Who says gingerbread house building is just for the Christmas holiday?! We are hoping to squash that “thought” and bring the tradition into YOUR Valentine’s Day craft plans this year!

Keep scrolling to learn how YOU can make this extra sweet Popsicle Stick Valentine Gingerbread House tutorial come to life in your home!

This is a first of a kind and I hope you really enjoy recreating it with your child.

I’ve taken the traditional gingerbread house idea from the Christmas season, along with my favorite basic craft stick square shape, to create our latest kids craft idea for Valentine’s Day celebrating!

With this extra sweet DIY craft idea from Glued To My Crafts, you and your child can BUILD a magical, one-of-a-kind piece that anyone will love to come “home” to.

It only takes a few minutes from start to finish and just like traditional gingerbread house building, you can decorate this popsicle stick version for Valentine’s Day, however you like! I highly suggest hitting up your local dollar store to make this craft even more affordable! You don’t even need fancy stuff to make it happen. Just grab some heart shaped stickers and items in the shades of pinks, reds and purples to make it happen!

My last push on this tutorial, is that you can use our craft stick gingerbread Valentine house craft idea for a sweet classroom party activity, holiday decor or even for some magical pretend play fun in your fairy garden this lovestruck season. Whatever you decide to do with your finished valentine candy house piece, we hope you have a “SWEET” time creating it with your child!

Happy crafting, my dear friends! Find all the details that you need to know, in the full tutorial below. Please don’t forget to share pictures of your Valentine’s Day themed gingerbread houses with us! You can find us on Instagram or Facebook these days. I can’t wait to see how you customize your homes! #gluedtomycrafts

MORE VALENTINE’S DAY CRAFT TUTORIALS ON GLUED TO MY CRAFTS: Craft Foam Valentine Tigers – Kid Craft and Craft Foam Valentine Love Bug – Kid Craft

Valentine Gingerbread House Craft Supplies:

• Jumbo Popsicle Sticks (9 per valentine gingerbread house craft)
• School Glue
• Cardstock Paper {think shades of red, pink, brown etc.
• Paper Craft Scissors
• Sharpie Markers
• Large Craft Foam Heart {one per valentine gingerbread house craft}
• Loose Craft Glitter
• optional embellishments – heart themed stickers, craft paint

Directions:

• First assemble the base of your valentine gingerbread house by gluing your nine jumbo popsicle sticks together to look like a fence {seven next to each other and two across the back.}
• Set it aside to let it dry completely.
• Repeat for each valentine fairy house you want to make today.
• If desired – this is the perfect time to paint your gingerbread house “if you like.” I just thought the nude sticks looked more like gingerbread. Feel free to change things up!
• Next up – go ahead and grab your various sheets of colored cardstock paper, along with the scissors.
• Cut out a small door, rectangle chimney, circular windows etc.
• Use your Sharpie markers to draw on the details like bricks, doorknobs, window panes etc.
• Once you have all the paper pieces cut out and decorated, you are now you are ready to start assembling everything in place with the school glue. Go ahead and grab ALL your paper cut outs, along with ONE craft foam heart shape for the roof.
• Start off by gluing on the craft foam heart cutout to the top of your popsicle stick shape. The heart will be glued upside down. You now have a roof!
• Follow that up with all the paper pieces in place. The windows and door go on the front, while the chimney on the back of the roof piece.
• To finish off the Popsicle Stick Valentine’s Day Gingerbread House, add any other embellishments you see fit. I did several lines of school glue for “frosted” shingles and then I added loose craft glitter on top for the sprinkles. I highly encourage you to add TONS of little hearts and pretend candy pieces to make it your own!
• When done decorating, set it all aside to allow it to dry completely before displaying proudly!
• Don’t forget to snap a few pictures to share with us! We love seeing your creations come to life! #gluedtomycrafts

Make It Your Own:

It’s it lovely? And of course, you can skip a trip to the craft store but still make it super custom and/or fit any supplies you might have on hand at the moment.

I already suggested in the directions above about painting the popsicle stick shape for an even more custom look. A nice shade of light pink or red would be amazing!

BTW – if you don’t have any craft foam heart shapes to use for the roof, no worries! You can easily just cut out a large heart shape from cardstock paper and decorate it instead. Paper heart doilies could work as well in a pinch!

Don’t have stickers or anything “Valentine’s day” in the craft stash? Don’t be afraid to cut your own out from plain computer paper and decorate them with markers, crayons, etc. I could even raid the candy dish and glue on REAL candy hearts or chocolates.

Don’t let the crafty fun stop here! If you love this Valentine’s Day Gingerbread House art project for kids, be sure to also check out our Popsicle Stick Valentine Fairies post as well! It’s another art project that pairs nicely with today’s idea and the Valentine’s Day season! #gluedtomycrafts