Dunkin Donuts Box O'Joe Gingerbread House Craft!

I have a really cool project for you today that my daughter and I are super-excited to share with you! One of my family members had brought a "Box O' Joe" from Dunkin Donuts to Thanksgiving dinner and since I am a hoarder, ahem, art teacher, I couldn't throw the weird-shaped box away. I thought it would be perfect as a gingerbread house!

Box o' Joe Image Source: dunkindonuts.com

I thought of having my daughter create her own decorations for the house, but she's six and I thought she might get frustrated creating all of the "bits" from construction paper. Then I thought I could print out a couple of coloring pages that have candy on them, have her color them and then cut them all out. A good example of a *free* candy printable you could use is here. Now my daughter's good with scissors, but you know who would actually get stuck cutting all of those little bits out!

Then I was out at Hobby Lobby the other night and happened to see foam candy shapes. The package had 100 foam shapes for $5.99 but it was on sale for $3. There were gingerbread people, red and green glittery gumdrops, and red and green starlight mints (all peel and stick). Unfortunately, I do not see these on their online site, but you could probably get similar items near you.

This was a great craft for us to do together but with little involvement from me. I love crafts like that where I don't have to set the pace and she can really go on her own and make the project her own. I was there just there to make the windows and use the glue gun, if needed. It was a relaxing, calorie-free project that will last throughout the holiday season!

Enjoy!

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And in case you are looking for step-by-step directions, here they are!

Materials Needed:

• 1 empty Box 'o Joe from Dunkin Donuts (remove the bag of liquid and discard)
• A piece of red corrugated cardboard for the roof and windows (our piece was 12" square and came from our recycling bin)
• Scraps of yellow or orange paper, optional, for the windows
• Scraps of green paper for trees
• Hot glue and glue gun
• Scissors and an X-acto knife
• Tempera paint (brown, white, red (for roof, if you can't find red cardboard))
• Paint brushes
• Glitter glue (totally necessary!!)
• Bag of sticky-backed foam candy shapes (or you can make your own decorations)
• A base for your creation--ours is a cardboard used when cake decorating

Directions:

1. Paint the outside of the box with brown tempera paint. Let dry.
2. Cut a square for the roof and edge with white paint. Let dry.
3. Cut a slit in the roof and slide it over the handle of the box. Adhere with hot glue.
4. Adhere the entire box to the base now, if you'd like.
5. Create some windows by cutting 6 little strips of red cardboard and glueing them to make a window. Glue the window frame to a piece of yellow or orange paper, if desired to create the illusion that a light is on inside the house. Make as many windows as you like and glue to the house with hot glue.
6. Now's the fun part--stick candy all over the house! I love peel-and-stick foam shapes so that the kids can to it themselves and don't have to wait for glue to dry.
7. Create trees from paper and stand-up gingerbread people and attach them to the base with hot glue.
8. Glitta it up baby!! I squeeze glitter glue on a paper plate and have my daughter use her finger or a paint brush to add some bling all over everything!

You are done! Enjoy your easy-peasy gingerbread house!

Box o' Joe Image Source: dunkindonuts.com