Free shadow box template

Pumpkin patch shadow box SVG

A pumpkin patch at harvest time: a low sun over far hills, a scarecrow with crows on his arms standing in the corn, a rail fence, and pumpkins of every shape piled up to 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.

Pumpkin patch shadow box: 6 layered sheets seen from the front

Download the SVG files

6 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 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 “Autumn” set; cut them in any card you like. Cut sheet 6, “Front row”, the slowest: at 0.7 mm it has the thinnest part in the scene, and sheet 6, “Front row”, fills the most of the view, 30% of it.

Sheet	What is on it	Narrowest part	Seen from the front
1. Low sun	A whole sheet with holes for: Plain disc	over 2 mm	25%
2. Far hills	Rolling ground, with: 2 × Round tree silhouette and Oak tree with a broad crown	over 2 mm	5%
3. Corn	Rolling ground, with: 2 × Wheat field border	0.8 mm	5%
4. Scarecrow	Rolling ground, with: Scarecrow silhouette with two crows and 2 × Horse fence with crossed rails	1.7 mm	13%
5. Pumpkins	Rolling ground, with: Three stacked pumpkins, Three pumpkins in a row and Bare tree with even branches	1.1 mm	14%
6. Front row	A gentle slope, with: Classic round pumpkin, Pumpkin with vine and leaf, Tall pumpkin and Bunch of grass	0.7 mm	30%

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	0.5 mm	20 mm	Yes	Too fine: choose a larger size
20 × 20 cm	200 × 200 mm	0.7 mm	20 mm	Yes	Fine detail: sharp blade, slow speed
8 × 8 in	203.2 × 203.2 mm	0.7 mm	20 mm	Yes	Fine detail: sharp blade, slow speed
23 × 23 cm	230 × 230 mm	0.8 mm	20 mm	Yes	Fine detail: sharp blade, slow speed
25 × 25 cm	250 × 250 mm	0.9 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

In oranges and browns it needs no light behind it. The finest cutting is in the ears of corn and the curled tendril of the front pumpkin; the scarecrow and the rest of the pumpkins are sturdy shapes that lift off the mat cleanly.

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

Can I turn the pumpkins into jack-o-lanterns?

Yes. Select a pumpkin in the maker and choose Swap: the carved pumpkin is with the other pumpkins under Flowers and plants. Its face is cut through, so a light behind shows in it.

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.

More shadow box scenes

All scenes and the scene maker