A gentle slope, with: Lantern on a lamp post, Cute little snowman and Stack of three presents | 0.9 mm | 28% |
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 warm Lit from behind colours every window of the cathedral and every gap in the stalls glows like a lamp. This is the busiest scene to cut: the cathedral windows, the stalls and the lamp post are all close to 1 mm at 8 inches, so cut every sheet but the back one slowly, with a fresh blade, and do not make it smaller than 8 inches.
- 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 make it simpler to cut?
Yes. In the maker, swap the cathedral for the plain church silhouette and remove the carousel. The tree, the stalls and the lamp still make a market.
What do the stalls sell?
Whatever you like. One is a covered stall with crates and the other a cart under a string of flags, and neither has any lettering, so you can write a sign of your own on the awning.
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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