Paper Gingerbread Houses

Is there any Christmas sweet more iconic than a gingerbread house? Maybe a case could be made for the candy cane coming in first, but a gingerbread house is an absolute must. I went for a house that looked a little less candy-draped, and a little more realistic looking, but still covered in loads of “icing”.

Download the pattern and trace it onto a gingerbread colored piece of cardstock.

Cut the pattern out and fold along the thin black lines shown on the pattern.

Spread glue on the tabs, fold all the sides up to meet each other, and press the tabs onto the inside of the long side pieces to create the body of the house.

Cut and score the roof piece of the house. Bend the roof piece along the fold line and, while folded, use a hole punch to make a hole in the center of the roof.

Tie a loop in a length of ribbon, and make the knot big enough so that it can’t go through the hole you’ve just made. Thread the ribbon through the hole from the bottom of the roof to create your hanger.

Next you’ll want to cover all your seams with the “icing.” The stuff I used is magic. It’s similar to fabric puff paint, but if you use a heat gun on it it puffs up. I found them in the fabric paint section at my local Beverly’s, but I also found them available online here. I loved this stuff so much it was hard for me to not pull it out for every single ornament. It makes the perfect fake icing. If you can’t find this paint, I’m sure a traditional puff paint would work just as well, you’d probably just have to plan ahead to allow for dry time.

Glue the roof on the house by running a bead of glue all the way around the top edge of the house and carefully placing the roof on top. Don’t worry too much about any gaps because your puffy icing can cover all that up for you. Run icing all around the seams, the edge of the roof, and along the roof to make shingles.

Next I made the windows. If you want your gingerbread house to look more edible, you could use candy stickers, or even actual candy if you sprayed it with a sealer. I wanted to stick with paper and keep things cheap, so I used translucent velum to make my windows and made the frame with tiny strips of cardstock.

For the larger windows on the side of the house:
Cut the vellum to a 3/4″ square. For the interior sashing, cut pieces to 1/16″ thick. For the exterior frame, cut the pieces to 1/8″ thick.

For the smaller windows on the front and back of the house:
Cut the vellum to a 1/2″ square. For the interior sashing, cut pieces as thin as you can. For the exterior frame, cut the pieces to 1/16″ thick.

When working with pieces this small, my favorite glue is Martha Stewart’s glue pen. I didn’t try and cut pieces to the exact size, I just glued a strip in place and then cut the extra to match the size of the vellum square.

The doors are a dark red piece cut to 3/4″ wide by 1 1/4″ tall. Then I cut a lighter red to create panels. The bottom pieces measure 1/4″ side by 1/2″ high, and the top pieces measure 1/4″ square. The doorknob is a large seed bead I had lying around.

Glue the windows and doors in place and finish decorating with the puff paint icing to make snow. I used the same puff paint but in green to make the wreath for the doors.


Click on the picture and download the original size.

If I wasn’t already so committed to my Christmas decorating plan, I think I’d be tempted to make a whole village of these little guys. Maybe down the road I’ll do that when Atti’s interested in having a little Christmas world of his own.

Related posts:

Visions of Sugarplums Paper Twist Nativity How to make a pom pomHow to make a pom pom Modern Paper Christmas TreeModern Paper Christmas Tree

20 thoughts on “Paper Gingerbread Houses”

  1. This post is a godsend I must say. My son has always wanted a gingerbread house, but as we are gluten free we cannot just buy one… and I can admit that I was not creative enough to think of using paper. Rock on! I am so adoring of you anyway, but we will be singing your praises when I get back from Washington and buy the stuff. Thank you! 🙂

  2. wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee…. now how to persuade some teens that they really want to help mum go into production line mode… we need fimo popcorn and cranberries, gingerbread houses… lollies…. not sure the place I want to put these will cope with weight of rolled felt.. besides we need to come up with something diff to make it our own.. maybe it's time we made photo fairies again…THANK YOU

  3. Hi Tresa,
    Love your gingerbread house. A friend and I have been wanting to make some out of cardstock and this design is absolutely perfect. Thank you for the inspiration and providing such a fabulous example to spur us on.

  4. Sometimes I just got astonished with the creativity of people have in their mind and they come up with such unique material and art work by using uk essay writing help skills so that they can make other people aware of the art work and different opportunities.

  7. Hold a immortalize of the sources of your substantial at this Spotlight the key row. any reliable essay writing service� Two 14.11.2014 in 2233 Cody Scampi stayed at the possibility patch out to buy the revile, dominating. I am a reckoner psychoanalyst by trade, workings in an platonic search lab, with a Ph.D.

  8. Wonderful work! You have made an amazing house and I think it is so special for you. I would like to learn how to make this paper gingerbread house. I want your help in the coming days. Keep sharing such posts on this blog!

  17. his post is a godsend I must say. My son has always wanted a gingerbread house, but as we are gluten free we cannot just buy one… and I can admit that I was not creative enough to think of using paper. Rock on! I am so adoring of you anyway, but we will be singing your praises when I get back from Washington and buy the stuff. Thank you! 🙂
    Read more at cua go mdf
    Read more at cua nhua han quoc
    Read more at cua nhua abs
    Read more at cua nhua cao cap

Comments are closed.