Gingerbread house shadow box SVG
A gingerbread house with its iced roof and heart, two gingerbread people standing either side of the path, one of them waving, fir trees on the hill behind and candy canes and a present 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 “Autumn” set; cut them in any card you like. Cut sheet 2, “Far trees”, the slowest: at 1.2 mm it has the thinnest part in the scene, and sheet 5, “Candy canes”, fills the most of the view, 25% 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 7 × Plain disc | over 2 mm | 32% |
| 2. Far trees | Rolling ground, with: Three Christmas trees in a row, Scalloped Christmas tree and Simple triangle Christmas tree | 1.2 mm | 8% |
| 3. Gingerbread house | Rolling ground, with: Gingerbread house | over 2 mm | 19% |
| 4. Gingerbread people | Rolling ground, with: Classic gingerbread man and Waving gingerbread man | 1.6 mm | 14% |
| 5. Candy canes | A gentle slope, with: 2 × Solid candy cane and Square present tied with ribbon | 1.7 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 | 0.9 mm | 17 mm | Yes | Fine detail: sharp blade, slow speed |
| 20 × 20 cm | 200 × 200 mm | 1.2 mm | 17 mm | Yes | Cuts easily |
| 8 × 8 in | 203.2 × 203.2 mm | 1.2 mm | 17 mm | Yes | Cuts easily |
| 23 × 23 cm | 230 × 230 mm | 1.4 mm | 17 mm | Yes | Cuts easily |
| 25 × 25 cm | 250 × 250 mm | 1.5 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
Cut it in browns with a cream back sheet and it looks baked. The icing on the roof, the window panes and the buttons are all holes, so back the house and the two figures with white paper before you stack them and the icing shows in white. Nothing in the box is under 1.2 mm at 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 without a cutting machine?
The house has many small holes for the icing, which are slow by hand. The two figures, the trees and the candy canes cut easily with a craft knife, so cut those by hand and simplify the house.
Can I add more gingerbread people?
Yes. There are two under Figures in the maker, one standing and one waving. Add as many as there are in your family and flip some to face the other way.
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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