Hot air balloons shadow box SVG
Three hot air balloons drifting over the hills in the morning: a small one far off, a striped one over a cottage and a windmill, and a large one covered in stars close by, above a meadow of wildflowers. 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 “Blue dusk” set; cut them in any card you like. Cut sheet 2, “Far hills and balloon”, the slowest: at 0.8 mm it has the thinnest part in the scene, and sheet 5, “Meadow”, fills the most of the view, 29% of it.
| Sheet | What is on it | Narrowest part | Seen from the front |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Sun and clouds | A whole sheet with holes for: Plain disc, Fluffy cloud and Long flat cloud | over 2 mm | 31% |
| 2. Far hills and balloon | Rolling ground, with: Hot air balloon silhouette, Round tree silhouette and Oak tree with a broad crown | 0.8 mm | 7% |
| 3. Striped balloon | Rolling ground, with: Hot air balloon with zigzag bands, Dutch windmill and Cute house with a scalloped roof | 0.8 mm | 12% |
| 4. Star balloon | Rolling ground, with: Hot air balloon with stars and Oak tree with a broad crown | 1.8 mm | 19% |
| 5. Meadow | A gentle slope, with: Three wildflowers on stems, Grass with flowers and Tulip border | 0.8 mm | 29% |
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 | 17 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
Give each balloon its own colour: they are on three different sheets, so each can be a different card. The ropes between each balloon and its basket are the thin parts, under 1 mm on the smallest balloon, so cut slowly and lift each sheet from the basket upwards.
- 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
What holds the balloons up?
Each hangs from the top of its sheet on a thread of card 1.6 mm wide. Against a pale sky you can leave the threads as they are, or colour them with a pencil to match the sheet behind.
Can I add more balloons?
Yes. In the maker choose Add, then Vehicles: there are four balloon designs. Put each new one on a different sheet from its neighbours so that they overlap with depth.
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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