DIY Christmas Nativity Art with Sheet Music
Do you love creating meaningful Christmas decor that tells a story? This year, try skipping the pricey store-bought generics. Let me show you how to make a beautiful piece of art that’s full of Christmas spirit and your heart.
Here is a project that combines the holiday with the sacred beauty of the season. You will learn how to create a stunning DIY Christmas nativity art using simple materials: cardboard, an old frame, acrylic paint, a wooden nativity, and a wonderful vintage element—a copy of the beloved “Away in a Manger” sheet music.
This project can be customized to create holiday artwork of your choice. Instead of a nativity, you could use holiday sheet music, such as Jingle Bells or Santa Claus Is Coming to Town, and use a wooden Santa in a sleigh with reindeer. White Christmas is another holiday favorite song, and snowflakes, or a snowman, would work perfectly with your artwork. The possibilities are endless!
We will walk you through a simple technique to seamlessly blend the sheet music into a flat wooden Nativity scene. This project is simple enough for any skill level, yet the finished piece is a timeless, heirloom-quality decoration. Get ready to create a piece of handmade Christmas art that you’ll be proud to display or give as a thoughtful gift!
Affiliate links are used for your convenience at no additional cost. Your support helps me keep my blog running, so I can bring you more free tutorials. Thank you! Please read my full disclosure here.
Supplies
DIY Christmas Nativity Art With Sheet Music
Create this stunning DIY Christmas Nativity Art in under 30 minutes! You will love how easy and quick this sheet music project is. It’s a fantastic, fast craft that will be fully completed and dry within half an hour.
Customize It:
- The size is flexible, depending on the sheet music you choose.
- Use any holiday sheet music—from the sacred (“Joy To The World”) to the secular (“Jingle Bells,” “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town,” or “White Christmas”).
- Choose your wooden accent piece: a snowflake, snowman, wreath, angel, Santa, or sleigh with reindeer.
Tutorial
Start your project by finding the perfect frame! Look in your home stash first for a piece to reuse or upcycle. If you need more, you can reliably find fantastic, inexpensive frames at yard sales and thrift stores. A picture frame is easy to refresh—a quick coat of paint, spray paint, gilding wax, or gold leaf can completely transform it. By choosing to recycle, you not only keep your costs low but also practice a sustainable craft that helps the environment.
- Separate the frame and give it a good cleaning.
- For this project, you can choose to keep the glass in the frame or remove it and save it for future crafting.
Initially, I attempted to apply metallic gold acrylic paint, but because the original frame had a high-gloss finish, it wasn’t adhering properly. I quickly switched my approach: I used gilding wax with an art sponge, which gave me the smoother, more complete coverage I needed. Apply the first coat, wait 15 minutes, and then apply a second coat for full opacity. Set the frame aside to dry and cure while you prepare your art elements.
To color the wood craft piece, dispense some brown acrylic paint onto a paper plate. For a more straightforward application, I suggest cutting your artist sponge into smaller sections (4-6 pieces). Dip the sponge into the paint and then lightly rub it across the wood craft piece. This sponging technique often provides better results and easier cleanup than traditional wood stain. Continue applying the paint until the raw wood is fully covered and you achieve your desired aged or finished look. You only need to paint the front and leave the back unpainted.
Using Quick Dry Tacky Glue, apply a modest amount to the back of the nativity. Remember, a little glue goes a long way—you want enough for a firm hold, but avoid over-application that might squeeze out from the sides. Use your fingertip to lightly distribute the glue evenly before carefully positioning and centering the wood nativity onto the sheet music.
Whether using the frame’s original cardboard backing or a custom-cut piece, prepare the surface by applying glue. Spread the adhesive thinly and uniformly—this prevents bubbling and ensures the sheet music adheres smoothly without distortion.
Center the sheet music over the glue, then use your hand to smooth out any air bubbles. Flip it over to dry. You can use the frame backing to weigh it down while drying. It will dry within 10 minutes.
Before final assembly, check your sheet music; you may need to trim any excess that overlaps the frame opening. Note: While my frame was deep enough to accommodate the glass, I chose to omit it for this project.
To assemble: Add your finished artwork to the frame, secure the frame backing, and your piece is complete! Now you can choose to display it by hanging it on a wall or leaning it as part of a decorative vignette.
The Final Project
Once complete, this holiday artwork is the ideal way to bring a touch of personalized, handmade cheer to your home. Better yet, since it’s so quick to finish, you can easily create several to cross off your gift list. This beautiful, personalized piece makes a perfect, last-minute gift for a friend, co-worker, or family member. It is gratifying to create something so elegant in so little time. Now it’s your turn! Gather your supplies, put on some Christmas music, and bring this project to life.
Shop My Holiday Favorites
The Holiday Shop 2025 features some of my favorite holiday items.
Looking for more ways to add homemade charm to your holiday home? Check out some of my other popular holiday projects!
About The Handcrafted Society
What I love about the Handcrafted Society is seeing all the passion and creativity. We are creating using the same or a similar medium. It is so inspirational to see the interpretations of everyone’s projects.
You will find a gallery of this month’s projects at the end of this post. Each image links to the blogger’s tutorial, inspiring you to create something that reflects your style.
It has been a joy to be a part of the Handcrafted Society. Follow along each month as we share the inspirational projects you can create for your home. This month, we will focus on projects using items related to music, such as sheet music, records, hymnals, CDs, or musical instruments.
Head over to the links above to see the incredible creations from our talented Handcrafted Society members, and don’t be shy – share your project using #HandcraftedSociety on social media! We can’t wait to see what you come up with.
Micro LED Holiday Giftboxes – Set of 3
Use indoors or in covered outdoor spaces, a 6-hour timer. Each is topped with a pretty gold foil bow, completing the gift silhouette.
I hope you found this tutorial for DIY Christmas Nativity Canvas Art both inspiring and easy to follow. By combining simple elements like sheet music, a wooden nativity scene, paint, and a little glue magic, you can create a piece of art that is a meaningful holiday décor.
This holiday artwork isn’t just a decoration; it’s a beautiful, handmade heirloom that tells the story of Christmas and adds that perfect touch of charm to your holiday décor.
Thank you for crafting with me today. May your home be filled with peace and beauty this holiday season! Happy crafting!
Season Blessings,
Tammy – What a fun, easy project. I love the idea of picking a holiday song you like and choosing an appropriate cut-out to go with it. As you said, “The possibilities are endless” This would be a fun project to do with grands to make gifts for their parents. So creative!
Thank you, Lynn. It would be fun and very easy to make with the grands. I love easy projects with little mess especially for little hands.
Love the way this came together, Tammy! It’s perfect for those spaces that need a little something extra. Can’t wait to try this and thanks so much for the extra painting tips too. Hugs, CoCo
Thank you so much, CoCo. I wanted to create a vignette in this area for the holidays. The art was perfect size for this space and so easy to make too!
So beautifully done!
I love the tie between the specific Carol and the wood accent piece. And I’m with you — nativity all the way!!!
So glad you were able to join us this month.
Thank you so much, Diane. I enjoy being with such a great group of ladies. Away In The Manager is my favorite Christmas song. It was perfect option for our home to tie in the real meaning of Christmas.
Tammy, your Christmas nativity artwork turned out so pretty, and you even recycled an old frame too! Beautiful display with your mirror and holiday decorations! Love it!
Thank you, Michelle. I have been doing a lot of upcycling of items around here for the holiday. Repurposing some of the holiday home decorations or repainting stuff. Trying to use what I have first and not buy more “stuff”!
There’s nothing better than an easy, inexpensive project that looks fabulous, so I’m loving everything about this! It’s so fun to create seasonal art, and so smart of you to pair the wood cutout with the theme of the song! It’s just precious! You’ll be able to enjoy this artwork for years to come!
Thank you, Donna. I love the ornaments you made out of the piano hammers. Genuis!
So beautiful Tammy. I have never used that type of guilding wax before, something new for me to try. You were so fortunate to find Christmas sheet music, it looks like it is vintage to me. Thanks for sharing this adorable DIY.
Wendy, you need to snag some of that gilding wax. It comes in gold, silver, copper, bronze, black and zinc. It is my go to for changing colors of hardware. It’s some great stuff and like it better that Rub ‘N Buff. Plus, a little goes a long way. So many projects out of one tiny can. You will love it!
Tammy – I have been wanting to try gilding wax for awhile now. Your project definitely has me inspired and further intrigued. Especially since you felt it worked better than paint. Your project is a true reflection of the meaning of the season. It’s a lovely tribute. The final result is beautiful and meaningful! Always fun participating in HCS with you!
Anna, I was just telling Wendy that she needs snag some of that gilding wax. It comes in a variety of colors (gold, silver, copper, bronze, black and zinc). You can use it on some many different projects. I have used it on frames, mirror frames, hardware, ornaments, accent on furniture, trays, etc. A little goes a long way and the tiny can will yield lots of beautiful projects. Thank you for the comment on my post.