Stable and angel shadow box SVG
The stable at Bethlehem seen through an arched window: a great star and small ones, the little town and a palm on the far hill, an angel in the sky, the stable with the holy family inside and a star on its roof, a cow and sheep in front of it, and a lamb in the grass 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 × 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 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 hill and town”, the slowest: at 0.8 mm it has the thinnest part in the scene, and sheet 6, “Lamb and grass”, fills the most of the view, 34% of it.
| Sheet | What is on it | Narrowest part | Seen from the front |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Star | A whole sheet with holes for: North star and 8 × Plain disc | over 2 mm | 23% |
| 2. Far hill and town | Rolling ground, with: Nativity town of Bethlehem and Straight palm tree silhouette | 0.8 mm | 7% |
| 3. Angel | Rolling ground, with: Standing angel with hands together and Palm tree with coconuts | 1.3 mm | 10% |
| 4. Stable | Rolling ground, with: Simple nativity for children | over 2 mm | 14% |
| 5. Cow and sheep | Rolling ground, with: Dairy cow with patches and Sheep ewe and lamb | 0.8 mm | 12% |
| 6. Lamb and grass | A gentle slope, with: Lamb standing, a young sheep and 2 × Bunch of grass | 0.9 mm | 34% |
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 | 0.8 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
The stable is a bold shape with a star on its roof and the three figures inside, and it has nothing under 2 mm at 8 by 10 inches, so it suits a first nativity. The angel hangs from the top of its sheet on one thread of card about 2 mm wide. The far town on the second sheet and the cow and sheep on the fifth are the fine cutting, at about 0.8 mm, and the lamb and grass at the front are about 0.9 mm. The great star is a hole in the back sheet: put a light, or a sheet of gold paper, behind it. In the Snow colours the back sheet is dark blue, so it reads as a night sky. The arched window is cut in every sheet but the back one.
- 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
How is this different from the Nativity scene?
This one is upright with an arched window and shows the stable close up, with an angel above it and a cow and sheep in front. The Nativity scene is square, with shepherds on one side and the three kings on the other, and the Three kings scene is a wide one of the kings crossing the desert.
Is it a stable that stands up?
No. It is a flat picture in six layered sheets, for a deep frame. For the figures to cut on their own, see the nativity designs in the library, which include the stable used here.
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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