Gingerbread Man Crafts

http://www.clevercreations.com/projectshearts.html Gingerbread Men ;o)
http://www.annieshomepage.com/gingerbread.html **ALL about Gingerbread and recipes***
http://members.aol.com/SAG55/ginger.html Crocheted Gingerbread Man
http://www.fortunecity.com/victorian/operatic/312/gingerb.htm  Gingerbread Man Wreath
http://www.tallmouse.com/projects/xmas/gbreadrug.htm rug
http://www.tallmouse.com/projects/xmas/gbtrio.htm hanging for a tree
http://www.tallmouse.com/projects/xmas/terracookie.htm claypot gingerbread-very cute!
http://www.graphicgarden.com/filer8/graphics/print/sttnery/seasonal/ging1el.gif stationery (lined)
http://www.graphicgarden.com/filer8/graphics/print/sttnery/seasonal/ging1e.gif stationery (blank)
http://www.graphicgarden.com/filer8/graphics/print/lists/ging1.gif shopping list sheets


The Perfect Man
He's quiet. He's Sweet. And if he gives
you any crap, you can bite his head off!

Run, Run
as fast as you can
can't catch me
I'm the Gingerbread Man....

The icing I use for gingerbread houses is as follows:
3 tablespoons meringue powder
1 lb (4 cups) confectioners sugar
6 tablespoons water*
Beat all ingredients  7 - 10 minutes.
*Start with 6 tbls..stiffer icing for construction, a little more water for deorating.
 This recipe is just like royal frosting except I use meringue powder instead of egg whites (instead of worrying about salmonella).  Please keep in mind I use several batches of icing.  I color some of it green for decorating bushes and trees, etc.    I have found its so much fun to make, but yet a lost art.  Not many people have the time to build houses, but I have found that bonding with my children is priceless.  Good luck to you.

Saying for the apron and gingerbread man theme...... 'Kiss the CookIE'
(normally aprons say.. kiss the cook)


Gingerbread Boys Mix
8 cup Flour
2 cup sugar
1/4 cup baking powder
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ginger
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 cup shortening
Sift dry ingredients and cut shortening into it with a pastry blender.
Measure 3 cups into 4 jars. Decorate jars with raffia or ribbon. Attach gingerbread cutter and the following recipe:

Gingerbread Boys
3 cup gingerbread mix
1/3 cup molasses
1/4 cup flour
1 slightly beaten egg

Combine gingerbread mix, molasses, egg and flour. Blend well. Roll to 1/4" thickness on lightly floured surface. Cut into gingerbread shapes. Place on greased cookie sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.
Cool. Can be decorated with cinnamon candies. Recipe to be used within 3 months.


GINGERBREAD ORNAMENTS
Gingerbread dough for craft projects that makes ornaments to hang or put in baskets that look and smell like real cookies and are made with normal ingredients but bake up rock hard and keep for years and smell great for years. Use gingerbread dough and your favorite cookie cutters to make gingerbread man garlands, gingerbread ornaments and houses.
Recipe 1
3 tabs. shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1 teas. baking soda
3/4 cup water
3 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon of cloves, ginger and cinnamon
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat shortening and sugar together until light and fluffy, stir in molasses. Sift the dry ingredients together. Stir them into shortening mixture in 3 parts alternating with a 1/4 cup of water each time. Dough will be stiff. Refrigerate overnight. Cut dough into 3 pieces. Knead to warm dough slightly, then roll each piece out about 1/4 inch thick. Cut cookie out with a gingerbread pattern of your choice.
Use a drinking straw to punch hole in center if ornament will be hanging. Place cookies on cookie sheet and bake 20 minutes, turn oven off and let cool in oven. Remove from cookie sheet and place on rack to dry for about 3 days to totally harden. These cookies are purely for decorative purposes and not to be eaten. If you wish you can seal cookies with 3 coats of clear acrylic and decorate with colorful acrylic pains when dry.

Recipe 2
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup shortening
3/4 cup dark molasses
1/2 cup cold water
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. ground allspice
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
Mix sugar, shortening, molasses and cold water in a large bowl. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours. Heat oven to 350; spray the pan with cooking spray. Shape or cut out your ornaments. Bake 12 minutes or until the edges are lightly brown. Immediately loosen from pan, but do not remove. Cool 5 minutes, remove from pan onto wire rack. Cool completely.


More Gingerbread Men ideas!
I made a gingerbread man floor mat (ok well, I bought the mat:o) But I  decorated it!   I got a light brown kitchen rug (gingerbread man color); a posterboard, x-acto knife(or scissors), maroon(you can use red..my colors are brown, maroon, and forest green, and some deep blue) spray paint, and white
fabric slick paint (in the tube).  I used my posterboard as a stencil.  I cut out three gingerbread men(used a large cookie cutter as a template), two boys, one girl, and I cut out a border(I made a square @2 inches smaller than the rug, and it was about 2 inches thick, and hollow in the middle),  I placed my border and gingerbread*people* where I wanted them (i put the girl in the middle), took it outside and spraypainted it all (making sure the boarder and people didn't move).  Then I took away the posterboard, and used the white fabric slick paint to decorate them (hair, eyes, etc.) the fabric paint looks like white icing.
~I made a gingerbread *garland* i guess.  I made three gingerbread men out of cinnimon/applesauce dough (1/2 C cinnamon; 1/3 C applesauce; 1 TBS tacky glue, mix, knead, roll out over a cinnimon sprinkled surface, @1/4-1/2" thick , cut out shapes, allow to air dry, turning once a day...mine took 3-4 days) OH, before I let them dry, I used a straw to make two holes in each..on both hands. After they dried, I used fabric slick paint (white) again to decorate them.  I used 1/4" ribbon to make a bow between each, stringing threw the holes, connecting them all together.  I only made three for mine, but you can do more.BTW..they smell GREAT!
~I made a gingerbread man wooden spoon. I painted a gingerbreadman in the spoon part,and wrapped the handle with marron and dk green ribbon,making a bow and a loop for hanging at the top
~A recipie card box and a card holder.  I used an old plain wooden recipe box, painted it with gingerbread men, and such.  I used cement glue to attach two forks to the lid, that I had bent
{  _____)  <---this is the part with the "prongs" of the fork} I had one going left and one going right, and when I take a card out, it slides right into the prongs of the forks and that holds it.
~I made a painted chalkboard, I got one of those small chalk boards, and painted maroon and white stripes on the wood part(like a candycane).  I attached two pieces of a plaid ribbon to the top back of each side, and tied them into a bow at the top for hanging.  I used a large green clip that had a plaid bow tied onto the top of it and glued it (used cement glue again) to the center of the board. I used white paint (looks like chalk) to paint a gingerbread man on each side on the clip(looks like each is holding one side of the clip).  I used a recipe card (that I laminated) to write a gingerbread man recipe on, and the clip holds the card.
~I made a gingerbread man apron that hangs on a hook in the kitchen.I used a yard of striped fabric, cut it into a basic apron shape(cut two) I saved the scraps to make ties (I sewed them and turned them ,and caught the ends up in the seams of the two apron shape pieces). I appliqued (used fusable web, then a zig-zag stich over the edges) on a pocket at the top, with a heart and a squigly line (done with fabric paint) on it.I appliqued a large heart in the middle of the "skirt" part,and a boy on one side and a girl on the other.All the details...hair, eyes, etc, were done with fabric paints.
~I made a toaster cover.(don't put it on when the tosster is still hot:o) I used scrap christmas-y fabrics to do it.  It is basically a quilted square shape with no bottom, only it has rounded corners and is a rectangle! lol  i also apliqued gingerbreadmen and a heart to it, only i just used fabric paints to outline each shape.
~ A gingerbread house tissue box cover!  I measured a square tissue box, and used the measurements to make a quilted fabric cover, I tried to use fabrics that looked candy-ish.   It came out really cute..at the top I made a chimney where the tissue comes out (you can do this same thing with plastic canvas too)
~I made a vanilla candle, you can buy one:o)  I used a gingerbreadman stamp (it was the foam kind) to make impressions in it. I held the candle under hot running water and quickly  pressed my stamp onto it (the heat makes the wax soft...careful not to make finger prints:o).  I used brown ink (like for stamping) to rub over the candle (after I stamped all the sides) with my finger to make the gingerbread men really show up well.
~I did this (only it's is a santa's favorite cookie recipe wreath...but could easily be made into a gingerbread man recipe wreath)  I took a grapevine wreath, wrapped ripped strips of plaid fabric around it, and made a bow.  I glued on different cookie cutters (here you could use all gingerbread
men cookie cutters or even polymer clay or cinnamon, or salt dough men!!(The cinnamon smells best:o) here and there.  I used a piece of christmas-y  scrapbooking paper, I wrote my recipe on it with marker,laminated it, and glued it to the back of the wreath, so the recipe shows through the hole(when writing the recipe..make sure it will all fit as you go:o)
~Something I thought would be cute just to sit around (or as a gift) is to take a glass jar, and fill it with all the dry ingredients needed to make gingerbread cookies.   Make a label using a pc printed sticker or white contact paper...to put on the front(what it is and directions, etc) add a gingerbread man cookie cutter by tying it into the neck of the jar with ribbon.  Attach a card with the story about the gingerbread man...of course I can't remember the story...had something to do with not being able to catch  him....These are just some I have done..I have lots more ideas...waiting to be made:o)
Thanks Teri!

Gingerbread Men
I make fabric ones - I've used warm and natural (tea dyed) or brown flannel. trace the desired shape and sew on tracing line. Then cut out leaving about 1/8" fabric beyond cutting line. Use a quick unpick to cut a line long enough for you to turn through to right side and stuff - I usually make the cut where I place a pocket. Stuff with fibre fill then close slit using ladder stitch and matching thread. Now comes the fun part - decorate it. Cut a small pocket in fabric of choice and place over sewn up slit. Attach using blanket stitch or naive straight stitch. Use a bamboo skewer to dot on eyes using black paint (water based acrylic). If you want you can use a finer dot of white to give a 'gleam' inthe eye. Dry brush red cheeks. Now place things in the pocket - cinnamon sticks, Christmas ivy or holly (fake not real), any other decorative items that will be seen hanging out of the pocket. I use those tiny cookie cutters and tie that onto one of the items in the pocket for an extra embellishment. Your finished item can either stand alone or you can sew a thread through the back of it, tie a knot and hang it up. You can make a swag out of gingerbread men and hearts made in a similar way, just face the sewn up slit to the back of the swag. I've found these sell really well. Hope you like this idea.Enjoy
Thanks Elizabeth

I've seen flat corkboard (you can buy it a craft store) used to make  gingerbread men.   Lay it out flat, use a cookie cutter for a template, and  then decorate as desired.  From there, it could be applied to clay pot or a  plaque, etc.    Even just hung from a tree.  Or tied on to a gift.  It would   make a cute thing to stick in a flower arrangement (Glue one onto a dowel, or   something like it).
Thanks Christine!


Gingerbread Man
Have you tried cutting a gingerbread shape out of sandpaper; "icing" it with white dimensional paint; then after it's dry rubbing it with some cinnamon or spice like that to make it smell good; then punching a hole for a ribbon to hang it with?   They look kind of nice; they're unbreakable and easy to mail. You could also make the puzzle piece wreaths:   spray pieces with green spray paint; make a circular pattern and put wax paper over it; then lay the pieces in a circle over your pattern; make 2 or 3 layers, overlapping them as you go (hard to explain, easy to do); then decorate with a ribbon bow (add tie here) and Christmas shaped sequins or whatever you like.   They're also pretty plain, covered with iridescent glitter.
Thanks Rebecca!

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