Create your own fantastic holiday ornament that looks almost good enough to eat!
- Heavy duty Brown felt (1 or 2 sheets)
- Black sparkly felt (1 sheet)
- Either red or purple sparkly felt (1 sheet each)
- Tacky Glue or (a low temp glue gun to use with an adult and older children)
- Small tubes of 3 dimensional paint- in colors of your choice
- Fine glitter (optional)
- Scissors
- Hole punch
- Dime or a small Button (to trace circles)
- Ball point pen or dark colored pencil that will show up on your brown felt
- Ribbon in a color of your choice
- A few sheets of Newspaper to cover your work area
- Scrap paper to draw a gingerbread shape or a cookie cutter to use as a stencil
1. For a quick start take a gingerbread cookie cutter and trace out the number of shapes on the brown felt that you wish to make into ornaments. If your child wants to design their own gingerbread shape have your child draw a gingerbread boy or girl, cut it out and then trace that shape onto your brown felt. When you have finished tracing out all your shapes cut them out of the brown felt and set aside.
2. Now take the black felt and the hole punch and make a number of small black circles to add eyes to each gingerbread ornament. Set them aside for now. Option: You could skip this step and draw in eyes later with paint.
3. To make gum drop buttons for your ornaments decide how many circles you need, then take the red or purple sparkly felt and trace out the circles using a coin or a small button as a guide. Cut them out.
4. Gather all of the gum drop buttons and eye shapes that you have cut out. If you are working with younger children use tacky glue to attach your shapes to the gingerbread body. Allow to dry. If you are working with older children and want faster results you can use a low temp glue gun to attach the shapes (have an adult use the glue gun).
5. Last item to glue on is a ribbon to hang this ornament. Place the loop of ribbon you cut behind the head of the gingerbread shape. Allow everything to dry before moving onto the next step.
6. If all of your shapes are dry you can now decorate the gingerbread ornament with paint. Pretend the paint is your icing and add faces and fun details like a scarf, stripes or candy canes.
7. Tip for extra sparkle: While the paint is still wet, sprinkle fine glitter over the ornament. Allow to dry for several hours or overnight.
8. Hang up your wonderful ornaments for the whole family to admire or give them away as holiday gifts.
Follow-up fun:
Buy gingerbread mix at the grocery store and make real gingerbread cookies to enjoy with your kids.