Gingerbread Reindeer Garland DIY

It's December - let the holidays begin! Have you started decorating yet? I had a plan to make a gingerbread cookie garland for our kitchen and bought all the ingredients to bake them. But all that changed during a trip to the dollar store.



I stumbled upon a felt garland that reminded me of gingerbread cookies, realizing it just saved me some baking time. No twisting my arm! In my shopping cart it went to turn into a faux gingerbread reindeer garland to hang in our kitchen instead.



How to upcycle a dollar store felt garland and pine cone garland into a festive faux gingerbread Christmas garland with white 3D paint piped icing.

Upcycled Dollar Store Gingerbread Christmas Garland

I also found a pine cone garland during that shopping trip. The wheels started turning and I headed over to the food aisle to pick up some cinnamon sticks too. I figured I could combine the two garlands, embellish them with cinnamon sticks to make the gingerbread garland even more kitcheny (is that a word?).



The motivation for sharing the garland is to show you another option for getting the look of gingerbread without the baking mess. It's a super easy and budget-friendly DIY idea for a kitchen Christmas garland!



How to upcycle a dollar store felt garland and pine cone garland into a festive faux gingerbread Christmas garland with white 3D paint piped icing.

What You'll Need To Make It

Pictured below are the felt reindeer and pine cone garlands that I found at the dollar store for under $5.



How to make a faux gingerbread kitchen garland by combining a felt Christmas garland and pine cone garland from the dollar store.

To make the felt reindeer look like gingerbread cookies, I used 3D fabric paint to pipe faux white icing. 



This post contains affiliate links so you can see what products I used or recommend for this project. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small commission from any qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. Thank you for your support!


Supply List

Felt Reindeer Garland (dollar store)
Snow Pine Cone Garland (dollar store)
Scribbles Shiny White 3D Fabric Paint
6 x 6-inch Christmas Stencils (optional)
Cinnamon Sticks
Red & White Bakers Twine
Hot Glue Gun


Here's How I Made It

Initially, I tried using a white paint pen for the icing but of course, it looked too flat. Michael's to the rescue where I found the white Scribbles 3D fabric paint.



I'll be the first to admit that my piping skills need some work! Imperfect or not, I decided to share the garland anyway in hopes it may provide inspiration for making a faux or real gingerbread Christmas garland.



Felt reindeer gingerbread cookie garland with faux piped icing.

The most time-consuming part of making this garland is waiting for the 3D paint to dry.



Faux Piped Icing On Felt Gingerbread

The Scribbles 3D Fabric Paint in a shiny white color worked well to pipe faux icing around each felt gingerbread reindeer and the sleigh. However, I quickly learned how imperative it is to follow the directions on the paint label for even piping.



Upcycle the dollar store felt reindeer garland to look like gingerbread with 3D fabric paint faux piped icing.

I also used a couple of small Christmas stencils (link in the supply list) to embellish the sleigh with faux white icing.



Faux piped white icing with 3D fabric paint on felt reindeer gingerbread kitchen garland.

I had just enough 3D fabric paint in the tube to pipe all eight reindeer and the sleigh. If you are a baker and no stranger to piping icing, you'll do a much better job than I did. This was my first attempt, as you can probably tell.



Embellishing Pine Cone Garland

While the paint was drying I took small cinnamon sticks and tied them with red & white baker's twine beside each pine cone on the other garland. I removed the red berries from the garland and reattached them to the top of the cinnamon sticks.



Attach the dollar store pine cone garland to the felt reindeer garland with a hot glue gun.

Combining Felt And Pine Cone Garlands Together

Next, I joined the felt and pine cone garlands together. I found the center of both garlands and simply set the felt garland on top of the pine cone garland so the pine cones went in between each reindeer.



Then I ran a bead of hot glue on the back of each reindeer as well as the sleigh and attached the twine from the pine cone garland (as pictured above). That's all there was to it - can't get any easier than that!



If you prefer a simple old-fashioned Christmas decorating style, then here are a couple of ideas for making both a faux sugar-dipped cranberry garland and a dried orange garland.



Thanks for stopping by the Interior Frugalista today! I hope you were inspired by this faux gingerbread reindeer garland idea. These adorable felt elf shoe gift card holders are another easy dollar store felt craft idea for the holidays. They add a personal touch to the infamous gift card giving.



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If you have any questions, please leave them in the comment section below or the Contact Me tab at the top to drop me an email. I love hearing from you!



If you enjoyed this upcycled dollar store Christmas garland idea, I'd be so thankful if you shared it with a friend and pinned it to your favorite board on Pinterest.




How to upcycle a dollar store felt garland and pine cone garland into a festive faux gingerbread Christmas garland with white 3D paint piped icing. #gingerbreadchristmas decor #kitchengarlandchristmas #feltchristmasdecorations

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Comments

  1. This is so cute Marie. Your family may have been a little "Meh" about it though since they might have been looking forward to baked cookies they could actually eat! haha!

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    1. Thanks Tania! Oh they know there is a tin of baked goodies coming their way soon.

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  2. The perfect combination together! How cute are these reindeer?

    Alexandra
    EyeLoveKnots.com
    OnRockwoodLane.com

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    1. Thank you so much Alexandra, it was a fun garland to put together. Happy Holidays!

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  3. Oh, you've done a fabulous job with these Marie! The garland is spectacular!

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    1. Thank you Maya, I made it for our kitchen but with our grandkids in mind.

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  4. Your garland is quite adorable and very creative, Marie! I never seem to be able to get inspired like you do while shopping at the dollar store! You have great vision!

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    1. Thank you very much, Gail, I'm glad you like it! Dollarama is my second home and rarely do I walk out with just one bag. LOL

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  5. Marie, I think this is my third visit to your post in two days. It's so cute I just can't get enough, and so cute that I keep getting distracted and forget to comment. You are brilliant and so creative. I've seen the reindeer and never once thought about making them into a banner - my weakness - and certainly not one as darling as you've made. Fabulous and Merry Christmas!!

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    1. Kim, you are just the best and made my Thursday morning! I made the garland for our kitchen but mostly for the grandkids to enjoy when them come visit Grandma & Grandpa B. Wishing you and yours a Merry Christmas! xoxo

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  6. Marie, the garland totally fooled me! I can't believe you made the reindeer look like gingerbread! You are so talented 😊

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    1. Music to my ears, Cindy, my plan worked then. Thank you and Happy Holidays!

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    1. Thank you so much, Elise! I was happy to find a fabric paint locally that had the 3D icing effect in a pinch.

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  8. Marie, I am always impressed at the crafts you come up with. This Reindeer garland is darling. Congrats, you were most clicked at the FWF link party.

    :) Rachelle

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  9. Giiiirl.... I don't want to bake more than I have to. So I'm going to be sure to remember this one when I come across these types of ornaments! You've answered my prayers! haha DARLING.

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    1. Right! I almost started dancing in the middle of the aisle when I saw that felt reindeer garland. Less time in the kitchen and more time in the workshop is my jam. Thank you so much for featuring the garland this week, it is much appreciated! Wishing you a joy filled Christmas xo

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  10. Love the reindeer garland. You have a beautiful family. Your grandkids are so cute. I know you will have a great Christmas. How could you not, with those cute grandchildrens. Merry Christmas!

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    1. Thank you so much, Terri. Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas too!

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  11. Absolutely adorable, and I love it! And I pinned it. And I hopefully can find some deer at the dollar store, and and and you've done it again at Christmas on the cuteness scale!

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    1. Thanks for the chuckle, the pin, and your sweet comment, Bliss. I do hope you find felt gingerbreadish something at the dollar store. I found mine at Dollarama (Canadian dollar store) so I'm hoping Dollar Tree will be the win for you. Merry Christmas!

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  12. Merry Christmas dear Marie. You have really outdone yourself this year with so many pretty Christmas ideas this year. I am definitely going to try this one for next year.

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    1. Hi Mary, I'm thrilled to see you popped over for a visit, I miss you! So glad you enjoyed my holiday crafting antics this year. Wishing you and your family a fun filled Christmas! xo

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  13. Marie, I absolutely love this creative, clever and fa-la-la-tabulous project! I'm thinking it would look wonderful with the oversize cookie cutters I already hang from my upper kitchen cabinets. Which dollar store chain did you find your elements at? I'd love to put the elements away for a January project to then display next year.

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    1. Thanks Debbee, I'm glad you like it! What a great idea hanging cookie cutters from the garland! I found the elements at Dollarama (Canadian dollar store chain) but you never know, Dollar Tree may have them next year. Merry Christmas!

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  14. I absolutely Love this reindeer garland! I am too busy this year to do one but I will definitely have one for next year. Just adorable!

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    1. Thank you, I'm so glad you like it and hope you had a lovely Christmas.

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  15. This is so cute & clever! I'll be featuring it on this Thursday's Crafty Creators. Thanks for sharing!

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