Many people appreciate a card that celebrates the story of Christmas, so why not surprise them with one to treasure using these beautiful nativity printables and printable nativity scene? These designs allow you to recreate whichever part of the nativity you want, whether that’s the three wise men following a star, the angel messenger or Mary and Joseph watching over the new-born baby Jesus. As well as making cards, these illustrations lend themselves perfectly for use in Bible journaling. It’s easy to bring the 2,000-year-old story to life with our fabulous card designs and Nativity characters. The angel or the pop-up crib would be the perfect way to introduce little ones to the story of Christmas and remind everyone else how the most special time of year all began… Pair the printable nativity scene collection with red and kraft card for a traditional design, or why not heat emboss gold details onto your cards and gift tags for extra sparkle? The stepper card and the pop-up box card come with a free template so that you can get on with the fun stuff of decorating your card.
If you like these Nativity characters and printable nativity scene, or perhaps would prefer to make some non-traditional Christmas cards, how about these free sloth downloads for making your own sloth Christmas cards? Or, for more general card making, let us show you how to make cards. If you’re in a crafty mood, why not check out the best glue gun and best die-cutting machine. Thinking about buying a craft printer to print all your free papers with? Check out our review of the best printer for card making and discover the best printer for printing on card.
We love seeing what you make, so don’t forget to share your craft projects with us on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter, too!
How to make a nativity scene
You will need
- Free nativity printables (scroll down to download)
- Paper to print onto
- Coloured card
- Sand paper (to make the sand)
- Baker's twine (for embellishment)
- Glue
- Foam pads (for dimension)
Build your own Nativity scene
Here, we bring you three different Nativity scenes for you to make with your free Nativity printables. Have you tried any of these designs? Or perhaps you have another idea for how to use these free Nativity printables? Let us know in the comments below!
1. Pop up box card
Create this sweet, dimensional nativity scene in a pop-up box card:
- Using the pop-up box card template, cut out the pop up box card base from red card. Cover the flaps with sheet music, leaving a thin border.
- Cut two 11cm strips of red card, then score and fold a 1cm tab either end. These are your internal struts. Cut out some Nativity characters, we've used Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus and the manger, then arrange and glue the characters to one of the struts.
- Fussy cut the stable and attach to the other internal strut. Secure the struts inside your box card, making sure they’re evenly spaced.
- Cut out a sentiment, lamb, tree, lantern and donkey from your printables and build up your stable scene. Tie a bow of twine behind the lantern and finish with an adhesive gem.
- Fussy cut the star of Bethlehem and mount onto gold glitter card, leaving a thin border. Cut a 7 x 1cm strip of acetate, and stick the star at the top. Attach the strip of acetate behind the stable.
2. Shepherd's delight
Use the stepper card template to make this neat centre stepper card that folds flat for postage. The ‘O Holy Night’ sentiment makes for an ideal focal point behind the shepherd. Here's a top tip: ripped up sandpaper is brilliant for creating sand! Just make sure to use a wet glue if you stick anything on top of it so that it sticks properly.
3. No words needed
You don’t always need to use a sentiment. Sometimes the images are enough on their own, like this heartwarming take on the classic starburst card.
- Lay a piece of music paper onto your card base, then take the Bethlehem skyline paper and snip a wedge out of it.
- Stick two strips of gold glitter paper along the inside edges of the wedge (use tape on the back - it sticks better).
- Cut out the star and back this also onto gold glitter card, then cut around the star leaving a small border.
- Now attach the star at the top of the wedge in your Bethlehem paper.
- Mount your Bethlehem paper onto the music paper using foam pads for added dimension.
- Rip up some sandpaper and lay at the bottom of the card.
- Finally, add a wise man to follow the star!
Download your free Nativity printables:
To download your free Nativity printables, click on the link below the image and it will open in a new window. You can then save/download the sheet. There are 12 printable sheets to download to complete the collection.
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Shop essential supplies!
1. White copy paper, 90gsm
Buy now: £8.29, Amazon
2. Red card (wine)
Buy now: £3.10, Amazon
3. Jute twine
Buy now: £4.59, Amazon
4. Foam pads
Buy now: £3.99, Amazon
We hope you have enjoyed this article, how to make a printable nativity scene with your free nativity printables. If you’re in a crafty mood, why not check out the best glue gun and best die-cutting machine. Thinking about buying a craft printer to print all your free papers with? Check out our review of the best printer for card making and discover the best printer for printing on card.
