FIVE - Gingerbread NOEL Sign

Here it is ... the FIFTH in a series

of five Quick and Easy Bazaar-Worthy

craft tutorials!

Gingerbread NOEL Sign 

This fun sign is the perfect size
for many different uses!
While is isn't to big to be an ornament,
(uh, unless you have a mini-tree)
it looks great hanging around the neck
of a bottle of wine,
(good hostess gift idea!)
tied to a package, or hanging over the rim
of a potted plant.

The Basics:

3.5" x 4.5" wood rectangle sign,
1" wood button plug, sanding block
acrylic paints: black, white, red, golden brown,
chocolate brown, Sparkle Glaze
scruffy toothbrush and craft stick
for spattering,
appropriate sized paintbrushes,
(1" wash or sponge roller for sign, 1/2" wash
for gingerbread face, liner brush for squiggle icing
and mouths)
stylus for dotting eyes,
glue gun and glue sticks,
Crop-o-Dile, hand drill, or drill press for
drilling holes, 12" length of craft wire for hanging,
wire snips and pliers for working with wire,
holiday accents such as the holly
shown here (available in the Christmas craft
section of your local craft and hobby store)


Getting Started:

Base coat your rectangle sign -
don't forget to paint the back and the sides.

Once the paint has dried, use sanding block to sand
front and back lightly to smooth the wood grain.

 Sand the sides heavily, to remove some of the paint.

Transferring the pattern:
I used graph paper to make the pattern.
I placed the 1" button plug onto the paper,
and wrote the word "n el" around it.
The graph paper helped me to keep the
letters the right size.

Place a piece of tracing paper over
your word, and outline with a marker.
This is your pattern.

Now center your pattern onto the sign. 
The transfer paper has a slick side -
this is the business side.  Place it face down
under your pattern.

 
 Use the stylus to trace over the pattern lines.

Thin white paint with water to an inky consistency.

Use the liner brush to paint over your

pattern lines.

Brush Sparkle Glaze over entire sign.

 Paint the wooden button plug with golden brown,

and shade around the outside with chocolate brown.

Wet the scruffy toothbrush, dip it into

the brown paint, and blot on a paper towel.

Run the craft stick over the bristles -

away from your body - and spatter the plugs.

Blush the cheeks with pink powder blush

and the sponge dauber.

Dot the eyes with the stylus and black paint.

Thin the black paint with water

to paint the mouths.

Thin the white paint with water to an

inky consistency, and paint the squiggly

icing around the edges of gingerbread face. 

Drill holes in the top two corners of the sign,

and another hole approx. 1" in from the left side.

Use pliers to make a loopy knot in one end of

the craft wire.  Insert into sign with

loopy knot pressed against front of the sign.

Curl wire around a paintbrush handle.

Thread second end of the craft wire through

from the back, and make another loopy knot

to secure the hanger.

I happen to have about 200 of these holly

embellishments left over from last

year's school ornament projects.

But they're still available at Hobby Lobby,

I just saw them this week.

Thread the end of the holly embellishment

through from the front,

and bend the ends from behind to secure

in the back.

Hang and enjoy!!!

Peace and Sparkly Gingerbread Men!!!

ONE - Gingerbread Cutout Ornament

Here it is!


The first in a series of FIVE tutorials
for Quick and Easy Bazaar-Worthy Crafts!!!


Gingerbread Cutout Ornament

The Basics:
(what you'll need)
wooden gingerbread cutout with holes,

sanding block
acrylic paints: golden brown, chocolate brown,
antique white, country red, black, 
and a multi-purpose sealer
specialty paints: Plaid Extreme Glitter - Red
pink powder blush, Plaid sponge stippler,
stylus to dot eyes, appropriate sized paintbrushes
(wash or sponge roller for base coating larger surfaces,
1/2" flat for base coating smaller surfaces,
script liner brush for details)
tooth brush and jumbo craft stick
(for spattering)
12" length of craft wire for hanger




Getting Started:

Keep in mind, it's just as Quick and Easy to make
a dozen or more ornaments as it is
to make one!








* Always Paint In Multiples *
that's my motto!


Apply a golden brown base coat:
If you're making several ornaments,
consider using a sponge roller to apply your
base coat.  (Like the kind house painters
use when they're painting trim)


When dry, flip ornaments
over and base coat the backs, as well.


After allowing the paint to dry,
sand the sides of each ornament heavily,
and the fronts and backs lightly.


Acrylic paint raises the grain of the wood,
especially in these cutouts that are
much dryer (usually) than something you've just
cut with your scrollsaw.
You want to sand lightly on the front and back
to smooth the paint,
but you want to sand the sides
heavily enough to actually remove paint.

Paint spattering is a fun effect.
You can make a dark sky look starry,
or a village scene look snowy,
or - in this case - a wood cutout look
like a gingerbread cookie!!!


Pour a puddle of chocolate brown onto
a palette.  Wet the bristles of an old scruffy
toothbrush and dip into the paint puddle.

IMPORTANT!
Blot the bristles on a dry paper towel-
we're just looking for a light
spattering of paint, not globby drops!

Holding the toothbrush horizontally
over your wood cutouts,
run the jumbo craft stick across the bristles
in the opposite direction of yourself,
unless you're looking to wear a spattered shirt.
(Yep.  Learned this the hard way).

Next, use the sponge stippler
to blush the cheeks on each cutout.

Swirl the stippler (or a cotton swab)
onto the powder blush,
and apply to the cutout in a circular motion.

Let's give 'em some eyeballs.
To do this, dip a stylus into a puddle of black paint.
To make same-sized eyes,
re-dip the stylus each time you make a dot.
For one big and one small eye
(and this can be cute, too!!)
dip once into the paint and dot both
eyes one after the other.
The second dot will be smaller than the first.

Here's where we are so far:

Now let's add squiggly frosting!

Add a few drops of clean water
to a puddle of antique white paint to
create an ink-like consistency.

Turning the cutout as you go,
find a starting point and drag the liner brush
around the entire "cookie" in a squiggly
motion:

Finish up, then add a mouth:

Look at all these delicious cookies!
Yummers!!!

They still need a little "something"-
so let's add a heart:

Paint the hearts country red
and glue them to the front of the gingerbread.
When the glue is dry,
brush some Extreme Glitter over
the fronts of the hearts.

We can't tie them to a package
or hang them from the tree yet ... so
let's make a hanger.


Measure a 12" length of craft wire
and trim with wire snips.

Hold one end of the wire firmly
with the pliers, and
wrap the wire around the pliers
a few times to create a loop(y) knot:

Then thread the wire through one
hole in the gingerbread so that the loop knot
can be pressed flat against the
front of your cutout:

Next, wrap the center part of the wire
around a paintbrush handle.
Remove the paintbrush leaving a very
curly craft wire center.


(Note: the smaller the handle,
the tighter the curl.
Likewise, the fatter the handle,
the looser the curl).
;)

Thread other end of wire through
the second hole from back-to-front,
so that your final loop knot
can be pressed flat against the front
of the gingerbread cutout.

and ... VOILA!!!

Make one or make a dozen!
They are easy to personalize as well -
either on the front or on the back.


If you aren't comfortable
personalizing with a paintbrush,
use a permanent marker instead.

To make this variation,
use thinned paint in either
antique white or chocolate brown
and paint a criss-cross pattern to look
like plaid.  Add a bow.






* peace and gingerbread *