DIY Wood Block Nativity Set

I made this DIY Wood Block Nativity set last December for my godmother and by the time I finished it was too late to post for it to be of use to anyone else so I've been holding onto this for almost a year. But now you have about a month to make one for yourself or for a gift for someone else! It wasn't a quick craft  considering paint drying time and such but I am really happy with how it turned out.

DIY Wood Block Nativity Set

Materials:
- 2 by 2.5 inch piece of wood, at least 20 inches long
- 2 by 4 inch piece of wood by at least 42 inches long
- a thinner pieces of wood big enough for a 13 inch by 14 inch piece and a 7 inch by 7 inch piece (I think I used a piece that 1 or 1.5 inch thick piece)
- craft paint of your choosing
- for the images I cut white vinyl on my Silhouette machine using purchased nativity set shapes that I sized all together to fit on the blocks ($3 for 3 sets of shapes). If you are a painter you could also just paint or draw on the images but I am not a painter. I did the stable by making the shape with painters tape to get the shape I wanted but every other shape was from the Silhouette shape "store".

Cuts: (inches length listed first, then inches height - all widths are 2 inches except the camel and the stable)
Joseph                               2.5 by 6
Jesus                                 3 by 2.5
Little sheep                        3 by 2.5
Mary                                 4 by 3
Standing Shepard (x2)          4 by 6
Kneeling Shepard                 4 by 4.5
Big sheep                           4 by 3
Camel                               7 by 7
Wiseman kneeling               4 by 4.5
Wiseman 4 point crown        4 by 5.5
Wiseman 3 point crown        4 by 5.5
Donkey                              6.5 by 4
Cow                                   7 by 4
Stable                                13 by 14

Cut the blocks as shown above or ask your husband nicely to cut them :)  I wrote a name on the bottom on each one in pencil so I could keep track of what it was. 

Paint the blocks on at least the sides that will be showing or you can go ahead and just paint all the sides. You can use cheap sponge brushes.

Follow the Silhouette instructions for adhering the vinyl to the blocks. Here are close ups of all of the blocks.

There is extra of your 2 by 2.5 inch piece of wood so I used that to stabilize the stable since it is a bigger piece of wood and could easily fall over. Pun intended. I just screwed it into the back at the bottom.

My godmother loved her gift and it was fun to make a handmade nativity set that will last for years to come! This would also be a great set for kids to play with that they couldn't break. If kids are playing with it just make sure all the edges of the wood are sanded well.

Enjoy!