My four nativities

As a child I was always fascinated by the variety of Christmas nativity scenes I saw at school, in shop windows and of course in churches.

I was about fourteen when I was inspired to make a tiny scene of my own from odd scraps of fabric and pipe cleaners. My first nativity can be seen above and has witnessed many Christmases. The figures are about 3 ins (cm) tall.

A few years later at college I created a second one (below).

I was a little more creative this time as I had more fabric at my disposal but again used simple cardboard tubes and cones for the bases which were easy to cover.

After I left college I lived at home with my parents for a couple of years and as they had a large niche in their library I was inspired to create a third nativity to fill it. This time my figures were about 9 in (22 cm) tall and they each had smiles and black bead eyes.

I notice I used vintage lace for the baby's gown!

I had great fun making all the figures for this scene and even found some woolly sheep which were just the right size for my shepherds.

Two of the kings were dressed in brocade and the third had a gown made from fabric that I tied and dyed and then embroidered.

The kings came bearing gifts that were made from match boxes and a scent bottle. They were all covered in shiny chocolate wrappers.

Soon after that I met and married my husband and we had a home of our own. I left my three nativities at my parents' house and set about making number four which you can see below.

Its amazing what you can do with a few tubes (made from thick paper) covered in stripy fabric.

Heads are made from circles of felt gathered and stuffed to form ball shapes. Hair and beards are wool.

The kings are made from cones covered in brocade and decorated with beads. Their gifts are fancy fastenings from vintage necklaces.

This was my fourth and final nativity and it puts in an appearance every year even though it is now looking somewhat tired. Since my parents passed away I have all four nativities in my possession once again. They don't all get displayed these days but finding them every year amongst the Christmas decorations brings back endless happy memories of Christmases past.

If you or your children feel inspired to make a nativity scene I can promise you the design is a simple one. Simply make cardboard tubes or cones to the size you require and then choose suitable fabrics to glue on. Then the fun bit comes in finding just the right trims that will make your figures look like lowly shepherds or wealthy kings.

I trust all your Christmas preparations are going well.

Until next time,

Eli

Comments

[Petra]

They are all very beautiful!

[bellaboo]

How lovely to have those handmade Nativity figures to bring out and enjoy every Xmas.You have managed to give them real characters..very charming.

Bellaboo

[Miss Julep]

Fantastic! What a wonderful Christmasy visual history!! All of the nativities are fantastic!

[Martha]

WOW! What treasures they all are. I'm sure your parents cherished them, too.
Merry Christmas, Eli!!!
♥

[Helen]

It is so wonderful that you have all four of them. They are in remarkably good condition, too. You did a great job on all of them! Love your history of them too. They are all very creative and charming.

Merry Christmas!

[bellaboo]

Hi Eli,
Thanks for popping in.
Glad you like my lights at the mirror.Infact i keep them up all year because they look so pretty!

Bellaboo

[Goosey]

They are ALL lovely and should be on show every year.

[sabine]

Wonderful creations, as always! So you noticed my not-blogging or visiting other blogs. Life has been really hectic the past two months, and I hope 2010 will be a little bit more serene... I wish you a very Merry Christmas and all the best for the year to come!

[Carolyn]

They are all charming-it is amazing what you can do with a few scrapes,tubes and pipe cleaners!
Merry Christmas and blessings for the New Year.
Carolyn