I have seen some beautiful 3D paper and wood projects made with SVGs in the past year. Shadow boxes, paper sculptures, and home decor — all cut with a digital cutting machine. I decided to try out one of the Creative Fabrica 3D SVGs in their new collection and tell you all about it!
CREATIVE FABRICA 3D SVGS
WHAT ARE 3D SVGS?
I have shared layered SVGs here on the blog, but I haven’t ventured into the world of 3D SVGs. 3D SVGs allow you to create three-dimensional projects with your digital cutting machine or laser cutter. You can create freestanding paper sculptures, dimensional home decor pieces, and more!
Creative Fabrica now has a large collection of 3D SVGs that you can download with your All-Access subscription. I chose one of their SVGs to see how well it would cut with my Cricut machine and how difficult it would be to put it together.
HOW DO 3D SVGS WORK?
Three-dimensional SVG designs will contain several components that are cut out from flat materials (cardstock, acrylic, craft wood, etc.). These flat pieces then fit together to create a 3D final project. The SVG that I chose required some folding to create the dimensionality of the card.
WHAT DO YOU NEED TO MAKE A PROJECT WITH A 3D SVG?
To create a project with a 3D SVG, you will need the SVG, cutting machine software that uses SVG files, a cutting machine to cut the SVG out, and cuttable materials. Depending on the project and materials you are using, you may also need glue, tape, or another adhesive.
Here are a few cutting tools that use SVG files:
- Cricut
- Silhouette
- ScanNCut
- Sizzix
- Glowforger
- XTool
CREATIVE FABRICA 3D SVG REVIEW
I chose an adorable paper sunroom card from the Creative Fabrica collection. The zip file included two versions of the SVG. One was meant for people who have access to a Cricut with a scoring tool, so the Cricut can score the fold lines and cut out all the individual pieces. The other SVG cuts perforations on the fold lines, so you can still make the card even if you don’t have a scoring tool. The zip file also included a two-page PDF with very clear instructions for assembling the card.
CUTTING THE SVG
The SVG uploaded into Cricut Design Space very easily. All the pieces were laid out nicely, and they were already the correct size to fit into a 5″x7″ envelope. I followed the instructions to weld together certain pieces and score lines so my Maker would cut everything out correctly. I did not bother to change the color of the elements of the SVG to match the cardstock I was using, but it would have been very easy to do so.
I set my Maker to cut cardstock for intricate cuts, and each piece cut so well! There was one monstera leaf that snagged a little but I was very impressed with how well everything cut. It did take quite a while to process all 10 mats though! More on that later.
ASSEMBLING THE SVG
Be sure to read through the instructions before starting to assemble your 3D project. Even though the instructions that came with my SVG didn’t have step-out directions, it was not hard at all to figure out what pieces went where. I like assembling each of the three layers of this project because it was like a colorful puzzle!
Adding the three layers together to create the 3D finished project was a little tricky, mostly because I didn’t read the directions well before jumping in. Once I read them, it was quite easy.
HOW LONG DID THE 3D CARD TAKE TO MAKE?
This was not a quick project but it can definitely be done in one afternoon. It took my Cricut Maker about an hour to cut all 10 mats. I used two mats to save time. While I unloaded and weeded one mat, I would let the next one run. I keep all the weeded pieces in a large envelope so I didn’t lose any of them. Some of them are pretty small, so that was a definite possibility.
It took me about 30 minutes to assemble the 3D card. I laid all the pieces for each layer out and glued them together with clear craft glue. I used Cricut tweezers to place the tiniest pieces.
The glue took about 30 more minutes to dry, so the whole project took about 2 1/2 hours from downloading the SVG to having a finished card.
WOULD I USE A CREATIVE FABRICA 3D SVG AGAIN?
Absolutely! I am already searching for the next one I want to try out. Since I have the CF All-Access subscription, I can download as many as I want whenever I want!
HOW DO I GET A CREATIVE FABRICA 3D SVG?
Creative Fabrica will occasionally offer 3D SVGs as freebies, but otherwise, you will need to have an All-Access subscription to download these SVGs as they are not available for single-sale purchase. As luck would have it, I have a special offer for Mad in Crafts readers!
WHAT ELSE DO YOU GET WITH THE ALL-ACCESS SUBSCRIPTION?
Do you love the idea of having a huge resource of commercial-license fonts, graphics, SVGs, 3D SVGs, and more at your fingertips? Then All-Access might be for you. For one monthly rate, you have unlimited access to over 6 million fonts and graphics that you can use to create projects to keep OR to sell!
In addition, the subscription plan also gives you access to product mockups, creative classes, and more!
As a Mad in Crafts reader, I have a special offer just for you! Download now the first 10 fonts & designs for free! How does it work?
- Sign up for FREE and download your first 10 items
- After the 10th download or after 1 month, the subscription renews at $9.99/month
- Upgrade to the Yearly plan at $4.99/month – 50% more affordable!
- Commercial license included
- Cancel anytime, no questions asked
You might like these free layered SVGs:
Thank you!