Happy December 1st! Christmas festivities are in full swing now-yahoo! We even have some snow here in Utah, which definitely adds to the magic of the Christmas season in my mind. 😉
Today we want to share this beautiful and simple wood Nativity craft with you. This is one of the classes we did at the Wood Connection in November, so all the supplies are from The Wood Connection. We’re so excited about this pretty Nativity. It’s simple and sweet and the perfect addition to any Christmas decor.
Let’s get right to the tutorial!
Here’s what you need:
- Unfinished Nativity from the Wood Connection
- Two colored/patterned papers
- Wood looking paper
- Paint (Fleshtone, White, and Burnt Umber)
- Ribbon (for Mary and Joseph’s shawls)
- Rafia (for straw)
- Jute (to tie around Mary and Joseph)
Start by painting the manger–paint the sides, back and about 1/4″ on the front of the manger block. Then paint the sides, back, and front (the whole thing) of the roof piece. Also, paint the sides, back, and about 1/4″ of the front of the cradle. 
Next, paint the faces, sides and back of the Mary and Joseph figures with the Fleshtone paint.
Now paint the star and baby Jesus white. Be sure to paint the entire star (front, sides and back). 
Now trace and cut the manger block and the cradle on the wood patterned paper. 
Also trace and cut the bodies Mary and Joseph from the neck down.
Use wood glue to attach all the cut paper pieces to the wood pieces. 
For the robes on Mary and Joseph, paint glue down the sides and place the ribbon down making it flush with the backs. Add a little glue to Joseph’s forehead and press the ribbon down. Tie a piece of jute around his head and tie a bow around Mary’s neck.
Take the piece of raffia (straw looking stuff 😉 and fold it in half, fold it in half again, tie it in a knot right in the center then trim the ends to desired length and glue onto the cradle.
Last, assemble the manger. Glue the roof in place, then glue the star. The only sanding we did on this project is the star, the cradle and a little on the roof. It looks great with or without sanding!
All done and ready for Christmas! 🙂
Isn’t it pretty? I love the simplicity of it. It’s one of my favorite Nativities ever. Plus it’s not especially breakable if you have little ones running around.
We LOVE teaching Wood Connection craft classes and putting together craft kits. (Click HERE to our December classes.) Make sure you keep up with our upcoming classes and kits– be sure to follow us on Facebook HERE and on Instagram HERE, and HERE. We always post the upcoming classes to our followers first. 🙂
Merry Christmas!!
