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! 

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Welcome to Vintage Charm Party #517!

From Dollhouse to Gingerbread House

 

I originally picked these up to make a Haunted House but with my knee accident...Gingerbread House instead! 

Supplies:

• Plastic Dollhouse (Dollar Tree)
• White Glue
• Acrylic Craft Paint
• Puff Paint
• Waverly Chalk Paint (See NOTE)

This was the style of house I found and bought two since the can hook together to make them 3D. You could use just one to make a facade. I know there was another style but I've been unable to find anymore of these in the bajillion Dollar Trees I've scouted! 

NOTE: I just knew I had an all surface / no pimer required paint on hand. Didn't. So if you don't, this is what I did. But I would STRONGLY recommend using that kind and as you'll see later, there's one that works GREAT! 

My solution was to cover the houses with a coat of white glue to give the paint I did have something to adhere to. After that was dry, I used a white acrylic paint as a base coat. 

I then chose my "gingerbread" colors. I thought I'd use both shown here but ended up doing just the "Brownstone" Glitter paint.

I really like how the glitter catches the light. I ended up doing two coats on each half. 

Since I knew I was going to join the two halves, it bugged me that you'd be able to see the pink through the windows. When I went to get the Puff Paint at Walmart, I found they had 2oz bottles of Waverly Chalk No Prep Paint so I got a one in brown. Lemme tell you...I love this stuff and will be getting more! I used that on the inside to cover the pink.

Your imagination is once again your guide. I wanted a classic simple brown and white but you could go wild with Puff Paint colors. As mentioned, I found the Puff Paint at Walmart. Also, while each half has hinges that imply they snap together it's "meh" on that so I used hot glue to make sure they were really held together. 

I got White and Diamond. If you get the Diamond, use it over the white after it's dried unless you want a fairly transparent look. I then just freehanded designs with squiggles and dots because snow's not perfect right? Just follow your instincts. I let each side dry overnight so I wouldn't smudge. 

When I put this out, I'll scatter some epsom salt around the house and add a few bottlebrush trees. 

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