How to Make a Scented Gingerbread Man Ornament Using Sandpaper

Here's a gingerbread man that won't try to escape from your oven. This gingerbread man is a very simple, fun project for kids to make. It's a great sensory experience too!

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Sandpaper
• Gingerbread man cookie cutter or stencil
• Ribbon
• Cinnamon sticks

1. Using a gingerbread man cookie cutter or stencil, trace the gingerbread man shape onto a piece of sandpaper. (If you don't have a cookie cutter or stencil, see the resource section of this article for a printable stencil).

2. Hold the cinnamon stick as you would a crayon, and "color" the gingerbread man with a cinnamon stick until it's completely covered with cinnamon dust, or whatever you want to call it. This will give your ornament a wonderful scent.

3. Cut out the gingerbread man, and punch a hole toward the top. Lace raffia, ribbon, or string through the hole and tie a bow.

4. If you wish, you can add a face using crayons, or you can simply leave it plain. You can also glue the gingerbread man onto a decorative paper background.

Tips & Warnings

• For extra sparkle, add a light coat of glue and sprinkle glitter on the finished product.
• Another option is to cut out clothing shapes and use decorations such as rick-rack to embellish the gingerbread man.
• You can also making a gingerbread house using this process.
• This project can also be used to make gift tags.
• Young children should use safety scissors, and/or be supervised by adults when cutting.

Resources

• Printable Gingerbread Man Stencil
• Fun Art Programs for Kids in Avon, CT.
• Fun Reading for Parents

[Creativehearts1]

on 11/19/2008 Hi Nicole,

Thanks for your comment and idea! I love the idea of mounting it on balsa wood. Yes, the cinnamon does stay in place. Just blow across the top of the sandpaper to get rid of the excess dust, and then the rest remain on the sandpaper because of the grain. I am not sure how long the scent lasts for though...at least one holiday!

[nicole-u]

on 11/17/2008 So cute! I love this idea and the materials to make are cheap to get. I'm actually adding one more step and using the stencil to cut a gingerbread-man shaped piece of balsa wood and then gluing cinnamon-dusted gingerbread cutouts to both sides. Quick question -- does the cinnamon stay in place on the sandpaper?

[Creativehearts1]

on 10/30/2008 Hi there. I guess I didn't explain that very well. You hold the cinnamon stick just like a crayon, and "color" the sandpaper. Since the sandpaper is rough, the cinnamon will slough off onto the sandpaper, leaving it with a great scent. It doesn't necessarily do much to actually color the gingerbread man, it's really to just to scent the ornament. Thanks for your question!