Textured & Scented Gingerbread People Sensory Painting

We finally started our Christmas crafting, and we started off with a really awesome sensory paint experience. I really wanted to make gingerbread people with Kingston. However, since he is only 14 months, he hasn't really started assisting me with anything in the kitchen. I brainstormed how I could at least capture some of the gingerbread baking experience in an activity and came up with this really fun art project! 

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I knew I wanted to make some kind of gingerbread scented paint. So, that is just what I did. I didn't have brown fingerpaint, so I mixed a bunch of different colors (orange, green, red, and purple to be exact). But, of course brown fingerpaint would be your easiest bet.

For this project you will need:

• A gingerbread person pattern - I simply googled for an image and then enlarged it in Paint. You could also freehand it. I tried this first. Simply awful!
• Brown Fingerpaint
• Ground Ginger
• Ground Cinnamon
• Ground Cloves
• Glue
• 4 Googly Eyes
• 6 Black Buttons
• Scissors
• White Cardstock
• Red Marker
• Optional - Ribbon (for bow if you are making a gingerbread girl)

I mixed a generous amount of the three different spices into the brown paint. It was a really nice dark brown color and smelled absolutely delicious. The consistency was almost like brownie batter, as was the color!

I spooned a generous amount of the brown scented paint onto the cardstock and let Kingston paint. As soon as he dipped his finger into the paint, the scent of gingerbread wafted into the air. It made the entire house smell just like we were baking gingerbread. I was so thrilled! 

Another perk to the gingerbread paint that I hadn't anticipated was it's texture. The addition of the spices caused the paint to have a gritty texture much like when we did sand painting. K was very intrigued by both the scent and the texture. The color was a beautiful chocolate brown. I explained to him that he was making a gingerbread man and held up the silhouette so that he could see. 

I encouraged him to smell the paint, though the scent was pretty strong. He liked the smell of the paint and thought he would have a little nibble. He put the tiniest taste onto his tongue and immediately recoiled. After telling him that we don't eat it, he didn't attempt to again. I was surprised that he attempted eating it at all since he generally doesn't. It must have been that enticing smell!

He was very interested in the texture of the gingerbread paint and kept rubbing his hands together. He intently examined each finger before smacking it down again to paint some more. 

Kingston's bestie Olivia joined us for our craft today too! She loved it just as much as he did and couldn't help but laugh and squeal at the texture and pungent smell. Her smile is so infectious!

When the paintings were dry, I was pleased to see that the amazing gingerbread scent remained on the paper, as did the gritty texture! I cut them out, added the eyes, buttons, and a red marker mouth. For Olivia's, I added a pretty purple bow. Kingston's I just left plain. 

I was so pleased with this project and experience!! We all loved the gingerbread paint, and the projects still smell fantastic. Kingston's is hanging on our mantle and cozying up the living room with it's delicious scent. This project is a must do for the season. It was a great way for the toddlers to create gingerbread people without having to participate in actual cookie making! 

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