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Re-Fabbed

how to make a christmas hymn nativity scene

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As most of you know, Christmas is my absolute FAVORITE holiday. While I love to switch up my Christmas decor year after year, I don’t love to spend a fortune on decorations. I recently had a huge yard sale, and I was actually going to part ways with this vintage piece. I had used and styled it throughout my home for YEARS, so I thought it might be someone else’s turn to love it!

Wrong… LOL. This vintage piece was sitting near an old hymnal, and a lightbulb went off in my head! That is exactly how this ADORABLE little project was born!

Here is one example of how I styled it on my Spring built-ins. Come along with me and see how I transformed it into a rustic piece of Christmas decor!

I looove this shade of dark green, and I was so excited to transform it into a Christmas piece!

what you’ll need…

*tap on the bolded items to shop my affiliate links!*

Away in a Manger was just the perfect hymn for this project… you’ll see why!

First, I ripped the edges of my Away in a Manger hymn and lightly burned each side with a lighter to give it an old, weathered look.

I brushed a light layer of Modge Podge onto the back and edges of the hymn to adhere to my vintage piece! Mod Podge, what would I do without you?!?

I hot glued sticks from my yard onto the sign using my re-fabbed hot glue gun to look like a manger.

I may or may not have panicked that it was looking like more of a house than manger at this point… but just wait until you see my finishes touches!

I painted my leftover star from this Fourth of July project with one of my Apple Barrel favorites, Golden Sunset.

I grabbed some brown raffia and made several loops before cutting both sides with my re-fabbed scissors to look like straw in the manger.

It’s time for the grand reveal… drum roll, please!!!

Adding the star and straw truly made all the difference, don’t you think?!?

You can make this on a piece of scrap wood, a canvas, or quite literally anything! I encourage you to go thrifting or junkin’ and pick up unique pieces like this. There are SO MANY possibilities! My job is to (hopefully) give you a little inspiration!

Do you love to craft with old hymn pages??? Be sure to check out these blogs, how to mod podge christmas hymns to create ornaments and diy Christmas Tree sign using random pieces!

Will you be trying this one?! BE SURE TO PIN FOR LATER!

Last Updated on July 18, 2024

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Comments

  6. Mary lou ragsdell says

    Glad you pulled this from the garage sale! It turned out great! I bought two hymnals at it. Gracie, my daughter has a great idea. I’ll post pictures once she does it! Going to miss you when we go to Mayfield.

    Reply

  15. Joyce Thomas says

    This is super cute …. I put the song Oh Little Town of Bethelhem beside my Nativity Set the song is rustic and I took twigs and made a cross on it ….

    Reply

    • Gayle Ladner says

      Love, love anything nativity! I love using old hymnal pages and use them quite often. This is a simple inexpensive idea that I will try soon!!

      Reply

  24. Cheri Koning says

    This is a beautiful example of a simple but a true meaning of a Christmas for a display at your home. Love it

    Reply

  36. Colleen Groff says

    I love using music paper I made snowflakes one year out of it ! Last year I made garland out of music paper and put on my tree with dried oranges ! This green is beautiful and I love how this turned out beautiful idea from the heart

    Reply

  48. Ashton Headrick says

    I actually saw your post of this when you first made it and I MADE ONE TOO!! it came out so cute . Just like yours!! 👍 loveeeyou girl. Thanks for the inspo!!!

    Reply

  71. Patricia McGehee says

    I just love this Manger. It’s simple and says a lot. Without the birth of JESUS, we would all be forever lost! ❤

    Reply

  75. Cathy says

    Brooke you have always inspired me to craft and although I don’t have much time I love dreaming watching you craft!

    Reply

  81. Laura says

    The possibilities are endless. Dollar tree has a wooden nativity ornament that would be perfect for this project. Now I have the perfect project for my Christmas hymns that I printed out the other day!

    Reply

  83. Abby Pearson says

    I love hymnals. I think I could decorate an entire Christmas room with them. I’m definitely going to do this! I can’t wait to get my pieces of sheet music
    🩵Abby

    Reply

  88. Connie Milliken says

    Just a suggestion – you could also use a ceiling tile from DG as your background. This is a simple project that captures the true meaning of Christmas! Great Job!

    Reply

  89. Connie Milliken says

    Just a suggestion – you could also use a ceiling tile from DT for the background. A fun project that captures the true meaning of Christmas!

    Reply

  104. Susan Schofield says

    Oh I love this one. I am going to do it. And add some natively pieces with it. Thanks so much for your great ideas

    Reply

  119. Cindy Sturgis says

    This is super cute , I’m going to give it a try with my 15 year old son who chose to decorate his room this year themed around the nativity. ❤️

    Reply

  122. Vicki Knight says

    Well
    This is very creative and primitive looking. I do like and may try it. I passed up a
    Broken nativity once at a yard sales and regretted it ever since.

    Reply

  136. Holly Miller says

    I love how you repurposed your piece. I have a hard time repurposing g something that I love as it is. I am always afraid of Messi g it up.

    Reply

  155. Sarah Chavez says

    I hope this is the right place to comment for an entry in the viral Cmas tree drawing (Oct 2024) – hope hope hope!

    Reply

  156. Connie Milliken says

    This project is simple & captures the real meaning of Christmas. You could also use a ceiling tile from $ Tree for the background! Great craft for the Grandkids!!

    Reply

  174. Kathy King says

    I love how you take a vintage piece and see it in a totally different way – inspiring me to “re-look” some of my treasures!

    Reply

  193. Sharon Good says

    This is amazing!!! So glad you took it out of the garage sale❤️❤️I love this idea so much and can’t wait to try it❤️❤️

    Reply

  225. Cherlynn Waite says

    Love this! I have a handmade card with one of my grandmas favorite hymn’s. This is another great way to bring her memory back during the Christmas holiday ❤️

    Reply

  236. Billie Drumheller says

    I noticed in the supply list that this piece came from Anything Goes Trading Co. I first remember hearing of them when you were planning a meet and greet there. Do you still consider doing that?

    Reply

  238. Kristen Anderson says

    I love this! I guess I missed it before. I just may try to make one of these before Christmas! Thank you!

    Reply

  276. Mary Schwamm says

    So cute. The Nativity Scene is bar far my favorite Christmas decor. I have several of them that I display. November 1 my tree goes up. Can’t wait 😆

    Reply

  281. Wendy Jarman says

    Such an adorable idea! I would absolutely love to have our church ladies over to make these! ❤️❤️❤️

    Reply

  297. Nancy Darnell says

    Hi Brooke! I love your page(s) and blog posts! This one is so cool! I love taking “junk” and making it “new” again by adding this and/or that to it! It makes ut kinda hard to throw anything away, but I can live with that!! 😊🤣❤️ I feel like the Manger scene fits for this project too, because Jesus came from humble beginnings…and stayed humble throughout His life….. ❤️ God’s blessings! ❤️

    Reply

  302. Deborah Barksdale says

    This has my heart. Both parents have long passed with my dad being a Methodist lay minister. My parents lived and shared their faith and instilled in me to do the same. Christmas is Christ and this craft symbolizes that for me.

    Reply

  310. Name Colleen Groff says

    This turned out great
    I used music paper last year and made a banner for my tree and had it with oranges

    Reply

  322. Kim Lewis says

    Absolutely love it! Reminds of Christmas growing up and the old hymn books in my child hood church. Precious memories of how I was taught about the love of Jesus! ❤️

    Reply

  341. Kelly B. says

    Love the simplicity & rustic beauty of this project. Think it would be super cute with a wooden arched window backdrop for those unable to find a cool piece like yours to repurpose. A Popsicle version of an arched window backdrop might work for a children’s class project.

    Reply

  342. Cindy McKillips says

    I love the manger scene on Away in a Manger. I could see a bright star 🌟 on Silent Night with the Holy Family. A beautiful craft that captures Christmas.

    Reply

  351. Ashley Marvel says

    I LOVE old hymns. I would love to see a tutorial on year round hymnal decorations. As a funeral director, I think this would also be a nice gift to the family using a hymn they chose for their loved ones service.

    Reply

  354. Pat Upton says

    I love Christmas also. This is an adorable project. It would be a fun project for children to do. You could tell the Christmas story as they worked. Thanks for your easy ideas.

    Reply

  356. Diane Abdulla says

    This Nativity scene is priceless! It shows the true meaning of Christmas and with an old fashioned hymn! I love it!

    Reply

  358. Lisa Hill-Oster says

    I love using pages from old hymns, I found a book at a habitat for humanity store of all places, I’m going to add this to my to do list.

    Reply

  366. Julie Barnes says

    I love how you used the hymn! It has sparked an idea for me to use it on the wooden nativity set from Hobby Lobby. I want to give all my girls one for Christmas and was having trouble coming up with ideas for it.
    Thank you for the inspiration!🥰✝️

    Reply

  367. Julie Barnes says

    I love how you used the hymn! You have sparked an idea for me as to how to finish a Christmas gift for my girls. I’m using the wooden nativity from Hobby Lobby and was struggling on what to put on in. Thank you for the inspiration to finish them. ❤️✝️

    Reply

  368. Tammy Groves says

    I love that song. Christmas songs give me that feelings of warmth, love and true kindness. They really hit the heart! I especially love Silent Night and the Little Drummer Boy. Makes me cry all of the time!

    Reply

  373. Belinda Hamilton says

    This is a perfect Christmas decoration!! I love it so much ❤️
    If you ever decide to use it for a giveaway, I’d love to have it.

    Reply

  389. Kaley Durden says

    I have this same piece of tin and was wondering what to do with it. Now I know ! Thank you for sharing this idea.

    Reply

  404. Debbie Young says

    The raffia and star did make it look like a nativity. I love to use old metal pieces in decorating!! Great craft Brooke.❤️⭐❤️

    Reply

  405. Tina says

    Brilliant I love this idea I found some old sheet music in a action box that we bought I wasn’t sure what to do with it love this idea thank you

    Reply

  412. Darlene Tolbert says

    I absolutely love this! I believe it’s one of my favorites, but of course I love most all of your diy’s.

    Reply

  415. Elizabeth burk says

    I love how you took something worn out and turned it into a beautiful piece of art!… kinda like how our savior takes what we think is worn and just doesn’t work and touches it with his love and the outcome is amazing and the beauty inside shines through

    Reply

  418. Kristi Morales says

    Wow! You had me at the beautiful green color to be honest! I just love everything about this. Any project using music especially old hymns make me swoon! Away in a Manger, how perfect; although like you, I thought it looked like a tiny house at first! 😂 Brooke, it is so pretty! I am also happy to see you have more crafts listed using music that I can peruse! 🎶

    Reply

  419. Christine says

    Wow…this project is so inspirational. This year will be the first year that we won’t have the money to buy presents or do our traditional Christmas. This project has given me the inspiration to dig through my craft stash, and do a project like this! 🙏

    Reply

  420. Tiffany Beatty says

    This is absolutely beautiful! I love old hymns but I have never done a craft using them. Thank you for sharing.

    Reply

  430. Michelle Myers says

    Beautiful! I love projects using old hymns. This is perfect to make with my daughter for Christmas. Jesus is the reason for the season.

    Reply

  432. Michelle Myers says

    I love all things using old hymns. This nativity scene using the manger hymn is perfect! Jesus is the reason for the season.

    Reply

  447. Maria Weimar says

    This project came out so incredibly beautiful. You have inspired me to create something similar for my mother. Thank you so much for sharing your art!

    Reply

  463. Becky Lewis says

    You are such an inspiration and so creative! I have followed your page for years! I love this craft! So cute! Blessings!!❤️

    Reply

  477. Michelle Seelbach says

    Oh my goodness I LOVE this so much! My mom is redesigning her home in a rustic farmhouse design. This would be perfect for Christmas! Thanks for sharing!

    Reply

  479. tamara j downs says

    Absolutely beautiful! “Away in a Manger” and “Silent Night” give me cold chills when sung! Perfect display of the true meaning of Christmas!

    Reply

  480. Paula White says

    I absolutely love this! Now this one, I think I can do! As far as the manger looking like a house, I think I may make one side of the roof a little longer than the other to give it more of a “barn” look. Now I’m on the hunt for something to use as the background!

    Reply

  501. Kathy Garrett says

    I love this! Nativity’s are my most favorite decoration because to me that is the true meaning of Christmas 🩷

    Reply

  505. Tammie Jones says

    I love this. A friend made me so
    Etching last year using a hymn page and it is one of my favorite decorations!

    Reply

  507. Michelle Seelbach says

    I LOVE crafting with old hymnals. I was gifted one hymnal that’s so old it is starting to fall apart. I can’t bare to use any if it’s pages but rather use my newer ones and just use Tim Holtz ink to age them. This is a beautiful project Brooke!

    Reply

  509. Adria Cotner says

    Oh my goodness I love this so much!!! My 3 year old loves to craft with me and this is one she can definitely help me with! I can’t wait to make this! Thank you!

    Reply

  512. Barbara Haley says

    I love it Brooke, so rustic and simple but it gets to the heart of the reason for the season! I’m going to make one!

    Reply

  513. April DeLaRosa says

    So simple, but so beautiful!!! I try to add a new nativity scene to my decor every year. I believe I found the one I will be adding this year. Thank you Brooke!

    Reply

  517. Barbie sutherland says

    I love Christmas too ! This is very cute! I might make smaller version or let my church kids make one! I’m already listening to Christmas music!!

    Reply

  521. Phyllis Belcher says

    One morning I woke up with the hymn” Great is Thy faithfulness “ playing in my mind! My grandson and I went to a thrift store that afternoon. I found an old hymnal, and there was a paper clip attached to one of the pages and it was the hymn “Great is Thy faithfulness “ Your craft just reminded me of this precious day!!!
    I absolutely love this craft!! I’m definitely going to make this!!!

    Reply

  539. Sheila A Burger says

    Definitely one of my favorite projects of yours! What a wonderful way to create an addition to your Christmas decoration collection. I am definitely trying this, just want to find a unique base as you have first.

    Reply

  547. Irene Smith says

    This is such a cute nativity and loved the song page! It would be a great craft for a Sunday school class to make using the small canvases painted green.

    Reply

  552. TERRY WHITAKER says

    I love to see your beautiful yet simple enough that even I could make them! I am so excited over the hymnal manger , as I have several old hymnals that I could use!!.

    Reply

    • Chirssy Moore says

      This is a unique idea for a gift and could be tailored to the individual’s taste and love of a specific hymn. Not just for Christmas it could be a year-round gift.

      Reply

  559. Marquita Brown says

    Love this idea. This would be a great craft for our kids at. Church to do amd give to our senior citizens.

    Reply

  561. Carole Kipka says

    I love this! I made a version of this with a hymnal for my sister’s last Christmas and they loved them. Thank you for all your great crafting ideas.

    Reply

  567. Marcia Bidwell says

    Simple yet beautiful. I hope to create this with our youngest granddaughters. I think that they’d enjoy this.

    Reply

  568. Judy says

    I love rustic touches to my home and this is such a a great idea! I will definitely be looking for my own unique piece to try this with. Thanks for all the fun ideas!

    Reply

  570. Sarah Chavez says

    I’m trying to enter the 2024 viral Cmas tree giveaway. I hope this is the right place!! So so hard to find where to comment on my android 🙁

    Reply

  579. Donna Kowalczyk says

    I just really love this. I got in hot water with your loyal fans several years back when I asked why you didn’t ever make any Christian Christmas crafts!!! Now I know you do!! And this one is really gorgeous. Perfect hymn choice; perfect addition of star and raffia; perfect use of the piece you almost let get away!! Thank you for this!

    Reply

  581. Erica Gilbert says

    Very cute! When I see the shape on the green piece I keep thinking of a church so it’s definitely a perfect combination!

    Reply

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