25 Days of Hand Crafted Gifts and Ornaments - Cork "Gingerbread" Garland

Today I am going to make one of my favorite ways to play with cork....faux Gingerbread men and women!  Cork is quite inexpensive when you purchase it in bulk ~ far less expensive than when you buy the sheets in the scrapbooking section of the craft store ;)  I bought an entire roll which measures 18x36 for 2.99 ~ the same price as one sheet of 12x12 scrapbooking cork costs!

Now most cork is fairly brittle when you start cutting it so I like to affix my cork to a sheet of chipboard.  I use just plain chipboard I save from cereal boxes, paper packages, packaging, etc.

Here is the gingerbread man I used...  For some reason I didn't get a photo of the gingerbread woman...she has a skirt which is easy to add.

Supplies:

Cork
Chipboard
Gingerbread Man/Woman Pattern
Glue
Liquid Pearls
Twine/Ribbon
Eyelets

Instructions:

1. Glue the cork to chipboard and let it dry completely.

2. Print out the gingerbread man pattern in two sizes (approx 3.5" & 2").   Trim from the paper to use as templates.

3. Trace 1 large gingerbread man, 1 large gingerbread woman, 1 small gingerbread boy and 1 small gingerbread girl.  In addition to the people, trace 1 large heart and two smaller hearts on the cork.

4. Cut all of the shapes from the chipboard/cork.  Clean up any edges if necessary with a very sharp pair of shears or an Exacto Knife.

5. Add details to each piece using Pearl Liquid Pearls.  Let them dry completely.

6. After the LP has dried, punch holes in each piece ~ a hole in each "hand" on the people and a hole on each half of the hearts.  Add eyelets to each hole.

7. Tie the people & hearts together as shown.  I used a combo of twine and ribbon...you could use a combination of whatever you like...

Your gingerbread family garland is ready to spread the joy of the season!!