Creches

For many of us these 3-dimensional paper models of the Nativity are nostalgic reminders of days gone by… For others, they're fine examples folk art. You can print a creche; design a creche; find a commercial model to build; or browse through our gallery of new and vintage creches…


				Fold-out creches Fold-out creches do just that: they fold flat for simple handling and easy storage. Made up of at least two different planes, these beautiful creches sometimes incorporate 6 or more surfaces to create—at the flick of the hand—a three-dimensional wonder of the Nativity.

				Pop-up creches The word 'pop-up' brings to mind Chechoslovakian master Voitech Kubasta's imaginative creations. The eyes are startled by the three-dimensional scene that springs to life once one of his design covers are opened. The marvelous example at left only hints at the glory of pop-ups—before Kubasta, and since.

				Punch-out creches Perforated (or scored) for easy punching-out and assembly, puch-out creches often take the form of stapled booklets. The punch-out "Manger Scene" shown at left—a Whitman 1963 classic edition—was my first introduction to the world of paper creches. Bought for 29 cents at our local Kresge's, it has lost none of its power of wonder and amazement over all these years.

				Cut-out creches Cut-out creches differ from their punch-out cousins in two respects: usually they are found in loose-leaf form, printed on heavy cardboard or in large sheets. As their name implies, they are not pre-scored for easy punching-out. But they're still beautiful.

				Creches to print! You'll now find all the Crechemania.com free downloads on our new site (which is presently under construction).

				Creche models Beautiful creche models to cut-out, punch-out—or simple fold-out!—are available in specialty stores and the Web. Shown at left is a Schreibers model that's representative of the beautiful German creche tradition. Here we'll show you the creches we've been able to find— and we'd love to hear about the ones you know about!

				Designing a creche No, you don't have to be a German master to design your very own creche: with the computer tools available today; the plethora of design sources—including the rich toy theater tradition—we show you how simple it is to design your very own creche.

				Displaying your collection Don't just display out your beautiful creches at Christmas. Give them a home for the rest of the year. Your collection can be shown—and protected—in a variety of displays, as shown by our Crechemania.com collection.