Nativity  Altered Lunchbox Playset

by Tammy DeYoung

Need a GREAT gift for a child or a group of children but on a tight budget?  LOOK what I found for $1.00 at Dollar Tree….

Cute, right?   But look what I turned it into…

With just a few simple supplies you can have an adorable playset.

Would you like to know how to make it?  Here we go!

Supplies Needed:

1 mini  lunchbox -look for a print that “goes” with a night time nativity

(mine is about 5 x 3 from Dollar Tree for $1.00 You can use any you like)

Printer and brochure quality cardstock

medium sized buttons with FLAT bottoms  and pony beads

UPDATE: I found a plastic chess set at Dollar Tree and glued the pieces to the backs of the characters INSTEAD of buttons and it was MUCH easier!  You can use any thing, like little wooden blocks, dice, dominoes…anything that will stand on it’s own and doesn’t take up too much space in the box.

magnets,  laminate (optional)

sharp scissors, hot glue, adhesive tape

ribbons, rickrack, trims

metal rimmed tag or other tag

Nativity Clip Art or Nativity Lunch Box Kit

How to make Playset:

If you are using my Nativity Lunch Box Kit,  Skip to Step #4 …but please look over the other steps)

NOTE added 12/10: the templates in my premade kit do not cover the entire surface of the lunchbox.  There is about a 1/4″ margin on all sides, so you CAN see a bit of the original tin design.  If you prefer more coverage, you will need to enlarge the template, or add a background paper like a mat, trimmed to the size you like.  OR use a plain lunchbox in white or any bright color, with no picture on it.

1.  Prepare all templates.   My lunchbox has a bevel on the fold-out lid/front.  You might want to fit your images inside the bevel.  I did size the template inside the lid front a little smaller (inside the bevel) so that when the lid is closed, it doesn’t rub the paper.

An easy way to make the template  is to scan the lunchbox front and back and then trace the image in your software (I use Photoshop) Or you can hand trace the box and trim to fit.

2.  Choose your papers.  I used the Night Sky paper in my clip art kit.  However, I changed the hue to be lighter, brighter, and more purple to match the tone of the lunchbox.  Prepare your images in your software.  OR you can trace your templates onto regular scrapbook papers and form your scenes by cutting and pasting.

Inside Stable: Size your background sky to fit the larger template.  I resized the origianl paper down to about 5.5 x 5.5.     Then I sized and layered the stable, a hill, and duplicated the straw (from my elements kit) across the bottom.

Straw: Measure the area of the lunchbox that is right the inside bottom.   Mine is about 1.5 x 5.  Open the straw element and duplicate it all over that strip to form a little “mat” that will fit in the bottom of the box.

Inside lid: I layered several hills, framed them with brown rick rack and a few sprigs of pine from my elements kit.  This is the background for the shepherds’ fields.

Back: I did the same for the back as for the inside lid, only I used the gold rick rack from my elements kit.  This forms the desert land that the wise men traveled from to see Jesus.

Outside Front: I used the same scene from the inside of the box, except I typed the lyrics to “Away in a Manger” in a white font and layered it on top of the sky and behind the manger.  Then I resized Mary, Joseph and Jesus and layered them on top.  I left plenty of room for other characters, too.

3.  Characters: Open your clip art files and resize the characters to fit the scenes.  My Joseph is about 3″ tall for a reference.

If  using my Lunchbox Printable Kit, start here:

Open files and continue below.  Everything is already sized and ready to print on cardstock.

4.  Print  on cardstock. Laminate if desired.  Cut out characters leaving a small white margin around each one if desired.

NOTE:  leave the white space between the animals’  legs and the manger legs to make it easy to glue the buttons to the center. (OOPS!  The picture below shows that I cut the white space between the legs….I had to reprint and recut them and forgot to take a new picture!)

5.  Print scenes onto cardstock.  Cut out.  Use a corner rounder punch  if desired to round edges.  Laminate the front of each scene if desired.  Adhere to the lunchbox with glue tape or other strong adhesive.

6.  You can glue magnets to the back of each character, or you can make them free standing:

Use hot glue to attach a pony bead to the top of a button, positioning it towards the back half of the button.  Hot glue the figure to the bead resting the bottom of the figure on the top of the button.

You can glue your figure to just about any item you have on hand that has a flat bottom and a little bit of weight to it.

NOTE:  You might want to glue a  magnet to the bottom of each button, or to Mary, Joseph and Jesus because when the lunchbox is open, it leans back slightly and the figures easily fall down.

7.  To finish, tie strips of ribbon to the handle.  Tie a tag to the handle for the child to write their name on.  Put figures inside and have fun!

If you need the clip art, click the photo: