My Gingerbread World!

When I was a little girl, a "Gingerbread House" was part of the annual Holiday Traditions.

My Mother changed it around a little to make it easier for us kids to produce a master piece.  
We would all help her cut a cardboard shoe box into a shape of a house. 
 We made frosting in a wide range of colors and applied it to the base of the house.  We used graham crackers instead of Gingerbread for the siding of the house.  
Mom would buy a wide variety of holiday candies that would be applied in between the crackers and on all the corners.  The roof was usually round mints of some kind.  The house was placed on a board and all of us kids would design path ways to the front entry door.  The paths were of course made of candies.  Surrounding the entire perimeter was a fence made completely out of suckers. 

When my son was little we carried on the tradition and made the same house year after year.

We added small animals here and there and Easton would come up with a story that fit the house.  The one below was the "Candy Cane House"!

The Habit for Humanity organization where I live host an "Annual Gingerbread Competition".  Some of the entries are huge and elaborate.  I have entered many times and always tried to make houses that a parent could easily build with their kids. Following in my Mother's foot steps.

The photo on the top of this page is of one of mine called "The Gingerbread Snow Globe".

  A fish bowl is  turned up side down and placed in a sculpted bed of gingerbread.

  Gingerbread can be used just like sculpting clay.  Underneath the gingerbread sits an upside down plate that becomes the platform. I laid the plate on top of one of my cake plates.
  I am obsessed with cake plates!  I use them for everything!  You can also use a shallow bowl.  

You add figurines using a glue gun onto the platform.

 The inside of the fish bowl is sprayed lightly with vegetable spray!  Lightly!  Let dry just a bit.  Then add 1/2 tsp of glitter to the bowl and roll around.  This will provide an illusion that there is water within the globe.  Place the bowl over your interior creation. 
 Push it into the sculpted gingerbread and allow it to dry.  My bowl had a flat surface so I glued some interesting holiday figures to the top. Sprinkled it all with glitter ! Complete!

I created a "Gingerbread Teddy Bear" one year.  The body of the Teddy Bear is sculpted by using newspaper and masking tape tape.  You then tape the bear onto a foam core platform. Start adding  the gingerbread mixture onto the form just like clay! Move the mixture around so you cover the entire body.  Create some cheek bones, ears and feet by sculpting. 
 When you think your bear is complete....add candy eyes ( I used licorice) candy cheeks, candy buttons.  I used wide grosgrain ribbon for his scarf.  I covered the platform the next day with lots of powder sugar to give the effect of snow...added more candies all over the snow.
  I made a sucker tree out of gumballs for guests. 

Allow your imagination to run wild!  Most of all have the entire family participate!

Happy Holidays!

Your Artist Friend

Jennifer Lake