Sleigh ride shadow box SVG
A horse pulling a sleigh along the crest of a hill against the moon while the snow falls, with fir woods on either side, a church and cottages in the valley below, and a snowman, a street lamp and tall firs 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 10 × 8 in, landscape, 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 3, “Firs”, the slowest: at 0.8 mm it has the thinnest part in the scene, and sheet 6, “Snow drift”, fills the most of the view, 21% of it.
| Sheet | What is on it | Narrowest part | Seen from the front |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Moon and falling snow | A whole sheet with holes for: 13 × Plain disc | over 2 mm | 30% |
| 2. Sleigh on the hill | Rolling ground, with: One horse open sleigh | 1.5 mm | 11% |
| 3. Firs | Rolling ground, with: Pine forest on a hill and Three pine trees | 0.8 mm | 7% |
| 4. Church and cottages | Rolling ground, with: Church with a steeple, Cute house with a scalloped roof, Log cabin house in the pines and Simple triangle Christmas tree | 0.8 mm | 15% |
| 5. Snowman and firs | A gentle slope, with: Tall pine tree, Waving snowman, Lantern on a lamp post and Classic three-tier Christmas tree | 0.9 mm | 12% |
| 6. Snow drift | A gentle slope, with: Bunny rabbit sitting up, Bunch of grass and Simple pine tree | 1.6 mm | 21% |
Measured from the files at 10 × 8 in, landscape. 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 10 × 8 in, landscape. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 × 8 in, landscape | 254 × 203.2 mm | 0.8 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
A wide scene for a landscape frame. In the Snow colours the back sheet is dark blue, so the sleigh and the horse on the second sheet show white against the night sky. The reins and the legs of the horse are sturdier than they look, at 1.6 mm at 10 by 8 inches. The firs, the cottage windows and the arms of the snowman are the fine cutting, at about 0.8 mm.
- 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:
- One horse open sleigh
- Pine forest on a hill
- Three pine trees
- Church with a steeple
- Cute house with a scalloped roof
- Log cabin house in the pines
- Simple triangle Christmas tree
- Tall pine tree
- Waving snowman
- Lantern on a lamp post
- Classic three-tier Christmas tree
- Bunny rabbit sitting up
- Bunch of grass
- Simple pine tree
Questions
Is it only for Christmas?
No. Nothing in it says Christmas, so it can stay up all winter. For Santa and his reindeer, see the Santa’s sleigh scene.
How is the snow made?
Every flake is a small hole in the back sheet. Put a light, or a sheet of white paper, behind it and the snow shows through the whole box.
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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