Gingerbread Man or Woman Ornaments Made out of Cinnamon Dough

This is a fun Winter or Holiday project!

I make a batch of Gingerbread people ahead of time and dry them before teaching this lesson.  That way they have a dry one to decorate.  They will roll and cut out their own to take home and dry themselves.

Cinnamon Dough

3/4 C Applesauce

1 C Cinnamon

2 Tbsp. white glue

Mix thoroughly and then knead the dough until it is smooth - adding more wet or dry ingredients if needed.

Roll out the dough and cut out your gingerbread shapes, punch a hole for hanging with a straw.

Set them aside to dry - turning them over after about 8 hours.  They smell amazing!

I used a little bit of cinnamon to keep the dough from sticking to the counter and the rolling pin.

Don't forget to punch a hole with a straw before they dry out to thread the ribbon through.

I used puffy fabric paint in red, green, pink and pearly white. They will need to do the interior designs first and the edges at the end.  I gave them a selection of buttons to choose from and the puffy paint holds them on.  A length of ribbon creates the hanger.

When I teach this lesson I read "Gingerbread Baby" by Jan Brett first.  Next I mix the dough with them watching, then they cut out their gingerbread person and punch the hole at the top for hanging.  Finally they put it on a paper plate with their name on it to take home.

After they do this we decorate the dry one.  The puffy paint needs a few hours to dry so we put that on the paper plate as well.

Then we have some gingerbread cookies for a snack and admire our creations!!