Tropical hammock shadow box SVG
A hammock slung between two palms on a tropical shore, with a mountain island and a sail on the horizon behind it, a sun lounger and a leaning palm on the sand and a cocktail, a shell and a starfish at the front. 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 “Forest green” set; cut them in any card you like. Cut sheet 5, “Sand and shells”, the slowest: at 0.8 mm it has the thinnest part in the scene, and sheet 5, “Sand and shells”, fills the most of the view, 25% of it.
| Sheet | What is on it | Narrowest part | Seen from the front |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Sun | A whole sheet with holes for: Plain disc | over 2 mm | 25% |
| 2. Far island and sail | Waves, with: Tropical islands with a mountain and Simple sail boat for children | 1 mm | 15% |
| 3. Hammock | Waves, with: Island with a hammock between two palms | over 2 mm | 21% |
| 4. Lounger and palm | A gentle slope, with: Beach lounge chair with a sun hat and Leaning palm tree | 1 mm | 12% |
| 5. Sand and shells | A gentle slope, with: Cocktails silhouette of two glasses, Scallop seashell, Starfish silhouette and Bunch of grass | 0.8 mm | 25% |
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 | 0.6 mm | 17 mm | Yes | Fine detail: sharp blade, slow speed |
| 20 × 20 cm | 200 × 200 mm | 0.8 mm | 17 mm | Yes | Fine detail: sharp blade, slow speed |
| 8 × 8 in | 203.2 × 203.2 mm | 0.8 mm | 17 mm | Yes | Fine detail: sharp blade, slow speed |
| 23 × 23 cm | 230 × 230 mm | 0.9 mm | 17 mm | Yes | Fine detail: sharp blade, slow speed |
| 25 × 25 cm | 250 × 250 mm | 1 mm | 17 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
Made to remember a holiday: leave the front sheet out and there is room along the bottom of the frame for sand, shells or a folded boarding pass. The hammock and its two palms are one sturdy part, over 2 mm everywhere at 8 inches, and nothing hangs on a thread. The straw of the cocktail and the far sailing boat are the finest cutting, at about 0.8 to 1 mm.
- 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:
Questions
Can I add the place and the year?
Not inside the maker yet. Cut them from the lettering in the library and glue them to the bottom border, or write them on the back sheet beside the sun.
How do I fit keepsakes in?
Leave out the fifth sheet. The fourth is then the front, and the space where the fifth stood holds a thin layer of sand and a few small shells along the bottom of the frame.
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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