Sponge Painted Gingerbread Cookies – 4 Ways!

Ready for a sponge painting session, Christmas-style? We are sharing 4 ways to make sponge painted gingerbread cookies. Plus at the end of the post are 7 more Christmas craft ideas using sponges! Originally published 11/18/2015 and updated 11/6/2018. 

Gingerbread Man Crafts And Supplies

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• sponge
• gingerbread cookie cutter
• brown and red paint
• paper plates
• construction paper/cardstock
• scissors
• glue
• buttons and/or gems
• white ric-rac (or white paint)
• black marker
• Optional: glitter glue, ribbons

Sponge Painted Gingerbread Man Cookie Decorations

First up is creating the paper gingerbread cookie cutouts!

Trace a gingerbread man cookie cutter a few times on to a sheet of white construction paper. Cut the traced gingerbread men out. Lay these on top of another sheet of white construction paper.

Pour paint on a paper plate. Use a sponge to lightly dip into the paint, dabbing off any excess back onto the plate.

Gently dab the sponge all over the the sheet of paper covering the entire surface, including the gingerbread paper cutouts you previously laid on top. Let dry. Doing it this way makes 2 crafts at once! (see silhouette painting below for the second gingerbread man craft idea)

Once the paint has dried, take the gingerbread man paper cutouts off – these are what you will be using first. The bottom sheet will have white gingerbread man silhouettes where you lift the pieces. Neat, huh? Set aside the bottom sheet off to the side to dry.

Now it’s time to start decorating the gingerbread man cookies!

Add a face using a black marker (or white paint). Glue on small gems or buttons.

Use white ric-rac or white paint to create the wavy frosting seen on the arms and legs.

The gingerbread man paper cutouts are ready to be played with or hung up as decoration! Kids can serve them as pretend gingerbread cookies or turn them into cute puppets.

Gingerbread Man Silhouette Painting

Up next is a fun art project that also could be used to explore negative space. We turned ours into a cute gingerbread man silhouette painting.

Add a cute face and then use red glitter glue to create rosy cheeks. Use green glitter glue to create a teeny bowtie and the wavy lines. Glue on mini buttons. Finish by adding wavy white ric rac along the top and bottom of the page.

Hang up on the fridge or turn into a sweet gingerbread card!

Easy Gingerbread Man Paper Craft

The third Christmas art project using this paint technique is to create a super simple gingerbread man sponge painting.

First, draw a large gingerbread man shape on a sheet of paper. Flip the paper over and sponge paint brown over the entire sheet of paper. Once dry, flip the paper back over and cut the gingerbread man shape out.

Glue white ric-ric on the arms and legs – white puffy paint would be fun too! Add eyes and mouth plus eyebrows and eyelashes if you’d like. Use red or pink paint to create rosy cheeks (Little Sister made thumbprints for cheeks). Glue buttons or gems in the tummy area.

My daughter wanted a bow on the gingerbread girl she made. It’s just ribbon tied together with a string in the center.

This gingerbread girl paper craft (or boy) is great for a Christmas art project to do with toddlers!

Paper Plate Gingerbread Man Craft

The last sponge painted Christmas craft is a darling paper plate gingerbread man!

Using a paper plate, sponge paint with brown over the entire surface. Let dry.

Glue white ric-rac around the rim of the paper plate. Alternatively use white paint to make a wavy line.

Draw on eyes and a mouth. Add 2 rosy cheeks with red paint (we used glitter paint).

Finish by adding a bow tie.

Cute Gingerbread Themed Book Suggestions

Kids LOVE gingerbread man themed books! Each story, whether classic or new, usually has a catchy saying that will have kids laughing and repeating. Pictured below are just a few of our favorites. Click the image to read more about each.

Find More Christmas Sponge Painting Crafts Below!

This month’s #kidscraftstars challenge theme is Christmas sponge painting. See what the others made below and be sure to follow Kids Craft Stars Pinterest Board too stay up-to-date with all our crafts!

• Red and Green Poinsettia Sponge Painting – A Little Pinch of Perfect
• Sponge Painted Christmas Sock Craft – Easy Peasy and Fun
• Sponge Painted Reindeer Craft for Kids – I Heart Crafty Things
• Mini Painted Sponge Christmas Tree – Pink Stripey Socks
• Christmas Wreath Painting – I Heart Arts n Crafts
• Sponge Painted Reindeer Wrapping Paper – Artsy Craftsy Mom
• Sponge Painted Christmas Tree Art – hello, Wonderful

More Creative Christmas Ideas To Do With Kids:

[ess_grid alias=”Christmas Crafts”][/ess_grid]

Amanda

Artsy Momma

Amanda is an ‘artsy momma’ to 2 kids who love making crafts just as much as she does. Follow their creative journey over on the blog titled Artsy Momma. Besides crafts, they share fun food ideas, hands-on learning activities, mommy DIY, + lots more! If you love handprint art, head over to their Fun Handprint Art blog where you will find hundreds of their projects all made with little hands and feet.