Santa and snowman shadow box SVG
Santa and a snowman waving to each other in a round window, like the picture inside a glass ornament: snow falling from a dark sky, firs at each side, a Christmas tree with a star and baubles, Santa with his arm up in front of it, the snowman in his top hat and scarf waving back, and a pile of presents in the snow at 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.
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 “Snow” set; cut them in any card you like. Cut sheet 2, “Far firs”, the slowest: at 1.1 mm it has the thinnest part in the scene, and sheet 6, “Presents”, fills the most of the view, 42% of it.
| Sheet | What is on it | Narrowest part | Seen from the front |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Falling snow | A whole sheet with holes for: Simple chunky snowflake, Koch snowflake and 7 × Plain disc | 1.4 mm | 24% |
| 2. Far firs | Rolling ground, with: Three Christmas trees in a row and Three pine trees | 1.1 mm | 6% |
| 3. Christmas tree | Rolling ground, with: Christmas tree with bauble cut-outs | over 2 mm | 10% |
| 4. Santa | Rolling ground, with: Santa Claus standing | 1.5 mm | 10% |
| 5. Snowman | Rolling ground, with: Waving snowman | 1.6 mm | 8% |
| 6. Presents | A gentle slope, with: Stack of three presents | 1.4 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 | 20 mm | Yes | Fine detail: sharp blade, slow speed |
| 20 × 20 cm | 200 × 200 mm | 1.1 mm | 20 mm | Yes | Cuts easily |
| 8 × 8 in | 203.2 × 203.2 mm | 1.1 mm | 20 mm | Yes | Cuts easily |
| 23 × 23 cm | 230 × 230 mm | 1.2 mm | 20 mm | Yes | Cuts easily |
| 25 × 25 cm | 250 × 250 mm | 1.4 mm | 20 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
The round window is what makes it read as an ornament: every sheet but the back one has the same circle cut in it. It is a picture for a deep square frame, not a bauble to hang on the tree. Santa is about 9 cm tall at 8 inches and the snowman about 8 cm. The face, the belt and the trim of the coat are cut through, so the paler sheet behind shows in them. Santa is about 1.5 mm at his finest and the snowman about 1.6 mm; the far firs are the fine cutting, at about 1.1 mm. The two snowflakes are holes in the back sheet, and the card between their arms is about 1.4 mm. Everything stands on the snow, so nothing hangs on a thread. In the Snow colours the back sheet is dark blue and the rest run from white to blue grey.
- 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 make it small enough to hang on the tree?
Not as it is. It is six sheets that need a frame to hold them apart, and the smallest square size in the maker is 6 × 6 in. The scene passes the same cutting check at that size, where the round window is about 13.4 cm across and the far firs would be about 0.9 mm. It has not been checked any smaller. For ornaments to hang, see the ornament designs in the library.
Can I cut it by hand?
Yes. Santa, the snowman and the tree are bold shapes, and nothing in the scene is under 1.1 mm at 8 inches. The slow parts are the face and the stripes and dots on the presents. Print each sheet at full size, tape it over the card and cut through both.
How is this different from the other Santa and snowman scenes?
Here the two stand side by side and fill a round window. The Santa at the cabin scene has Santa with his sleigh and a reindeer outside a log cabin, the Snowman family and Snowman in the garden scenes have snowmen without Santa, and the Christmas bauble village scene has a village in its round window.
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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