How to Make Chubby Gingerbread Man Ornaments

Several years back I fell in love with gingerbread man themed items for my holiday decor. I set out to make my own gingerbread man ornaments and created a few memories in the process. I came up with gingerbread man ornaments that both parents and kids can enjoy making, and at a fraction of store bought cost.

These super easy gingerbread man ornaments are very versatile and can be used in any number of ways in your holiday decor.

Supply list for chubby gingerbread man ornaments
* Several light brown or dark khaki sheets of felt
* Chubby gingerbread man ornament pattern, provided in image two
* Pen or pencil for tracing and stuffing
* Craft scissors
* Black and white craft paint to decorate gingerbread man ornaments
* Spool of thin red ribbon
* Small bag of Poly-fil or cotton balls to stuff your gingerbread man
* Glue gun and glue sticks
* Toothpick
* Optional: Scented gingerbread or cinnamon fragrance oil

Trace the gingerbread man ornaments onto the felt and then cut-out. You will need two cut out pieces to make one ornament. Divide your gingerbread man cut-outs into two piles of even numbers. Put one pile to the side.

Using your pen mark the eyes, mouth, and buttons to be painted on your gingerbread man ornaments Hint... The mouth for the gingerbread man ornament is made of three dots. When drawing dots for the mouth, you will need to put the first two dots directly across from each other and then another dot in the middle of these but slightly lowered.

Time to decorate half the gingerbread man cut-outs with black craft paint. Fill in the eyes first with black craft paint. I apply the paint in raised dots that remind me of miniature Hershey kisses.

To make the mouth for the gingerbread man ornaments, put a series of three Hershey kiss like dots (two side by side and one slightly lower). Then take a toothpick and drag the paint from each higher dot to the middle lower dot. This will make a smiling mouth and will resemble a letter V shape.

You are now ready to fill in the buttons on the gingerbread man ornaments. I put three buttons.

Next, add the white paint to your handmade gingerbread man ornaments. Squeeze the white paint in a dripping or fanning motion so that it has uneven edges and has that powdered sugar iced look. Start with the head on the gingerbread man ornaments first. Add the white paint like hair and then do both the hands and feet in a similar fashion.

For the following step, run a swirly line of white paint from the center of the legs to the underarm on each side of your gingerbread man ornaments. Then run another swirly line of paint from the underarms to the neck. Once you have this completed, put the decorated gingerbread men ornaments in a safe place where they can dry over night.

Time to scent the poly-fil or cotton balls for stuffing the gingerbread man ornaments. Add the desired amount of fragrance to the stuffing. Be careful not to get this on your hands. If you have a zip lock bag, it might be a good idea to use this. Scenting your stuffing the night before will keep this from getting on your hands the next day.

Once dry, you are ready to assemble your chubby gingerbread man ornaments. Start with the undecorated felt pieces. Cut sections of red ribbon about four plus inches long. With a hot glue gun, glue loops that will extend about an inch out of the top of the gingerbread man ornaments. This will form a loop in which to hang the gingerbread man ornaments.

Now you are ready to apply hot glue to the body of the undecorated felt. Apply to everything EXCEPT the head. Firmly press a decorated piece on top of the glue. Be sure to match the pieces up as you put the gingerbread man ornaments together.

Use the end of your pencil or pen and stuff scented poly-fill or cotton balls in the unglued opening. Once stuffed, seal the gingerbread man ornaments by applying hot glue and press in place. They should have a chubby belly that would make Santa proud.

Lastly, tie a tiny bow with the red ribbon and cut the tails to an appropriate length. Hot glue the bows under the chin of the gingerbread man ornaments like a tiny bow tie.

While these chubby gingerbread man ornaments may not be edible, they certainly do speak the language of the holidays. Be creative with your gingerbread man ornaments and use them as holiday sachets or scented name tags for your special gifts. You might also consider attaching your gingerbread man ornaments to a wide ribbon and make your own one of a kind garland for your Christmas tree or a unique holiday wreath.

However you plan to use your gingerbread man ornaments, may they bring the scent of the holidays to your home and Christmas magic to your holiday season.