This years gingerbread house step-by-step

So, this year I'm going to track every. single. step. From the inspiration, to the breaking on Christmas day. I'll post pictures and videos as I go to make it as easy as possible to understand. You can go along with me on my journey creating your own masterpiece or just be inspired for next year. Don't be afraid of making mistakes. Don't think for a second that you can't do this because I assure you, you can. You will see through this process that I, too, make hundreds of mistakes. I recently purchased Photoshop Premiere so I'm going to videotape Eh. Ver. Ree. Thang. Including the mistakes. I've been making these houses for 16 years and I still burn pieces or miscalculate sizes. Well, you'll see. Anyway, join me. It's gonna be fun.

Let's get started. This years inspiration is a picture I found on the internet.  

It's a little hard to make out but I've done this for so long that I think I can figure it out. So, this is how I get started. I focus on the main level first. Forget the porch and all the fluff. Look at the structure. Since I can't see the back of the house, it's up to me to decide what I want it to look like and, knowing me, it'll be pretty elaborate. Whatever I do on the bottom, I have to keep in mind that it has to come together in a way that it will support the top. I always start by drawing it out in pencil on my counter. Hopefully you all have a nice, big table or countertop to work on.I'm going to draw it out on my countertop with the camera rolling and I'll post again tomorrow. Meanwhile, if you plan to  do one of your own, here are some supplies that you will be needing.

 

 

-scrapbook paper

-ruler

-cookie sheet with no sides

-rolling pin

-paper cutter (not necessary but it helps)

 

That's all I can think of for now. This will get you started for sure. Later, you'll need lots of candy. Candy to decorate with and wrapped candy to fill the house with if you plan to use yours as a pinata like we do. Also, you'll need all of the ingredients for royal glaze (the glue), and for making the gingerbread. Both of those recipes can be found on an earlier blog. See you soon.

 

Welcome back. I hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving holiday with family and friends. It's been very busy around the "MacGallagher" household but I've managed to get the next step finished and photographed. My pencil markings didn't show up so well on camera so I switched to a dry erase marker. I'll never use pencil again. All the erasing that I do leaves eraser shavings everywhere and pencil lead all over my hands and everything that touches it. What a Mess!! So, revision.....Use dry erase marker when drawing out your plans. MUCH better.



The picture above shows the front view of the house. The porch is ginormous but that's made out of candy so I don't have to measure and cut pieces for that. I just drew it so I knew how big of a piece of wood I needed to build this on. I've learned that if I don't map it out on the table first, I'll make it too big. The picture to the right shows the back of the house. Each line is measured and I try to have as many repeat measurements as possible so I can use the same template multiple times otherwise it gets overwhelming trying to keep track of what goes where. Most of my measurements seen in these pictures are 4" and 8". I also have three 1", a 10", a 10 1/2", and a 12".

 

The next step is the templates. Decide how tall you want your walls to be. I chose 7" for mine. Go big or go home, right?

Label each piece in a way that you'll remember what it is. I usually label this first level as "lower level" or "main level". The walls on the main level are usually taller than they are on the second floor. I'm not sure why I do it that way. I just think it looks better. You're making your own templates so draw it out and see what you like. Mine are not perfect. I had to make a 10 1/2" to make the ends come together. I could have spent a little more time on it and made it perfect and, perhaps, one day I will when I'm not so busy with dryer beeps and "Mommy, what does this mean" questions that continue to pull your focus away from the project at hand. When You're mapping your house out from the picture that you have, you'll find that it's like you're there; walking the perimeter of the house in your mind. Everytime you get pulled away, it takes awhile for you to get back there. This imperfection you see before you took three hours. As you can see by the picture, I labled the pieces before I cut them. You would not believe how confusing it gets once the cutting begins.

 
I labeled this "main floor" on the front and I always write the measurements on there as well just to better keep track of everything.

 

 

 



Then I flip it over and write everything that it will be used for using words that will help me remember where they go. I should probably use some sort of a number system but, for now, this is how I do it. If you're one of those organized people that have "systems" everywhere, I welcome your suggestions. PLEASE leave a comment. I could use all the help I can get. See, I'm on the hook for one of these houses every Christmas so anything that will make my job easier and more efficient is greatly appreciated.

Well, That's it for the first step. Now it's time to move on to baking. I'm going to get set up and snap some pics for you all and we'll begin this year's creation. See you in a couple of hours.


                                                                               

Time to make the gingerbread. The oven is preheating at 375 and soon the house will be filled with the smell of fresh gingerbread. Although it's not what I intended when I first started this tradition, I'll bet my children will forever be mindful of Christmas at home when they smell gingerbread.

My princess is helping for the first time this year. I'm so excited that she has reached the age (10) where she's interested in "mom's" role. She's a very traditional child. Imagine that. She helped with Thanksgiving dinner this year, too. This year's gingerbread house is going to be the best ever. I'm the happiest I've ever been. Love that girl.

Carefully trimming around the template and doing a very good job.

And that's it for level one. Now they have to cool overnight so they won't bow. Notice how I lay the templates across the pieces to keep track of them. Tomorrow, I'll make the Liquid Nails (Royal Glaze) and assemble. Then I'll make the templates for the roof and probably bake them, too, since miss Lexi is helping me this year. See you all tomorrow.

P.S. Click on the pic to blow it up and notice the burnt edges on some of the pieces. My princess rolled the edges a little too thin and that's what happens. I'm using them anyway. I think they're just perfect.

 

The building begins:

 

Well, my loyal followers, I have a perfect example of "imperfection" already. The planned gbhouse was too big to fit on the board so I had to make some adjustments. Also, my 4" pieces were 8" tall instead of 7" like all the other pieces so I had to cut them. That's what happens when you're trying to build one of these monstrosities in the middle of real life. Especially if you don't have many baking skills.     

 

I always cover my piece of wood with wrapping paper. I know it would probably look nicer if I painted it white or something but that would require clean up and I'm spent after the holidays. It's easier to take the paper off and throw it away.

After making the Royal Glaze, I put it in a pastry bag with a star tip. For those who aren't familiar with these things, I put the tip of the bag in a tall glass and fold the ends down around the glass so that I can shove the icing as close to the tip of the bag as possible. If there is any icing left in the bowl, remember, keep it covered with a damp towel cause this stuff sets up FAST!!

So, this is what I ended up with after making a few alterations. I know...it looks dreadful, right? It's downright embarrassing but, when all the decorating is done, nobody will ever know what a disaster it was so, DON'T give up. Don't get discouraged. Just keep watching. Icing and candy can make ANYTHING look good.

Today, I will begin the measuring and cutting of the templates for the roof. This part is REALLY tricky. Some of the roof will cover the porch and getting all of these pieces to come together.......UGH!! I'm preparing for a TON of mistakes. Stay tuned.

 

 

 

 

 

You Can Do It Too

The gingerbread house is our family's favorite tradition. Around Halloween, I start looking for my inspiration and I usually pick something Victorian because I like all the "gingerbread" accents. My friends and family and all of their friends usually can't wait to see the finished product. People think it's absolutely amazing but, the truth is, anybody can do it. So, this year, I decided that I would blog the step-by-step process in full detail and include some video of the breaking of the gingerbread house, as well, so that everyone can see the happiness that this tradition brings our family. Here are some pictures of the houses from the previous years. Follow me this December and we'll create something together family and friends will talk ablout for years to come. 

Gallagher Tradition

This is the Gallagher, entirely edible pinata. I started making gingerbread houses the first Christmas after my son was born. He was only 4 months old but, being a Psych major, I have a good understanding of human behavior and I knew that if I wanted my son to come home for Christmas after he was married, I would have to dangle a pretty big carrot. After all, we all know that the husbands go where their wives tell them to and that is typically her family's house.

So, his first Christmas, I followed a recipe taken from "The Joy of Cooking" cookbook. It was pretty sad looking and covered in traditional gingerbread house candy rather than something kids would actually like to eat. The next year, I bought a kit that had a recipe for gingerbread that you rolled out, cut, and baked using templates. This is the kit that started the Gallagher gingerbread mansion pinata. I began making my own templates out of scrapbook paper (because it's stiffer) and filling all of the rooms with candy. Then, on Christmas day, after all of the gifts are open and everyone has eaten, the gingerbread house is placed in the middle of the table where all of the adults take their final pictures before the kids destroy it. Then, all of the kids, plus a few extra from the neighborhood, gather around the table with their grocery bags in hand and on the count of three, they begin beating on the house with their hands and breaking it into a million pieces and collecting all of the candy. Meanwhile, the adults slide up to the table and get pieces of the roof and the house because the kids just don't appreciate how good gingerbread is. The entire house is edible from the Famous Amos cookie roof to the Hershey doors and windows to the KitKat porch. It's all good.

So, while I can't give you the exact directions to follow, I CAN give you all that you need to do this yourself. Be prepared to make some mistakes. I've found that it's difficult to build a house without 2x4's and nails. Even liquid nails would be helpful but I do have the next best thing and the best part is that you can eat it.

I start by finding and inspirational picture of a house that I will try to copy. Then, I draw the outline of the wall with a pencil on my counter top. Next, I start measuring and cutting my templates. Then I bake the first level of the house and lay it out on the counter and let it cool until the next day. See, here's the thing about gingerbread; if it doesn't have an entire 24 hours to sit on the counter, it will bow. Even if it feels like it's completely cool and hard enough not to bow, it will. Trust me. I usually lay the templates out on top of the peices to keep track of what's what because this thing is a beast and it's easy to get lost.

The next day, I put the walls to the first level up using Royal Glaze (edible liquid nails) and start cutting the templates for and baking the roof. I never cut the templates for the next group until I'm finished assembling the last because you never can be too sure that they will be the right size. It's not like we have an exact system to follow here. One day I may put a few together but I haven't yet. Anyway, I let the walls sit overnight so I know for sure that they can support the roof that I've just baked. Then, the next day, while the kids are at school, I fill the rooms with candy and put the roof on. They don't get to see the kind of candy it's filled with until they knock it down. It's part of the anticipation that builds throughout the month of December.

Second story goes up.

....and it's time to put away the groceries (finishing touches).

Do you see all the imperfections? Good!! Don't get discouraged when this happens. Icing, candy, and cookies covers it up. Besides, we're not pros and we're not entering a contest. We are simply creating wonderful childhood memories.

And that's it. I usually start this process right after Thanksgiving so I have enough time for errors and shopping and all the other fun stuff that we do at this festive time of the year. Hope you all enjoy this as much as our family does. Here are the recipes.

The liquid nails (Royal Glaze)
Sift:
- 3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
Beat until stiff, but not dry:
- 2 egg whites
Gradually add the sifted sugar
- juice of lemon
Keep bowl covered with a damp cloth at all times because this stuff sets up quickly. Extremely quickly.

And for all you bakers, please don't judge my work here as I am more of a carpenter than a baker. Happy building, people.

 



Powder room rehab

This is the powder room after the wallpaper had been removed. I had a can of gold/yellow paint that I was considering fauxing over but, after picking out the new sink, I had an "old world" picture in my head that I couldn't shake.

Removing the old vanilty.

Removing the caulk from the wall.

Time to start "cutting in." That is...painting the stuff that can't be painted with a roller.

I decided to paint the ceiling the same color as the base of the walls.

Finished. Now it's time to tape the ceiling and begin the faux process.

This part is a little tricky because I really went with my eye here. This is like color washing mostly. I used dark (black/brown) glaze. Don't be afraid of the dark color. Use a large sponge like the one you see on my ladder. Dampen it and wipe it on a section of the wall. Then, dip your stipple brush (tips) in the glaze and brush it in all different directions on the wall until that part is dry. If you think it looks bad, wet your sponge and wipe it off, voila. It erases so relax and take your time. Play with it until it looks like an old stone wall. At first, you'll think you're making a mess. Walk away for a minute then come back in and look at it. Not as bad as you thought, right?

This is what it should look like when you're finished. P.S. The more imperfections there are in your drywall, the better this looks so if your wall is "perfect", create some imperfections. Gauge it a little here and there. Give it some character. The dark glaze collects in these "gauged" areas and helps to make it look like old stone.

My puppy wasn't getting any attention while I was working on this so he climbed in through the back of the new vanity. Sweet baby doggy. I love him.

Next, pick the colors that you want your stamp to be. I chose these. Paint the colors on the stamper w/ a brush then dab the excess paint of on a peice of paper.

Do a practice stamp on the wall behind the vanity(if you're changing it out) or behind the toilet.

Measure how far apart you want your stamps to be and draw pencil lines lighty on the wall. You can erase them with a damp sponge when you're finished. I suggest starting from the main corner that you see when you enter the bathroom. Inevitably you will be faced with having to put a stamp in a corner. You don't want that to be what everyone sees when looking at your bathroom for the first time. Also, save those corner stamps for last. That way you can cut your stamper in half so your stamp will be perfect.

Voila. Now it's time to put away the groceries.(decorate)