Gingerbread cottage shadow box SVG
A gingerbread cottage in a wood of lollipops: a crescent moon and stars, far fir trees, three lollipops as tall as trees, the cottage with its scalloped roof and a small lollipop at each side of the door, a gingerbread family of four with two gumdrops, and candy canes, a gumdrop and a present 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 10 × 8 in, landscape, 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 “Lit from behind” set; cut them in any card you like. Cut sheet 5, “Gingerbread family”, the slowest: at 0.8 mm it has the thinnest part in the scene, and sheet 6, “Candy canes and gumdrop”, fills the most of the view, 23% 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. Far firs | Rolling ground, with: Three Christmas trees in a row, Scalloped Christmas tree and Simple triangle Christmas tree | 1.1 mm | 7% |
| 3. Lollipop trees | Rolling ground, with: 3 × Swirl lollipop on a stick | 1.4 mm | 15% |
| 4. Gingerbread cottage | Rolling ground, with: Simple gingerbread house with lollipops | 2 mm | 16% |
| 5. Gingerbread family | Rolling ground, with: Gingerbread family holding hands and 2 × Gumdrop with sugar | 0.8 mm | 11% |
| 6. Candy canes and gumdrop | A gentle slope, with: 2 × Solid candy cane, Gumdrop with sugar and Square present tied with ribbon | 0.9 mm | 23% |
Measured from the files at 10 × 8 in, landscape. 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 10 × 8 in, landscape. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 × 8 in, landscape | 254 × 203.2 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 cottage is about 10 cm tall at 10 by 8 inches, with thick scallops of icing on its roof, a round window in the gable and a small lollipop at each side of the door, and it is 2 mm at its finest. The three big lollipops have their swirls cut through and are about 1.4 mm. The family of four is one piece, joined hand to hand, and with its faces and icing it is the fine cutting, at about 0.8 mm. The candy canes and the gumdrop at the front are about 0.9 mm. In the Lit from behind colours it runs from cream to dark brown, like gingerbread and icing. Nothing hangs on a thread.
- 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
Is it a house to fold and stand up?
No. It is a flat picture of a gingerbread house in six layered sheets, for a deep frame. Nothing is folded or glued into a box.
How is this different from the Gingerbread house scene?
This one is wide, with a cottage in a wood of lollipops and a family of four beside it. The Gingerbread house scene is square, with a taller house under an iced roof and two gingerbread people at the path.
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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