Family tree shadow box SVG
A broad old tree with five hearts cut through its crown and the sun behind them, far hills with small trees, a bench and a picket fence beneath the tree, and daisies and wild flowers at the front, inside a wide mount with room for names. 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 “Lit from behind” set; cut them in any card you like. Cut sheet 5, “Flowers”, the slowest: at 1 mm it has the thinnest part in the scene, and sheet 5, “Flowers”, fills the most of the view, 40% of it.
| Sheet | What is on it | Narrowest part | Seen from the front |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Sun | A whole sheet with holes for: Plain disc | over 2 mm | 14% |
| 2. Far hills | Rolling ground, with: Round tree silhouette and Three trees | 2 mm | 7% |
| 3. Tree and hearts | Rolling ground, with: Oak tree with a broad crown and 5 × Classic heart | over 2 mm | 25% |
| 4. Bench and fence | Rolling ground, with: Park bench with a slatted back and Picket fence with pointed tops | 1.1 mm | 7% |
| 5. Flowers | A gentle slope, with: Three wildflowers on stems, Grass with flowers and Two daisies in silhouette | 1 mm | 40% |
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 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
Made as a family keepsake. The five hearts are holes in the crown of the tree, and the sun is one large hole in the back sheet behind them, so with a light, or a sheet of gold paper, at the back the hearts glow. The border is wider than usual, 23 mm at 8 by 10 inches, to leave room for names. The tree is a bold shape with nothing under 2 mm, even between the hearts. The bench and the fence are about 1.1 mm and the flowers at the front about 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
Where do the names go?
On the mount, which is the border of the front sheet: write them with a pen, or cut them from the lettering in the library and glue them on. For one name to each heart, write each on a slip of paper and glue it behind its hole.
Can I have more hearts, one for each of us?
Yes. Select a heart in the maker, choose Copy and move the copy to a new place in the crown. Keep each heart inside the crown and clear of the next. Remove takes one away.
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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