Are you ready for Christmas and for decorating your house for Christmas? We have started a new tradition in our house for one part of our Christmas decorating. My girls and I plan a Christmas centerpiece together. Then I get busy making it happen. Maybe as they get older they will help more with the making of things, but for now, I do most of that. This year they wanted a gingerbread house in the middle of the table. I didn’t want to make an edible house, so I opted for Christmas crafts instead! Fun choice!
I came up with this cute gingerbread house made from a wood bird house. We just love it and it is going to look so cute with the other things we have planned for our centerpiece. I’ll show you that later this week or you can get a quick fix and see our table from last year…complete with flying Santa and all!
For now, I’ve got a tutorial for you on how to make your own gingerbread house from a wood bird house.
Supplies:
Zipper bag
Craft Paint
Glitter
E6000 or other adhesive
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To start you project, cut the rope handle off of the top of the house.
Next put the Sheetrock patch and repair compound into a zipper bag. Cut off a corner of the bag. Try out your ‘piping’ bag to see if you like the size of your piping.
I had to make the hole in my bag larger a few times. I was going to try to pipe this on the house like I would pipe frosting, but this mixture is not stiff enough to hold the shape.
In the picture above I thought the piping looked horrible, but I pressed on anyway. So, if you don’t think yours looks that great when you are done, that is OK. Paint and glitter will improve the look.
Once you have given the patching compound time to fully dry, paint your roof and the base of your bird house white. You will most likely want to paint 2 or 3 coats of paint. On your last coat of paint, while the paint is still wet, sprinkle your house with the glitter.
See what I mean, the piping doesn’t look so bad now, does it? Glitter makes everything better! 😀
Now you want to paint the main portion of your house including any detail or trim.
My daughter and I picked out this glittery green paint, but when I started painting the house it quickly became apparent that I would have to start with a base coat of something else. The green glitter paint is fairly transparent and needs a base coat or it will never cover the wood completely. So, 7 coats of paint later, I had a painted house…yes you read that right…7 coats of paint! It took 2 of the base coat and 5 of the glitter paint to get the desired or almost desired look.
I would recommend you learn from my experience. I think it would have been a lot easier to paint the house a solid color and add glitter. It would be a different look all together, but it wouldn’t require 7 coats of paint! You could also try a pearl or metallic type paint. I think that would look great as well and not require so many coats and so much time.
Have you seen these great sticker sheets of gems? I thought they would be perfect for the lights on the house.
For the sheets, it worked perfectly to cut one row off and use them in a pattern with the other gems I picked out. It makes it so easy to add them to the house because they are adhesive. Cut and stick baby! Love it!
Our house has lights now! It still lacks a little character, so let’s add a few final touches to bring the house to life.
Next up is adhering your wreath to your house. I found the perfect size wreath for the little hole in our house. I used E6000 but you could use your favorite adhesive or a hot glue gun.
My girls wanted a tree in the house with people decorating the tree. We settled on a tree in the house with presents under it and a gingerbread person outside the house.
Use the same adhesive to hold your tree and presents in place.
Lastly, adhere your gingerbread person to the house. Ours was a little challenging to adhere as it was so thin and there weren’t very many contact points with the house, but the E6000 did a great job. Yay!
Your house is done! Isn’t it so cute? I just love the way the house turned out. I love how the glitter sparkles and the lights twinkle and how the gingerbread person adds some fun to the outside of the house.
The back of the house is my least favorite part as the funkiness of the glitter paint is the most obvious here.
I love my girls idea of adding the tree in the house. It just looks so cute!
So cute! I know this is one Christmas craft I will keep for as long as it will hold together.
We make edible gingerbread houses every year. We have since 1975 when I was a kid. Now we make gingerbread houses with my kids as well. It is my favorite Christmas tradition. I love it so much I have started a bit of a gingerbread house theme in my Christmas decorating. I was super happy when this is what the girls wanted as the focal point of our Christmas centerpiece!
I’ll be back later this week with one other part of our centerpiece and then the big reveal next week. Can’t wait to show it to you?
Have you started making any Christmas crafts? I can’t wait to hear about them!
So glad you changed your mind on making a real gingerbread house. I did that one year. Took me 8 hours from start to finish. It is so very hard to get the house to stay together. I would now recommend using DAP calking in a tube to put one together now.( no one eats it). I would also recommend using styrafoam painted( brown )for house.You can coat with gesso it make it smooth or use the display board kind already smoothThen you can get fake stuff to trim. This would make it reusable from year to year. I didn’t and was planning on saving but dear hubby dropped the box the next year and poof gone in a drop. Yours is very cute and I’m sure you all enjoyed making it.
We make gingerbread houses every year, but we also eat them. It never takes 8 hours…I can’t imagine. Thanks for your ideas on how to make a house as well…sounds like you have plenty of experience.
KC
Where’s the gingerbread?? They are cute!
The gingerbread will be here when you and Mom come and help make it and bake it! Have patience…you will get plenty. Love you!
It is soooooooooooooooooooo BEAUTIFUL !!
Very creative KC and I really wish I could make it myself … but I kinda of doubt it…..
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving
Thank you so much, Winnie! It really wasn’t hard to make, but it sure took a lot of time because of all of the coats of paint. Do you celebrate Thanksgivng? I’m guessing not since I don’t believe you are in American. So, instead I will say, Happy Day to you!
Take care,
KC
What a fantastic idea — thank you for sharing!
I am stopping by from the Tuesday Talent Show and I’m a new follower!
Thank you!
Hi KC, Your gingerbread house is super cute and I would love for you to share it at our Christmas crafts Link up over at Krafty Cards etc. Have a wonderful Christmas season!
Maria
Thank you so much! I hope you enjoy your holiday season as well!
KC
Hi KC! What a great idea to use a birdhouse for a gingerbread house! 😀
Thank you for the inspiration.
Have a wonderful day! 🙂
Thanks so much!