You can easily make a beautiful faux stained glass shadow box using a Cricut machine and cardstock. With only a few craft supplies, you’ll have a beautiful 3D decor piece!

I have been seeing these beautiful stained glass cardstock shadow box projects popping up in my social media feeds and I knew I needed to make a few.

I’m so glad I finally did! They are so easy and come out stunning and a different look than the flower shadow box.

There are so many different layered SVG cut files you can find to make a style that fits your house or they would also make perfect hostess gifts or any gifts really.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links from Shareasale, Cricut, Awin, CreativeFabrica, and Amazon.com. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my links (purple text). As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Which Cricut Machine Can Make a Shadow Box?

Since every Cricut cutting machine can cut cardstock, you can use any of the electronic cutting machines to make a shadow box.

If you don’t have one yet, make sure to check out my Cricut comparison post, to find the machine that is perfect for you.

The Cricut Maker, Cricut Maker 3, Cricut Explore Air 2, Cricut Explore 3, and the Cricut Joy Xtra would be perfect for this Cricut project. The Cricut Joy can be used but would limit the size of your shadow box or you would have to slice the image in half and tape halves together.

Where to Find Stained Glass Layered SVG Files

You all know I love Creative Fabrica and get the majority of my cut files there, but I actually ended up purchasing these particular SVG files from Etsy.

But if you have a CF subscription like I do, make sure to check out these first to see if you find one you love.

And I have a deal for you to try them out if you don’t!

Get 10 Credits for Free – Once you download the 10th credit or after a month, you’ll be charged the monthly subscription fee of $9. So if you don’t want to pay at all only download 9, then cancel your subscription. Or pay the $9 for a month and download as much stuff as you want during that month, and then cancel before the month is over! That’s what I did before I just decided to buy the full year since I use them so much!!
Or Get a full year for cheaper!

Etsy is another site that has a great selection of stained glass shadow box SVG files and that’s where I got this hummingbird 3D SVG and cute owl cut file.

Cricut Access also has some files if you are a subscriber. Just search “stained glass shadow box”. There are always new files being added by designers.

Tips for Intricate Cuts with a Cricut

There are a few things you want to keep in mind to get the best intricate cuts with your Cricut machine.

Use a good quality cardstock of at least 80lbs. For this shadow box, I used a combination of Encore Cardstock (12×12 Cardstock Shop has a beautiful cardstock made just for Cricut crafters!) and Cricut cardstock. Those are my go to and always cut amazingly!
Use a new or sticky mat. Use a brayer to ensure the cardstock is nice and stuck to the green cutting mat.
Use a new or very sharp fine point blade. I like to stick it in foil every few cuts to make sure it’s nice and clean!

How to Make Stained Glass Shadow Box with Cricut

Yield: 1 3D shadow box

Cut Time: 30 minutes

Active Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Estimated Cost: Under $5

Now, let's get to crafting! The cutting of all the layers takes some time but putting everything together is quick!

There is a full YouTube video at the bottom to watch all of these step by step instructions if that's easier for you.

Materials

Tools

Instructions

Download stained glass shadow box SVG file and upload into Cricut Design Space. Hopefully the file you picked has all the layers in one SVG file so you don't have to upload them one at a time. Check the size of your image and size to fit your shadow box (either to fit without the insert or with it).
Make sure you resize all the layers together. Once the project is the size you want (I have an 8x8 inch shadow box, so I'm leaving my 8x8), you can ungroup the file and see all the layers if you want to figure out the colors you want to use.
The files I am using also come with instructions and recommended colors of cardstock to use, so I just used that to pick out each color I was going to use.
Now we are going to follow all of the on screen prompts within Cricut Design Space and cut out each layer. Design Space won't necessarily cut them in the order, so make sure you are paying attention to the layer and color before loading your mat. Each layer has a number in the bottom right corner. If you are doing the exact same colors, just go by the colors in CDS.
Place the cardstock on a sticky mat, use a brayer to get it nice and stuck, load, and cut.
When your machine stops, unload the mat. To prevent curling, flip your mat over and remove the mat from the cardstock. Pick out any pieces that didn't stay on your mat.
Repeat for each layer.
Once all of the layers are cut, place them in order based on the number in the lower right hand corner.
Some files will go in ascending order and some will go in descending. The top layer won't have a number on it, since we don't want to see a number!
The next step is to assemble! I like to flip the pile over and lay the bottom layer down first. Flip the second to last layer over and apply glue or double sided adhesive. Flip over and line up exactly over the bottom layer. Use a brayer or your hands to push all parts down.
Keep repeating for each layer. I only apply the glue around the edges and on a few spots in the middle.
You shouldn't be able to see the parts of the image that are directly under each other. You'll only see certain parts of each color layer.
Add layer after layer until the top layer is on.
Remove the back off your shadow box. If you sized the image to fit the entire frame, you'll want to remove the inside box edge. If you made the size about 1/2 inch smaller than your shadow box to account for the edge insert, leave it in.
Flip the layered stained glass image over and place it in the shadow box. Place the back on and secure. Enjoy your new beautiful 3D layered decor!