A Whimsical Winter Wreath Made With Paper Gingerbread Houses

When it comes to Christmas crafts, there are few things more classic (and cozy!) than gingerbread houses and wreaths, so why not combine the two and add some unconventional colors to the mix? For this charming wreath tutorial, we adorned a pastel pink wreath with faux peppermints and mini gingerbread houses made of paper. The result is a candy-inspired Christmas DIY that looks good enough to eat.

To get started, make the wreath's adorable mini gingerbread houses from scratch with our ehow-exclusive gingerbread house printable. Simply print out the template, cut it and trace it onto card stock. Once folded and glued together, the paper will transform into a super-cute gingerbread house that will fit in the palm of your hand.

Plus, as with most paper wreath projects, you can easily customize each house with white gel pens, rickrack or even more paper. The possibilities are delightfully endless, not to mention festive and fun.

Ready to get crafty in the name of Christmas? Keep reading for our step-by-step tutorial and learn how to make a pretty pink DIY Christmas wreath with candy elements.

Print the mini gingerbread house template. Cut out both pieces.

Place the template on brown card stock. Trace around the template with a white gel pen or a light-colored pencil. You can also use a white chalk pencil. Cut out the shape from the card stock.

Fold down the tabs and press down to create a hard crease. Fold the main portion of the house horizontally, overlapping the squares; this will separate the four sides of the house. Fold up the bottom flap, which will form the bottom of the house.

Fold the separate rectangle piece in half for the roof.

First, join the sides: glue the side tab to the opposite end of the house. Make sure the tab is glued along the inside of the house's body.

Glue the bottom flap to the four tabs on the bottom.

Glue the roof to the top four tabs. Repeat until you've created the desired number of houses.

It's time to decorate your mini houses! We used pastel scrapbook paper and red-and-white "candy cane" card stock to create the front doors, white rickrack trim for snowy details and a white gel pen to doodle on the house. Don't be afraid to get creative!

Cut a long strand of embroidery thread and tie a knot at one end, leaving a few inches of extra thread between the end and the knot; you'll use this to tie the garland onto the wreath form.

Insert the other end of the thread through the needle and then pierce the needle through a pompom.

Slide the pompom down to the knot. Continue adding red and white pompoms, alternating colors. Continue until the garland reaches the desired length.

Tie a knot at the end. Again, leave extra thread so you can tie it onto the wreath.

To give the wreath even more dimension, wrap a few round peppermint candies in plastic, making sure to twist the ends.

Add a strip of clear tape to secure the plastic seam on the backside of the candy. Wrap the twisted ends with thin pieces of clear tape.

Repeat with a few more peppermint candies.

Tie the pompom garland to the back of the wreath. Cut away any excess thread if necessary.

Hot glue the candies and paper gingerbread houses to the wreath and then hang it on a door using a wreath hanger. Merry Christmas!