Sweet Gingerbread and Candy Holiday Wreath
Hi friends, are you ready for a little sweet holiday wreath eye candy?
I grew up in a home with a grandma who loved (and lived) to bake. I was that kid in the school cafeteria whose sandwiches were on homemade bread and came home from school whining that ‘I want my sandwiches on store-bought bread like all my friends.’
Needless to say, I got smarter as I got older and have a deep appreciation for the love and labor that went into each of the loaves of perfectly baked bread to this day; there is nothing that beats a piece of bread, just from the oven, slathered with real butter! Oh my.
And while she baked ALL year, she really brought it at Christmas.
My mom and I carried on that tradition, and now my daughter and I do all the baking in our home.
The wreath I created was inspired by our family baking tradition, with gingerbread men and gingerbread houses.
Creating this wreath was simple bliss.
And it didn’t hurt that my home was redolent with the aroma of cinnamon as I baked these ‘gingerbread men’ and gingerbread house’ ornaments.
All my ‘candies’ were easily made with Sculpey clay and a little glitter…because, well…glitter.
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I used a 24″ artificial wreath and Sculpy Red Hot, Emerald, and White polymer clay.
The candy cane was simple and turned out so darned cute!
I made the green and white ‘spearmint’ candy by making equal size half-moons out of both the green and white and then cutting each half-moon into 4 pieces. I then pieced the 8 pieces back together to form the mint candy. I apologize for the lousy images. They are the only ones I have.
The ribbon candy was easily made by laying a white, red, and white Sculpey strip next to each other, rolling it out, and then trimming the sides. Fold it and punch a hole with a straw.
The Gingerbread men and houses were made from applesauce and cinnamon dough. Equal parts of each with or without a little bit of white glue. I used 1 1/2 cups of each and then added about 2 tablespoons of white glue. I rolled them to about 1/3,” and then I cut out the shapes with a cookie cutter. I cut the image out of cardboard for the houses and then traced around it.
Sprinkle cinnamon on your counter if it is sticky when rolling out your dough.
I poked pieces of wire into the dough before I baked it to create the hooks.
Outlining the gingerbread houses and gingerbread men in White puffy paint really mimicked the icing look. I sprinkled some very fine white glitter onto the ‘icing’ on the star.
UPDATE: This little wreath has now been hanging in my kitchen for 7 years! It is stored in the attic with all of my Christmas decor and I am pleasantly surprised that everything has held up to the summer heat just fine. It looks as cute as it did 7 years ago!
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What a fantastic idea!!!! I made cinnamon dough ornaments a few years ago, but I can’t believe I didn’t think of adding them to a wreath! And those candies? out of clay?! Too cool!
Thanks Ariel…so you know just how good they make your house smell, especially when they are baking! And even a week later, the wreath smells so good. Can’t wait to get it hung in my kitchen and decorate around it.
Thanks again for organizing us.
Hugs, Lynn
How long do you need to cook the ornaments, made these years ago with my daughter….now will make some & give to my 3 grandchildren, thanks for sharing. Also a small FYI on one of your other posting found the site for donating to the Samaritan House for children
Christmas boxes, We were able to do 7 boxes,
Hi Ellen, Thanks so much for stopping by my site! Your visit is much appreciated, as is your question. I baked mine at 200’ for approximately 2 and ½ hours, but then I turned the oven off and let them sit in there for another hour or so. I really wanted them to be hard since they would be handled a bit more than if they were hanging on a tree. Mine were approximately ¼” thick.
But, having said all that…I did make some earlier that were a little thicker and ended up putting them back in the oven at 200’ for probably another hour because they seemed a little soft in the middle. I don’t think you can really ‘overbake’ them at that temp and you definitely don’t want any soft spots.
And I am beyond thrilled that you were able to put together 7 boxes for Operation Christmas Child! I dropped mine off yesterday and it was such a good felling, wasn’t it?
You are clearly getting into the Thanksgiving and Christmas state of mind. I hope you and your family have a wonderful holiday. And I know you’ll have a ball baking those ornaments for your grandchildren.
Hugs, Lynn
What a very classic looking wreath. Very cute!
Thanks Kristen…now I’m chomping at the bit to get the rest of the Christmas decorations out!
Oh I can almost smell this beautiful, fun wreath through my screen! I love the use of the cinnamon dough ornaments!
Hey Kelli…the house smelled so great while they were baking. And even a week later, the wreath makes the room smell good. Nothing beats the smell of cinnamon baking…am I right?
Thanks for swinging by today.
Hugs, Lynn
I thought for sure that was real gingerbread. What a sweet wreath and memories!
Hi Amy, that cinnamon/applesauce dough is the bomb for ornaments like these.
Thanks for swinging by and hope you have a great rest of your week.
Hugs, Lynn
Hi Lynn, Your holiday wreath is just darling. I loved the story of your grandmother and the sweet memories you have growing up in a family full of kitchen lovers. I have some of those same fond memories of my grandmother and love to carry the traditions forward with my kids. Can’t believe you made all those sweet little gingerbread men and candies. What a meaningful and precious holiday wreath. Thank you for sharing!
Thank my friend.
My grandma was such a neat lady and I was blessed that she moved in and lived with us for 12 years before her death. I have such fond memories of her and when I’m baking, I’m clearly channeling her.
Thanks for swinging by today.
Hugs, Lynn
This is precious and I love the story behind it!
Aw thanks Amy…I was blessed to have a grandma like I had and she influences me still 30 years after her death. I think of her fondly.
Thanks for swinging by today.
Hugs, Lynn
Oh this is just so sweet!! Reminds me of Christmas at home, I can’t wait to go back next month.
Oh, I hope you have a wonderful trip back home for the holidays and I’m tickled that my wreath brings fond memories for you.
Thanks for swinging by today Becki.
Hugs, Lynn
I bet your wreath smells just like Christmas!!!! I am amazed that you made the ornaments from scratch. That in itself takes some talent!!!
Hi Jessica…it really does smell great, even a week after I made all the ornaments. They were so very easy to make and quite a fun break from the back breaking work of the One Room Challenge, so it was a real joy.
Thanks for swinging by today.
Hugs, Lynn
Aww those gingerbread figures! This looks like the perfect, traditional Christmas wreath. I love it! I bet your house just smells amazing, too…
Thanks Sarah! It was a fun and very fragrant wreath to make. Now I just need to figure out the rest of my Christmas decoraitons!
Hugs, LYnn
This is definitely a sweet wreath! I love the addition of the cinnamon dough ornaments! Just darling!
Thanks Michelle, It was fun to make. A needed respite from the One Room Challenge for sure! And those ornaments smell so good!
Appreciate you stopping by today.
Hugs, Lynn
Yum! This wreath makes me crave some gingerbread! So cute!
You know, some gingerbread sure does sound good about now. Hmmm…may need to do some baking this weekend.
Thanks for swinging by today Rachel.
Hugs, Lynn
Growing up my grandmother always had a gingerbread ornament tree. This wreath brings back some pleasant childhood memories…. and it smells nice too. Bonus!
It’s darling and has such a warm, cozy feeling. I bet it smells amazing too!
Apple sauce and cinnamon dough how knew its would be perfect for a wreath! So cute. Brings back so memories as a child.
Hey Lindsay…and it still smells so good 2 weeks later! I know you would have fun making it and enjoying the aroma over the holiday.
Thanks for swinging by today.
Hugs, Lynn
What a perfect holiday wreath!
Thanks Sara! I’m glad to have one element of my Christmas decor done and now my mind is whirling on how I”m going to decorate around it!
Hope you are enjoying a relaxing weekend.
Hugs, Lynn