Christmas tree by the window shadow box SVG
A Christmas tree indoors beside a window on a winter evening: the moon and stars over a snowy hill with firs, the wall with its four panes, a rocking chair, the tree with its star and strings of lights, and a garland across the top with a cat and presents at the front. 6 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.
6 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 6 sheets
Sheet 1 is the back and sheet 6 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 “Forest green” set; cut them in any card you like. Cut sheet 2, “Snowy hill and firs”, the slowest: at 0.8 mm it has the thinnest part in the scene, and sheet 6, “Garland, presents and cat”, fills the most of the view, 35% of it.
| Sheet | What is on it | Narrowest part | Seen from the front |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Winter sky | A whole sheet with holes for: 6 × Plain disc | over 2 mm | 12% |
| 2. Snowy hill and firs | Rolling ground, with: Pine forest on a hill and Classic pine tree | 0.8 mm | 5% |
| 3. Wall and window | Flat ground, with: 4 × Rounded rectangle | over 2 mm | 27% |
| 4. Rocking chair | Flat ground, with: Retirement rocking chair | over 2 mm | 5% |
| 5. Christmas tree | Flat ground, with: Christmas tree with a string of lights | over 2 mm | 15% |
| 6. Garland, presents and cat | Flat ground, with: Christmas pine garland with bows, Sitting black cat, Stack of three presents and Gift box with a lid and bow | 1.6 mm | 35% |
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 | 0.8 mm | 20 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
The wall is a whole sheet with four panes cut out of it, so the moon and the snowy hill on the two sheets behind show through as the view from the window. The tree stands in front of the wall on a sheet of its own, about 16 cm tall at 8 by 10 inches, with its lights cut through as round holes and nothing under 2 mm. The wall and the rocking chair have nothing under 2 mm either. The far firs on the second sheet are the fine cutting, at about 0.8 mm, and the presents at the front are about 1.6 mm. The garland is joined to the frame at both ends, so nothing hangs on a thread. Cut it in greens as shown, or cut the wall in cream and the tree in dark green.
- Cut all 6 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 6.
- 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 6 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 other Christmas tree scenes?
This one is indoors: a tree in a room beside a window, with a rocking chair and a cat. The Christmas tree scene has a tree out of doors under an arch of stars with a nutcracker beside it, and the Christmas tree in the snow scene has a tree in a wood with deer round it.
Is it a tree that stands up?
No. It is a flat picture of a Christmas tree in six sheets, for a deep frame. Nothing is folded or slotted together.
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.
Christmas tree in the snow 
Christmas decorations 
Stable and angel 
Santa over the rooftops 
Gingerbread cottage 
Winter moonrise