Christmas craft

I found this idea on Pinterest (of course) and was really excited to do it. I'll admit I was a little intimidated buying wood at the hardware store but I zipped up my man suit and got what I needed (after a little pep talk I must add).

This is what I used:

• 1- 6" 2x2 piece of lumber
• 1- 5" 2x2 piece of lumber
• 1- 3" 1x2 piece of furring strip
• 2- 1 1/2" ball knob
• 1- 1/2" furniture button
• paint, gorilla glue, jute or twine

I didn't sand down the wood at all before I painted it. I used gray for Joseph, light blue for Mary and cream for the baby. I made a skin color with brown and cream and painted everything. After it was dry I sanded it and worked the corners and edges to make it look more worn and old and to soften the rough spots.

I glued all the pieces together with gorilla glue and waited for them to dry. I glued the heads on first and when those were dry enough to stay put I glued the bodies together with the baby across the front. I didn't clamp them together, hoping they would stay together if I just left them alone. I had to watch them for the first little while, pressing them together every once in a while to make sure they stayed tight. 

After they were dry enough to stay together, I wrapped a piece of jute around the whole thing twice and tied it in a knot in the front.

I'm really proud of how well it turned out! I felt like I was in Santa's workshop because I made 4 of these over a few nights. I gave them to a few friends and one to my mom because she collects nativities.

I hope everyone had a great Christmas spent with friends and family!