Gingerbread Week: Gingerbread Nutcrackers

 

Welcome to Day 2 of my impromptu Gingerbread Week! It's clearly a theme this year everywhere I go. Today I'm sharing what I did with some plain ceramic Nutcrackers I found on sale at JoAnn (RIP!) after Christmas last year. 

Supplies:

• Ceramic or Wood Nutcrackers
• Multi-Surface Acrylic Paint
• Acrylic Paint Pen
• Puff Paint
• Misc. Embellishments

I found these at JoAnn for 70 or 80% off after last Christmas. This technique could just as easily be done with wood Nutcrackers or thrifted ones. 

At the time, I had yet to find the viral Rustoleum Nutmeg spray paint, nor could I find the exact color I wanted in brush paint so I did what we Makers do and mixed my own! Added some of the Espresso to the Fawn until I was satisfied. 

I covered everything but the edges of the base using a sponge spouncer. 

Then, I grabbed a white acrylic paint pen and just doodled my way around my Nutcrackers! The thing I love about these Gingerbread projects is, there's no one way. No right or wrong. 

For no particular reason, I painted the edges of the bases gold. Then I grabbed some Tulip Puffy Paint and added more detail to my Nutcrackers. 

And, of course...these weren't complete until I added a little bling. My tried and true Creatology Gems (Michaels) for the win! To finish, I added a white pom-pom to the top of their hats. 

Come back tomorrow for another fun Gingerbread Project! 

Gingerbread Week: Sweet Shoppe Galvanized Metal Houses

 

This week's BFF Open House continues here through tomorrow. 

Gingerbread is so very on trend this holiday season. It's everywhere and on everything. Natch, as a Maker, I had to play! I ended up having so much fun that I decided to do a Gingerbread Week of projects!

I mentioned when I shared my Christmas Card Box that I was incorporating a Sweet Shoppe theme as part of my Christmas Decor, so this is part of that. It won't all come together until after Thanksgiving.  

Supplies:

• Little Houses (I found these Galvanized Metal ones over the Summer when Dollar Tree had them on clearance for $.25!)
• Acrylic Paints 
• Dotting Tools
• Decorative Gems (Creatology, Michaels)
• Mini Gingerbread Figures (Ashland, Michaels)
• Adhesive
• Glitter
• Oversized Bottle Caps

As I mentioned, I picked up these little galvanized metal houses over the Summer when Dollar Tree was clearing out a lot of their galvanized metal pieces. Had no clue what I was going to do with them (story of my life), but for a quarter each? No brainer. You could even make similar from cardboard or use a wood house cutout. Grabbed my Waverly No Prep Paints in Truffle and White and painted the base white and the house Truffle. 

I picked up these cute Gingerbread minis at Michaels (on sale of course!!) and thought they'd be perfect for the idea I didn't know I had. 

I had these oversized bottlecaps in my stash from a previous pickup somewhere and they were the perfect size for the opening in the metal houses. I used JudiKins dimensional glue and some glitter on hand to line the edges of each, and also to glue in the gingerbread pieces. I used E6000 and hot glue to attach the bottlecaps to the metal pieces. 

Then I got out my ball styluses to dot the houses with white paint. You can also do this with paint brushes. 

Attached the Gingerbread Cookie pieces to the top of the house with E6000 glue. Any strong adhesive will work. 

If you've followed me for a minute, you know the requisite "It Don't Mean a Thing, If It Ain't Got That Bling" applies so I grabbed my Creatology Gems from Michaels and added them! I swear, the jar is going to last me for the rest of my life. 

Almost done!

To finish, I used Tulip Dimensional Paint to add some snow atop the bottlecaps. Now, all done!

Stay tuned this week for more Gingerbread ideas!