I’d like to wish all my American friends and followers a very special Happy Thanksgiving. I hope you have a great day with your friends and families.
Here in Canada we celebrated our Thanksgiving in October, so I’ve been busy for some time now with Christmas decorating projects.
Last week I was lucky to find an adorable mini nativity scene set at the thrift store for $2, and I just couldn’t resist it. I wasn’t sure how I was going to display it until I got home and saw the set of four lidded glass jars that I thrifted awhile back for $5 sitting on my craft room desk.
Here’s my mini nativity scene display.
I started with these nine pieces. The wise man in green is the tallest at 3″.
I used the three largest jars for this display. I sprinkled in some decorative snow and then arranged the pieces inside the jars. Easy peasy!!
Here are some close ups.
I arranged the jars on a shelf and surrounded them with craft batting to look like snow. Then I added a few trees that I borrowed from our Christmas village display.
I decided that it definitely needed a star. So I cut one out of cardboard, covered it with mod podge, and then sprinkled it with silver glitter. Once it was dry I attached it to the back of the inside of the jar with double sided tape.
Putting the pieces in these lidded jars keeps them dust-free, and away from mischievous felines. So simple… but I love it.
Thanks so much for reading!
Nancy @ The Headmistress says
November 22, 2012 at 8:11 pmWhat a great idea; I have a teentsy one, too, and may have to try something similar!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Nancy
tuula@thriftyrebel.com says
November 22, 2012 at 8:24 pmThanks so much Nancy! I appreciate you stopping by. Happy Thanksgiving to you!
Penny Phillips says
November 22, 2012 at 8:25 pmWhat a beautiful way to display your nativity scene! Hugs, Penny
tuula@thriftyrebel.com says
November 22, 2012 at 8:58 pmThank you so much Penny!
Reduce, Reuse, Renewed says
November 23, 2012 at 1:02 amDid you glue them to the bottom? I have a mini-set, too, and the kids are constantly loosing pieces (sweeping under the fridge in July and found a wiseman). This idea could solve that problem!
Found you at Rooted in Thyme.
tuula@thriftyrebel.com says
November 23, 2012 at 1:44 amI didn't glue the figures in the jars because mine have nice flat bottoms and are standing OK on their own. You certainly could glue them in first and then add the snow. That would work perfectly! Especially if you think the jars might be handled sometimes. I'm so glad my project might be helpful to you. Thanks so much for stopping by!
Barbara F. says
November 23, 2012 at 2:50 amVery cute idea, I found a tiny nativity set put out with someone's trash. It is really teeny and have been looking for a way to display it. xo
tuula@thriftyrebel.com says
November 23, 2012 at 4:05 amThanks Barbara! I appreciate you stopping by!
Joni Taylor says
November 23, 2012 at 4:08 amfollowing from Friday chaos
tuula@thriftyrebel.com says
November 23, 2012 at 4:24 amThanks so much for following Joni! It's great to have yo along!
Cecilia says
November 23, 2012 at 2:08 pmWhat a fantastic idea! (I have cats too – ha). Will have to tuck this idea away for if I ever have a tiny nativity. Love it!
tuula@thriftyrebel.com says
November 23, 2012 at 7:04 pmThanks so much Cecilia! Our feline friends do have a way of getting into things. lol. Thanks so much for stopping by!
Sue in Texas says
November 23, 2012 at 3:25 pmLove how the jars give importance to the pieces. So often nativity scenes seem overwhelmed by their surroundings, but the jars focus our attention. Wonderful idea.
tuula@thriftyrebel.com says
November 23, 2012 at 7:06 pmThanks Sue! That's exactly what I was trying to achieve. I'm so glad it seems to have worked. Thanks so much for visiting!
Rina says
November 23, 2012 at 8:05 pmGreat ideas and lovely too! 🙂 Visiting from Friday Chaos and your new follower.
tuula@thriftyrebel.com says
November 24, 2012 at 3:12 amThank so much Rina! It's great to have you along!
Gena says
November 29, 2012 at 5:02 pmI love this!!
tuula@thriftyrebel.com says
November 29, 2012 at 11:43 pmThanks so much Gena! I appreciate you stopping by!
Our Pinteresting Family says
November 24, 2012 at 10:24 pmWhat a beautiful idea!
tuula@thriftyrebel.com says
November 25, 2012 at 12:47 amThank you so much! It's such a sweet nativity that I hope I did it justice. Thanks for visiting!
Sherry says
November 26, 2012 at 1:16 amWhat a fun way to display the nativity scene! I love the bottle brush trees and fake snow in the backdrop too. I came by to say HI from Inspiration Cafe. We appreciate you visiting! I'm following you too. 🙂
tuula@thriftyrebel.com says
November 26, 2012 at 3:50 amThanks Sherry! I'm so glad to have found IC. Thanks so much for following back.
The CSI Girl says
November 26, 2012 at 5:09 amGreat idea and I love the look!
This week on the CSI Project it is all about Christmas! It can be anything as long as its Christmas, so come on over. The link up begins on Wednesday.
http://www.thecsiproject.com
tuula@thriftyrebel.com says
November 27, 2012 at 4:18 amThanks very much! I'll be sure to stop by and check it out. Thanks for the invite.
Jamie A says
November 26, 2012 at 3:12 pmFound you via blog parties.
This is such a cute idea! It looks really great and the fact that it's cat proof is a definitely plus, as I would have that issues as well. Such unique looking jars, I've never seen square ones like that. Cool!
x
thescarletjamie.blogspot.com
tuula@thriftyrebel.com says
November 27, 2012 at 4:19 amThanks Jamie! I was so lucky to find these jars. I wasn't sure what I was going to use them for, just knew I would find something eventually. Thanks so much for stopping by!
Ronda Walker says
November 27, 2012 at 1:03 amWhat a cute idea, so creative. I found you on Debbie's Newbie Monday and am looking forward to following you. I'm a new blogger and am having fun discovering this new world. Ronda
Moutaindelights.blogspot.com
tuula@thriftyrebel.com says
November 27, 2012 at 4:22 amThanks so much Ronda! Welcome to the wonderful world of blogland. It's really a lot of fun and there are so many fabulous and friendly bloggers out there. I really appreciate you stopping by and following. I'll be sure to pop over for a visit.
Kathy Moody says
November 27, 2012 at 4:02 amWhat a great idea! I love it. Now if I could just kitty-proof my Christmas tree. That darn cat loves to climb it. LOL
Thanks so much for sharing.
Kathy Moody says
November 27, 2012 at 4:02 amForgot to mention I pinned both projects, too!
tuula@thriftyrebel.com says
November 27, 2012 at 4:25 amThank you so much Kathy! Trees and cats can be a recipe for Christmas disaster. lol. We tie our trees up with fishing line, and so far so good. It's so sweet of you to pin my projects.
Naptime Review says
November 27, 2012 at 8:52 pmThat is so cool! Perfect for the little hands that I have around the house 🙂
Stopping by from Twirl and Take a Bow Party. Love for you to stop by and return the follow when you can. I am hosting Like Me on facebook later tonight. Love for you to link up your fan page 🙂
http://www.thenaptimereview.com
tuula@thriftyrebel.com says
November 27, 2012 at 9:06 pmThanks so much! I appreciate you stopping by and following. I'll be sure to pop over to your blog and check it out. I'll make it over to facebook tonight if I can. Thanks for the invite!
Robyn says
November 29, 2012 at 4:44 amSuch a sweet idea! Thanks for sharing.
tuula@thriftyrebel.com says
November 29, 2012 at 11:34 pmThanks so much Robyn! I really appreciate you stopping by for a visit.
Jenifer Harrod says
November 29, 2012 at 5:30 amWhat a great idea I wish I would have done this with ours.
tuula@thriftyrebel.com says
November 29, 2012 at 11:46 pmThanks Jenifer! By the sounds of it you don't have your set anymore. Well, if you even see another one you could certainly try this. We are enjoying ours. Thanks for stopping by!
gail@My Repurposed Life says
December 4, 2012 at 10:04 pmTuula–how sweet your mini nativity display looks! how creative!
gail
tuula@thriftyrebel.com says
December 5, 2012 at 12:49 amThanks so much Gail! I appreciate you stopping by!
Bridgett Owens says
December 5, 2012 at 4:44 amI saw your link on Creative Bloggers' Party and Hop and the nativity scene idea caught my eye. I love nativities and had to come and see what you did with yours. I love it. It's a beautiful display. My little boy would be messing with the pieces all of the time if I had a miniature set but not in closed jars like that. Clever!! Love it!
tuula@thriftyrebel.com says
December 5, 2012 at 1:42 pmThanks Bridgett! I love nativities too, and I really wanted to give this one a special place. It's such a sweet set. Thanks so much for stopping by.
Margo says
December 6, 2012 at 8:52 pmWhat a great idea! Thanks for linking it up!
http://www.joyfulhomemaking.com/2012/12/welcome-to-think-tank-thursday-8.html
tuula@thriftyrebel.com says
December 7, 2012 at 12:16 amThanks Margo! It's always a pleasure to join the party!
Demetria Spencer says
December 7, 2012 at 2:10 pmThis is very creative! I really do love it! I might have to check into making one of my own… if I can find a place for it amongst all my other decorations 🙂
I love Christmas time!
Feel free to stop by my blog sometime, I'm still new and learning 🙂
http://countrymomcreations.blogspot.com
tuula@thriftyrebel.com says
December 8, 2012 at 4:39 amThank you so much Demetria! It's so much fun to decorate at Christmas time. I really appreciate you stopping by and following. It's so nice to have you along.
marie says
July 15, 2013 at 4:00 amVery clever…and at my house something like this would be safe from grandbabies hands!
Betsy@My Salvaged Treasures says
July 15, 2013 at 1:26 pmWhat a clever idea! They could also be changed out and used for just about any season. Thanks for sharing at Christmas in July.
Terradactyl says
July 25, 2013 at 8:08 amThat's awesome, I could do that with all kinds of trinkets!