Statue of Liberty fireworks shadow box SVG
The Statue of Liberty with fireworks bursting over the harbour: three fireworks and a few stars in a dark sky, the skyline of the city, the statue on her island with her torch raised, a schooner and a small sailing boat on the water, and a flag on the shore 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 × 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 “Snow” set; cut them in any card you like. Cut sheet 4, “Boats”, the slowest: at 0.9 mm it has the thinnest part in the scene, and sheet 5, “Flag on the shore”, fills the most of the view, 30% of it.
| Sheet | What is on it | Narrowest part | Seen from the front |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Fireworks | A whole sheet with holes for: 2 × Firework burst in one piece, Willow firework with falling trails and 4 × Plain disc | over 2 mm | 32% |
| 2. City | Flat ground, with: Low skyline border | over 2 mm | 10% |
| 3. Statue | Rolling ground, with: Statue of Liberty on her pedestal | over 2 mm | 11% |
| 4. Boats | Waves, with: Schooner sailboat with two masts and Sailboat under full sail | 0.9 mm | 12% |
| 5. Flag on the shore | A gentle slope, with: Flagpole with a small flag, Bunch of grass and Grass silhouette | over 2 mm | 30% |
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 | 0.9 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
The statue is about 14 cm high at 8 by 10 inches and stands above the skyline, so the torch and the crown show against the dark sky. The fireworks are cut out of the back sheet: put white, yellow or gold card behind it, or a light, and they glow. The spokes of the fireworks are cut-outs, not strips of card, so the back sheet stays strong. The statue and the city are sturdy, with nothing finer than 2 mm. The two boats are the fine cutting, at about 0.9 mm, and the blades of grass on the front sheet taper to about 0.6 mm. In the Snow colours as shown the sky is dark blue and the rest white to blue grey. For red, white and blue, cut the flag sheet in red card.
- 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
Is it a scene for the Fourth of July?
Yes. Fireworks over the harbour with the flag flying is how the day ends in New York, and the scene suits a mantel or a table for the holiday. The flag is a plain waving flag on a pole: the stars and stripes are too fine to cut at this size, so cut the sheet in red or blue card or add them with a pen.
Can I light the fireworks?
Yes. Fix a short string of battery LED micro lights behind the back sheet, with a sheet of tracing paper between the lights and the card to spread the glow. Never use a candle or a mains bulb: the box is card.
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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