Instructions

1. Watch video. Follow the tutorial for a step by step walkthrough on how to make your own gingerbread house display.
2. Stain the Gingerbread House. Start by brushing a thin coat of gel stain onto the front of your gingerbread house cutout. Use a light stippling motion instead of brush strokes to mimic a real gingerbread texture and avoid brush strokes. Skip the snowy roof and window areas — those will get painted later.
3. Paint the Snowy Details. Using white chalk paint, dab the roof and window areas to create a soft, snowy look. A pouncing motion with your brush works best here to add a little texture.
4. Build the Base. Flip two mini wood crates upside-down and glue them together with wood glue + hot glue (wood glue for hold, hot glue for speed). Once dry, stain the sides with the same gel stain. Wipe off any excess with a rag. After that dries, lightly dry-brush white chalk paint over the stained wood for a frosted look. Then paint the top (which will act as the snowy ground) in a solid coat of white.
5. Paint the Gingerbread Details. Now comes the fun part — color! Mix some teal and gray paints to make a custom teal green that matches your bottle brush trees. Paint alternating red and green Christmas lights along the roofline using red and your custom teal color. Paint the window frames red and fill the inside panes with gray for contrast. Redo any messy lines with a fine brush — no worries if it’s not perfect!
6. Add the Door and Wreath. Use a ruler to pencil in a door rectangle on the stained wood. Paint it red with your fine brush. Once dry, hot glue a mini wreath in the center for a festive touch.
7. Assemble the House. Attach a piece of scrap wood behind the gingerbread house. Glue one end to the back of the house and the other to the top of your double-crate base. This stabilizes the structure and makes your house freestanding. Once secured, paint a small wavy snow drift where the house meets the base using white chalk paint.
8. Create and Paint the 3D Trees. Separate the two wood Christmas trees with miter shears, trimming off the connecting tabs and smoothing the edges.Paint the snowy bottoms white. Mix brown with a touch of leftover white for a streaky “bark” effect. Blend green and teal paints on the branches for a dimensional pine look. Once dry, glue small Tumbling Tower block slices to the back of each tree to help them stand upright.
9. Final Embellishments. Hot glue the trees to the snowy base — one on each side of the house — and tuck a bottle brush tree beside each one for balance. Glue your tiny candy cane embellishment to the top of the gingerbread house for a finishing touch.