Winter cardinal shadow box SVG
A cardinal on a snowy bank while the snow falls, with a second bird flying in, bare birches and a wood of firs behind it, and boughs of pine with their cones reaching in from the top corners. 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 “Snow” set; cut them in any card you like. Cut sheet 1, “Falling snow”, the slowest: at 0.8 mm it has the thinnest part in the scene, and sheet 5, “Pine boughs and drift”, fills the most of the view, 29% 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, Snow star, Koch snowflake and 12 × Plain disc | 0.8 mm | 30% |
| 2. Far firs | Rolling ground, with: Pine forest on a hill, Three pine trees and Simple pine tree | 0.8 mm | 9% |
| 3. Birches | Rolling ground, with: Birch tree silhouette and Birch tree in winter | 1.7 mm | 16% |
| 4. Cardinals | Rolling ground, with: Cardinal bird and Flying cardinal | 1.3 mm | 15% |
| 5. Pine boughs and drift | A gentle slope, with: 2 × Pine branch with two cones, Short wide pine tree and Bunch of grass | 0.8 mm | 29% |
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
Cut the fourth sheet, with the two birds, in red card and the rest in white and it needs no other colour. The pine boughs at the top are part of the front sheet and grow in from the frame, so only the flying bird hangs on a thread. The far firs and the pine needles are the fine cutting, at about 0.8 mm at 8 inches.
- 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
Does it suit a memorial?
Yes. Many people make a cardinal scene in memory of someone. Write the name and the dates on the bottom border, or on the back sheet before you close the frame.
How is the snow made?
Every flake is a 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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