I found these cute little wooden birdhouses at the Dollar Tree around Christmas time and thought they would make an easy gingerbread house craft for the kids!
Seeing all the gingerbread house-making activities around the holiday season gave me a fun idea to make a gingerbread house craft with the kids.
I looked around Dollar Tree for small wooden houses. I found some in the craft wood section, but they were cute little birdhouses!
A little paint, a few wooden birdhouses, maybe some pipe cleaners, and only a small amount of time are needed for this fun little craft that you can display in your home. And they don’t have to be thrown away like regular gingerbread houses.
And we all know kids love displaying their crafts and artwork in the house, especially during Christmas time.
On to the tutorial for this gingerbread-look birdhouse craft that you can make with the kids!
Supplies for Birdhouse Gingerbread Craft
Supplies from Dollar Tree including the birdhouses, and paint are pictured below. I had the craft paintbrushes and green pipe cleaners on hand already, but I had purchased these at Walmart.
- Wooden Birdhouses (Dollar Tree)
- Brown Paint (Dollar Tree)
- White Fabric Paint (Dollar Tree)
- Craft Paintbrushes
- Green Pipe Cleaners
- Paint Holder
Alternative brown paint and fabric paint from Walmart are shown below….
This is Chestnut Apple Barrel paint and white fabric paint from Walmart. I’d recommend this paint, instead of the Dollar Tree paint but more on that later.
Paint the Birdhouses Brown to look like Gingerbread
We tried out the brown paint from both Dollar Tree and Walmart for this DIY Christmas birdhouse craft.
The Chestnut brown paint from Walmart only required one coat and covered the wood house nicely.
However, the brown paint from Dollar Tree required two coats for good coverage. To be honest, it smelled a bit funny too.
The first pics show us painting the wood birdhouses with the Chestnut brown paint from Walmart.
The pic below is a comparison of the two brown paints with one coat of paint (left Dollar Tree and right Walmart). You can see that the one on the right had better coverage!
Draw Designs on the Wood House with White Fabric Paint
Next, it’s time to draw some designs with the white fabric paint. It’s nice because this paint gives the design some dimension.
We looked up gingerbread house designs on the internet to get an idea of what we wanted to draw. Creating your own design is also a fun option.
No need for a craft paintbrush for the fabric paint. Just use the bottle and squeeze gently to draw your designs!
The fabric paint will need at least 24 hours to dry before being able to handle and display.
The white fabric paint from Walmart was easier to use and wasn’t quite as drippy as the Dollar Tree version. See both options below.
The paint from Dollar Tree is on the left and the birdhouse painted with Walmart paint is on the right.
Create Pipe Cleaner Wreaths for the Birdhouses
Cut your pipe cleaner in half with a pair of scissors. Then wrap it around your finger creating a circle. Tuck the end into the wreath so you can’t see it.
Then hang the pipe cleaner wreath on your gingerbread-look birdhouse!
Another idea is to add a little bird figurine into the hole using glue. I’m on the lookout for little craft birds to fit into it and will update this post when I find them!
Final Thoughts on this Christmas Gingerbread Bird House Craft
All in all, this was a quick and easy DIY Christmas craft with Dollar Tree and Walmart supplies!
It’s probably best for elementary school-age children, as preschoolers may have difficulty applying the fabric glue which can be messy.
The paint that was purchased from Walmart was easier to apply, had better coverage, and was less stinky than the Dollar Tree paint. So, I’d definitely recommend the paint from Walmart!
The cute wooden birdhouses are absolutely a win from Dollar Tree though, and for $1.25 a house, you can’t beat it!
Let me know what you think of this cute Christmas craft idea using wood houses! Thanks so much for reading and happy crafting with your kids!
Now it’s time to head out and buy a few sweet little wood birdhouses from Dollar Tree, along with paint and pipe cleaners for this easy-to-do Christmas craft!
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