Wednesday, December 18, 2024
I just wanted somewhere permanent to share this cardboard gingerbread house we made for Christmas in July at a campground last summer. We had two weeks to come up with something (hi, camping last minute on a theme weekend 😆) but we really wanted to put some oomph into it. My dad was able to grab some large cardboard boxes from his work, we pulled down some of our Christmas decorations and went to town!

DIY CARDBOARD GINGERBREAD HOUSE

With two weeks to spare, we really needed to come up with an idea for Christmas in July - and quick! 

CARDBOARD GINGERBREAD HOUSE

My dad was able to grab us two humungous cardboard boxes which we ended up cutting down one of the sides so they were fully open (hopefully that makes sense) and then cutting into gingerbread house shape. We danced with various set ups on how to actually get this standing solid until my fiancé decided to make two L-shaped stands from wood we had left over from other projects. I don't have measurements because we didn't even have time to cut them to the size of our cardboard gingerbread house structure but I recommend doing that, if you can. 

We then stapled the structure onto the stands and even bumped them up right against our camper for extra support.

CARDBOARD GINGERBREAD DOORS AND WINDOWS

Let's get into the details - starting with the door and windows! They're all made from Amazon boxes! The circular window on top with cut using a lid, if I remember correctly, and then the "window" itself is saran wrap glued behind the circle frame. The door was made with the same technique - Amazon boxes and saran wrap glued behind it for a "glass" look. It's a total pain in the butt and I highly recommend having someone help you hold it stretched out while you glue it but I feel like the look it gives was worth it. 

The box window on the side was insane. We worked and re-worked so many ideas to get this window from a thought to actual fruition. We ended up taking a medium sized Amazon box, opening it and then tucking the sides in to create a pop out window effect. We then, SO FREAKING CAREFULLY cut out the window panes, glued the saran wrap and then glued it onto the gingerbread part. Ya'll. It was insanity but it came out pretty cool!

GINGERBREAD FROSTING DETAILS

I really wanted a thick, puffy paint for the frosting details and then I remembered that viral terracotta paint that was going around! I mixed a cup of baking soda with a cup of white acrylic paint and mixed until fluffy. You can play around with the measurements for a thicker or thinner consistency but this was perfect! I used it to create thick frosting details all along the house. The thinner details were made with a Dollar Tree white paint marker. It was surprisingly opaque!

GUMDROP DETAILS

I think these gum drops are one of my favorite details from the house! They are Dollar Tree party snack cups. I think they come in sets of six and have a bunch of colors to choose from. I went with purple, turquoise and pink. The trick to making them "sugared" is painting them with glue (I just used regular Elmers and a paintbrush) and then rolled them in this glitter. The type of glitter makes all the difference. This one, in particular, is a little chunkier and opalescent and gives off such a cool "sugar" effect. If you can, hit this with Modge Podge or some kind of sealant after so the glitter doesn't go everywhere after.

We hot glued these onto the gingerbread house and then my fiance popped holes through the cardboard behind them and stung lighting through them. It was a last minute decision but I loved how it looked!

LIGHT UP LOLLIPOPS

The lollipops were so much fun to make! You take two colored party bowls from Dollar Tree, hot glue them together, cut a hole on the bottom and slide a broomstick handle (also from Dollar Tree and I spray painted our sticks white) in and hot glue that in as well. We piped battery-operated twinkle lights in them to have them glow. Take some cellophane and wrap that around the lollipop part and tape closed. Boom - you have yourself some light up lollipops!