Gingerbread making is a serious pain in the buttocks! I had no idea how much work just making the darn cookie pieces was going to be. My Mother in law makes a small gingerbread house for every grand kid to decorate at Thanksgiving. There are 21 grand kids. And she always makes extras just in case a couple break. She is an amazing woman to go through this every stinkin year! I know that I could have bought a kit and made a house that was kind of small and that would have looked a lot like this:
I spent today decorating it. Baby Girl helped when she wasn't eating the frosting. Red wanted to help, but he had to go to school. Little Bug picked Nerds off of it and broke icicles. Bless his pointed little head! Finished product:
Do you like the smoke coming out of the chimney in the back? What do you think? Is it better than the kit? (yes, I'm totally fishing for compliments... ) No one, I repeat, NO ONE will be eating this house. It will be on display in my home for the next 20 years. I think I will have it enshrined in a plastic case...
One great tip I got from my MIL was about construction. Instead of using royal icing to put it together we made a really heavy syrup - like what you would use for suckers. It sets almost immediately and it's hard as a rock! You don't have to sit and wait for the icing to dry for each piece. And if it does harden in the pan, you just put it back on the stove for a second and you can use it again! Then we used the royal icing for the decorating. Just thought I'd pass that along in case any of you are contemplating a similar journey...
15 comments:
Word up, girl!! That gingerbread house is AWESOME!
Bless your heart, to have the courage and gumption to try that. It's a lot of fun to build them from scratch. But it's also a ton of work.
It's fabulous!
Is that compliments enough? Or should I keep going... :-)
Great job!
Wow!
no, Wow, WOW!
That's amazing. I wouldn't have thought to use the nerds, but they look fantastic. What a ton of work!
It definitely should be shrined!
I love it! It's 10 x better than any store bought house.
Oh and will you give me the syrup recipe you use pretty please??
I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!!!! You are incredible--but then again you did make that little tiara for Baby Girl's birthday. Your darn tooting no one better eat it!!!! It is beautiful.
I must also compliment your mother-in-law--21 gingerbread kits for the grandchildren. I bet my grandchildren wishes they had a grandma like that!!!
That is the most fabulous gingerbread house ever!!!!
Next year you should make a Temple replica and use melted Jolly Rancher candies for stained glass windows. Although an edible Moroni topper sounds a little sacreligious.
1) That is the most beautiful gingerbread house I have ever seen in my life! :D
2) I'm in awe of the amazing icicles! :0
3) Yes, it should be enshrined! :)
4) You are insane...in a wonderful way! ;)
See, I told you that you would totally ROCK doing this. That turned out great and is WAY better than the kit.
You should totally keep it forever and ever.
Awesome house. You did a fabulous job. Much better than a kit and I like the smoke coming out of the chimney. Nice effect.
Wow! Okay, we're so twinnish in that we both like doing things like this but boy oh boy, you so got all the talent!
It is a vision to behold... yahoo!!
I wouldn't mind having the syrup recipe as well, if you're sharing.... :-)
Pretty please?!
(BTW, if you notice that someone is sitting on your site for, like, a really really long time, it could be me because I just love, Love, LOVE your Christmas music selection!)
We are amateurs in the gingerbread making industry. This is a nice way of saying our finished product SUCKS.
Yours on the hand, does not.
absolutely gorgeous. seriously, that is one great gingerbread house. yes! much better than a kit. but one only an insane person would do :]
i love the icicles. what did you make those with?
OMG! That's a gingerbread mansion!!
Kailani
An Island Life
w-ow. gorgeous. we made some too, but ours are the ghetto version of yours. :)
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