Create a festive and budget-friendly DIY Gingerbread Village using just 2x4s and stencils! This DIY project is perfect for adding some holiday cheer to your home. This effortless stencil kit is designed for easy positioning onto the wood, plus the stencils help you achieve professional results every time!
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I’ve always wanted to make my own DIY Gingerbread Village for Christmas decor.
Most may already have a ceramic village, however I personally don’t have the storage to collect that much.
Regardless, I’ve never been a big fan of the thought at attempting to hand draw in all the quaint details to achieve that certain level of realistic festive quality… can you relate?
Do you remember when I created Christmas Village Houses out of 2x4s?
Tutorial: How to make a wooden Christmas Village out of 2x4s HERE
Stencil: View Christmas Village stencil HERE
Christmas Village with stencils and 2x4s
This whimsical village is one of my most favorite Christmas DIYs! The stencil house details made it so easy to customize your own chosen look! However with all the intricacies a gingerbread style has, I felt it would benefit with a little more of a planned pattern of sorts…
So today’s project is abit of a twist on the old, while bringing in the new… this time, gingerbread-style!
The design process went through many revamps, until I found the perfect mix of a hand done look by hand drawing every single detail. Then creating an effortless way to stencil the details without positioning guesswork.
And by golly, I’m glad I pushed this one hard. Because you can pretty much sit back and watch your Gingerbread Village DIY itself at this point!
That may be a bit of a stretch, but not by much. This kit is EFFORTLESS to use, plus it’ll also help to shape and size your gingerbread houses too!
Here’s how it works…
View Gingerbread Village stencil HERE
Gingerbread Village stencil
The Gingerbread Village stencil is an 8-piece stencil that is designed to work on either flat surfaces, on 2x4s, as well as 2 styles of custom (yup, those are listed too!) MDF cutouts so you can hang as DIY gingerbread house ornaments, a banner or stand them up too! Visit the store listing HERE to see all the incredible creative gingerbread house ideas for this!
However today, let’s whip up a 3D gingerbread village with simple 2x4s!
Easy DIY Gingerbread Village with 2x4s and stencils!
Supplies you’ll need:
2x4s
Fusion’s Fresco if you wish to create texture (optional)
A gingerbread paint colour – I used Chestnut Mare by Fusion Mineral Paint
Other gingerbread tones to consider: Classic Caramel / Nutmeg Brown
White acrylic paint for icing – I used Fusion’s Casement
Slightly deeper shade of brown paint for speckles – I mixed my own
Hot glue gun if you wish to glue on additional candies or decor
Cutting the wood gingerbread houses
1. Selecting the 3-houses template, position one house stencil image over the board with the roof facing the end of your board. (it’s easier to cut this way)
Trace the roof angle (minus chimney) and baseline of the house onto the board.
2. Position the 2×4 in your miter saw, then angle the blade to cut half the roofline.
- Make cuts on the outside of the pencil lines to ensure your cuts don’t go too small. More is better than less.
3. Flip the board over, then mark the center of the board with a ruler, meeting your last cut.
4. Using the same angle on the miter saw, cut the roofline on the other side of the house.
You should end up with a perfectly centered roof!
5. Reposition the 2×4 to the baseline of the house, then cut it straight.
You now have a wood house!
6. To create another house exactly the same, trace the cut house on your board, then cut as before.
7. Repeat the steps to cut the other two house shapes, creating as many wood houses as you desire!
Sanding the wood gingerbread houses
8. Sand all sides and edges of the houses.
To resemble more of a gingerbread house look, you can spend a little more time rounding sharper corners with an orbital sander if you wish.
Chestnut Mare by Fusion Mineral Paint
Painting the wood houses a gingerbread colour
My first draft of creating the Gingerbread Village was to paint the houses as-is.
Later, I played with adding texture.
The texture takes on a little more of a realistic cookie look, plus it will hide the wood grain more so as well. I prefer the texture myself! However with or without look good. So here’s both ways, so you can decide.
No-texture version
9. Paint each house in a chosen Gingerbread colour. I used Chestnut Mare by Fusion Mineral Paint. I liked the warm caramel tone, however the tone takes on a fleshy-peach tone rather than dark gingerbread. It’s nice though.
Just know, the finished photos are slightly edited to remove some of the peach tone they take on.
You can also try adding some blue to the paint to deepen up the tone a little. Mixing your own to create the perfect color is a fun experiment!
You could also use a base of spray paint if you wish.
10. Create a slightly darker tone, then splatter it across the houses so they look ‘flecked’.
I like the flecks! To me, it resembles cookie dough texture.
So let’s add texture next so you can see the difference.
Adding cookie texture
11. To create texture, mix equal parts of Fresco and your chosen paint together in a bowl.
If you wish for a heavier texture, simply add more Fresco.
13. Using a stencil brush, stipple the lumpy mixture all over the surface.
The above photo showcases the texture on the roof, vs. just paint on the sides of the house.
14. Once dry, flick on a darker tone to create cookie flecks.
How the stencils fit on the 2×4 wood houses
So here’s what the stencil kit looks like and makes this idea so special!
Each house design has a coordinating side to team up with perfectly sized to fit those 2×4 houses you just cut!
Please note: the samples above are done using white vinyl since my stencils hadn’t arrived yet. The real stencils will look slightly transparent.
The roof stencil creates a filled-in snowy roof and will work with each house.
Stenciling the intricate details of the icing
15. Position the matching house stencil to the front of the houses, then using a small stencil brush, stencil in the details in white / Casement.
How to stencil with exceptional results:
- Load stencil brush in paint.
- Remove most paint onto a rag until brush feels dry. (most important!)
- Tap paint through stencil using a very light hand.
- Do a 2nd dry coat if more coverage is desired.
16. Choosing the appropriate coordinating side pieces, position into place, and stencil in white on each side of the 2×4.
17. To stencil the roof:
- Position the roof piece with the lumpy side at the bottom of the roofline.
- Stencil in the roof with white all the way to the middle top.
- Reposition the stencil on the other side of the roof, and repeat, until the snow joins in the middle.
Simple! And very cute!
18. Repeat stenciling all the houses, then further decorate to enhance as desired!
Other ways to decorate your DIY Gingerbread Houses:
Here’s some other delightful gingerbread-themed accessories that would really make your own whimsical holiday village stand out…
- hot glue on raised scrapbook supplies
- real or mini faux candy decorations
- white glitter for the roof or snow-frosted buildings
- create a white textured platform as if the houses are sitting in snow
- add a few small bottle brush trees
- team up with gingerbread miniatures such as mini wreaths, bows, small real candies, etc.
- add tiny fairy lights
- plenty of faux snow
- use a white paint pen or white puffy paint pen to add custom details too tiny for a stencil
- white dust them with something so they look cookie-like
- check a local thrift store for more unique accessories that could work
- search online for more inspiration on what you can do with your gingerbread designs!
Style them any way you wish for the holiday season!
Finished styled DIY Gingerbread Village
And you have yourself the most adorable and EASY to make 3D Gingerbread Village in the land!
For a final touch, I styled my gingerbread village on a little side table, complete with real evergreen branches, fairy lights, red ornaments, candy canes and plastic faux snow. An open drawer acts as an extension to the entire village.
Since all the details are stencils, everything has a professional outcome, plus it’s easy to duplicate to make loads more to build on your village, or give as gifts!
And of course, the sky’s the limit to how you can style your Gingerbread Village! Here it is styled on a raised cake stand. Team up with white bottle brush trees, faux plastic snow, and battery operated tea lights from the dollar store, it’s perfectly adorable!
I sure love how sturdy they are thanks to the chunky 2x4s! They are the perfect small size, without being too large so they are easy to store afterwards too!
Other ways to style the DIY gingerbread village houses
- on a raised cake stand sprinkled with faux snow
- as shelf sitters for a festive touch most anywhere
- in a Christmas centerpiece
- along an entire window sill
- drill holes where the chimneys would go and insert tapered candles
And much more! Too much fun!
I’m going to have the best Christmas with this Gingerbread Village as a holiday accent as-is, however with the option of the MDF cutouts, I’ll be making ornaments, a banner, and a thinner stand-up village, perfect for those without access to a workshop or the tools needed to cut wood scraps.
Be sure to check the Gingerbread Village stencil listing HERE to see all the options!
I hope this inspires you to make your own best DIY Christmas Gingerbread houses this Christmas, without the need for real gingerbread dough!
Be sure to visit the stencil listing to see all the other cool gingerbread house ideas available, including MDF pieces to make hanging ornaments, a banner, or a stand up village!
Stencil: Gingerbread Village stencil HERE
Think you’ll give some a go?
Other unique Christmas DIY projects to add holiday cheer to your decor:
Check out the wooden Christmas Village HERE
Create Pencil Trees from wood HERE
Visit all the new Gingerbread-themed stencils HERE
Visit our entire collection of Christmas decorating on one page HERE
Video tutorial coming soon!
Easy and affordable DIY Gingerbread Village with 2x4s and stencils!
Tools:
Supplies:
Instructions:
- Position house shapes on top of 2x4s to draw the outlines.
- Cut the rooflines and the baselines of the houses using a miter saw.
- Sand the edges to create a slightly rounded effect.
- Paint the wooden houses with a gingerbread colour.
- Add texture with Fresco if desired, by mixing Fresco into the paint.
- Once dry, position the house icing details along the fronts, sides and tops of the wood, then stencil in white.
- Stage as desired.
I saw these beauties on Instagram and just had to come have a looksee. They’re adorable, Donna. I would far rather do wood than figure out how to make edible gingerbread dough 😀
Haha! Thanks Michelle, I’m certainly with you on that one! I’ll take wood over dough any day!
These are adorable!
Thanks Steph! I can’t wait to make a massive village of them!