Paper flowers shadow box SVG
Big flowers filling the frame in four rows, one behind another: a dahlia, a peony and a rosette at the top, a rose and a gerbera below them, then a peony, a dahlia and a double flower, and a rosette and a peony at the front with a cosmos, a daisy and a sprig of leaves beside them. 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 “Sunset” set; cut them in any card you like. Cut sheet 5, “Front row”, the slowest: at 1 mm it has the thinnest part in the scene, and sheet 5, “Front row”, fills the most of the view, 42% of it.
| Sheet | What is on it | Narrowest part | Seen from the front |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Backing | A whole sheet | over 2 mm | 7% |
| 2. Top row | Rolling ground, with: Dahlia flower with pointed tiers, Peony flower seen from above and Rosette flower in three tiers | 1.3 mm | 16% |
| 3. Rose and gerbera | Rolling ground, with: Open rose seen from above, Gerbera daisy, Rose leaves, a sprig of three and Rose leaf with five leaflets | 1.1 mm | 12% |
| 4. Peony, dahlia and double flower | Rolling ground, with: Simple peony with fifteen petals, Dahlia flower with pointed tiers and Double flower with sixteen petals | 1.4 mm | 23% |
| 5. Front row | A gentle slope, with: Rosette flower in three tiers, Peony flower seen from above, Cosmos flower with eight toothed petals, Classic daisy with sixteen petals and Rose leaf with five leaflets | 1 mm | 42% |
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 | 0.8 mm | 17 mm | Yes | Fine detail: sharp blade, slow speed |
| 20 × 20 cm | 200 × 200 mm | 1 mm | 17 mm | Yes | Fine detail: sharp blade, slow speed |
| 8 × 8 in | 203.2 × 203.2 mm | 1 mm | 17 mm | Yes | Cuts easily |
| 23 × 23 cm | 230 × 230 mm | 1.1 mm | 17 mm | Yes | Cuts easily |
| 25 × 25 cm | 250 × 250 mm | 1.2 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
These are flat flowers cut from card, each one a single piece with its petals drawn by slits. The depth comes from the four sheets standing one behind another: they are not rolled or folded paper flowers. Each large bloom is 6 to 8 cm across at 8 inches, and each row covers the feet of the row behind it. The gerbera on the third sheet is about 1.1 mm at its finest and the front row about 1 mm; the other two rows are 1.3 mm or more. In the Sunset colours the rows run from peach to plum. For a brighter one, give each sheet a colour of its own. 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:
- Dahlia flower with pointed tiers
- Peony flower seen from above
- Rosette flower in three tiers
- Open rose seen from above
- Gerbera daisy
- Rose leaves, a sprig of three
- Rose leaf with five leaflets
- Simple peony with fifteen petals
- Double flower with sixteen petals
- Cosmos flower with eight toothed petals
- Classic daisy with sixteen petals
Questions
Are these 3D rolled paper flowers?
No. It is a layered picture of flowers: flat blooms on four sheets, set one behind another in a deep frame. For flowers to roll from a spiral or build up petal by petal, see the rolled flower and paper flower templates in the library.
Can I change the flowers?
Yes. Select one in the maker and choose Swap: dahlias, peonies, roses, daisies and sunflowers are under Flowers and plants. Keep each bloom touching the ground band of its sheet or the frame, so that the sheet stays in one piece.
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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