Nativity Markers for an Advent Calendar

 A few weeks ago I posted a tutorial for my advent calendar.  A few days ago, just in time for December, I finally finished it.  I decided to put a baby Jesus in the December 25th pocket and move the star each day--when the star reaches baby Jesus, it's Christmas!  Each night this month, we'll read part of the Nativity story with the kids, then move the star a little closer to Jesus and talk about how on Christmas we celebrate his birthday.

I put a piece of Velcro on the back of the baby and the front of the hay, so the kids can have fun laying him in the manger.

 Now I want to make a flannel board and a whole Nativity set like this, since they're so cute and I think the kids would love it.  But, I don't think I'll have the time before Christmas--maybe next year??

What you need:  I used felt for the front and an extra-heavy stabilizer for the back, so these shapes are pretty sturdy.  Hopefully they can withstand a one- and two-year-old.

•  Peltex sew-in ultra firm stabilizer
• scraps of felt
• embroidery floss

Let's get sewing:
1.  Cut out a manger shape, an oval, and a star from the peltex.  Use these as templates to cut out shapes from the felt: yellow star, brown manger, yellow straw, and a white oval.  Also, cut out a peach circle for the baby's face.

 2.  Pin or hold the peltex and felt together, then use embroidery floss to sew them together.  I used a blanket stitch around the edges with 2 strands of embroidery floss, but you can use more strands if you'd like more noticeable stitches.

3.  To attach the baby's face and the straw that overlaps the manger, I used a simple running stitch.  Then I added half-circles for Jesus' closed eyes, and a few lines of blue backstiches to look like he's swaddled.  Last, I attached the velcro to the manger and the back of the baby.

-Lily

Linked up at some of the great blogs on my sidebar!