I fell in love with this Spool Doll Nativity from {
Holes in my Shiny Veneer}. Here's {
part 2} of her adorable nativity, in case you're interested. So, I set out to make my own.
Within a week, I came across this wooden nativity backdrop at Target for only $2.50! I was seriously so excited! Then, I went to get some wooden spools and doll heads at the craft store and while I was looking I saw these little unfinished wooden doll bodies:
They already have a head and I love skipping steps, so I bought them. They have two different sizes, too. Perfect for a nativity, since you need a smaller one for baby Jesus.
Anyway, I spent an hour one day cutting scraps of fabric and ribbon and hot gluing them onto these dolls. The link mentioned above has a great tutorial which I looked at just to get ideas and see how she did things. For me, it was as easy as cutting strips of fabric and wrapping them around the doll bodies, and in some cases their heads. Then, putting on embellishments to create different characters.
I'm absolutely in love with the way they turned out!! And my son was very excited with each new addition I put out for him to put in his "house".
I might eventually paint faces on them, but I'm kinda worried I'll totally mess them up, and I kind of like them faceless...
It's a perfect little durable nativity that my little guy can play with to his hearts content without me worrying about him breaking something. And even if he did, the whole thing cost under $8.00, so it wouldn't be a big deal. I think this is a really cute and easy way to help my 3 year old understand the real meaning of Christmas. We love playing "Baby Jesus" with them, and I hope we will continue to play with them year after year.
