I found this jaw-droppingly beautiful gingerbread house on Amazon (pictured below on the top shelf), and I paid a pretty penny for it! It's been a while since I've had my hand at crafting, but I thought some white hot glue sticks and a paper mache house might be able to replicate it! On Thanksgiving day, my sisters and I sat around the table, glue guns in hand, and patiently crafted the cutest gingerbread village. I thought it would be fun to share the supplies we used and how we did it in case you feel like getting crafty this season.
Wreath | Copper Canisters | Copper Pots | Trees | Rolling Pin | Kitchen Sources
I bought this set of 3 paper mache houses from Hobby Lobby, which is no longer available online, but you might be able to find them at your local store! Here are some other options if you're looking to DIY this simple Holiday project, including all the supplies you'll need!
1. Scalloped House Paper Assembly Kit $5
2. White Hot Glue Sticks $6
3. Hot Glue Gun $13
4. Cardboard House Assortment $43
5. Paper Mache House $40
6. Paper Mache House $35
We didn't paint any of these, but if I were to go back and do it again, I think I would have given them a brown base coat to look more gingerbread-like.
I recommend testing out the glue consistency on a plate until you get the hang of it. And then you just kind of go for it! No one really had a plan going into this, so we all just freehanded the designs as we went! They all turned out so cute.
For the really charming gingerbread look, I feel like more is more! Adding in some cute dots and flourishes gives it this really magical look and feel. There are still some glue strings that still need cleaning up, but I think for the small cost, they turned out so cute! I'm thinking of adding a new house to the collection every year!
If you're not interested in the DIY route but still love the gingerbread house look, here are some adorable, already-made houses for you!
1. Gingerbread Cottage $60
2. Lighted Gingerbread House $82
3. Holiday in Provence $118
4. Waterloo Set of 3 $89
5. Icing Gingerbread House $128
6. Pretzel Cottage $118
7. Lighted Gingerbread House $149
8. Gingerbread Cookie Jar $55
9. Maileg The Gingerbread House $50
10. Scrollwork Lighted Gingerbread House $82
These are so cute!
Love them I believe that they are brilliant as well so pretty I just love gingerbread house..
The white glue sticks weren’t working well in my glue gun, so I ended up using white puffy paint and it turned out great!
How many sticks of glue did you use per house? My family is excited to do this craft!
around 15 I'd say!
These are brilliant! One thing I’m going to add when I try, is glitter glue! I love a little snowy sparkle, and the glue formula makes it easy to not get it everywhere.
I smiled when I read this. For me gingerbread houses needs to be done with gingerbread or pepparkaka as we say in Sweden. Because the whole point in doing them is to use frosting to add as much candy as possible to them so that the kids can "steal" a candy or two when they "can hide it from mom" until Christmas day when they are allowed to smash the house and eat to their hearts content. Anyway, that is my view on it so I would never do a faux one. The house looks cute though! Don't get me wrong! But for me it is the real thing or not at all, and I always do at least one real one and the kids decorate it. We usually end up with quite ugly buildings but that is ok! Anyway. Love your blog! Always a fun read! Happy Holidays!
Pia - that is so interesting! I always thought leaving the gingerbread out made it stale and have thrown mine away every year - oops. Do you have a limit on how many days they can stay out and still be good. My kids would be devastated to know I've been throwing out perfectly good cookies all these years.
Hi April!
The gingerbread is a "dry" cookie so it keeps in room temperature for quite a while. I have kept ours for at least two to three weeks and the kids eat them. I did some reading and some good sources said that you shouldn't keep your house more than a month if you want to eat it because the candy wont taste that nice but it is not dangerous just not as tasty :-) So perhaps not tell your kids this information but let them have it if they want it :-)